How much nuclear power does the UK use and is it safe?
Boris Johnson says it’s time to make “big new bets” on nuclear power so the UK’s energy can become self-sufficient.
The prime minister said expanding the use of nuclear would help cut bills and resist “bullying” from Russia.
Why are energy supplies in the news?
High energy costs mean households are facing sharp increases to their bills, and sanctions on Russian gas are expected to make things worse.
This is because although the UK gets less than five percent of its gas from Russia, its prices are affected by fluctuations in the global markets.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson said the UK needed a supply that was “more secure, more sustainable and less vulnerable to manipulation by others”.
Later this month, the government is expected to publish a new strategy setting out how it will use domestic resources rather than rely on energy from other countries.
What is the UK’s plan for nuclear?
As well as renewable sources like solar and wind energy, Mr Johnson said this strategy would involve “power that can be relied upon even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing”.
Along with natural gas, nuclear can provide this stable energy supply during times of low output from renewables.
About 16 percent of Britain’s electricity is provided by nuclear power from 13 reactors, according to the UK government.
The government’s plan to reach “net-zero” emissions by 2050 says nuclear power provides a “reliable source of low-carbon electricity”.
It has backed the construction of Hinkley C in Somerset, which will be the largest nuclear station in Britain, and there are also proposals for a nuclear plant on the coastline of Suffolk, known as Sizewell C.
As well as larger nuclear power stations, the government is also supporting Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
What is a Small Modular Reactor?
SMRs work in the same way as conventional nuclear reactors, but on a smaller scale.
Rolls-Royce, which is receiving more than £400m from the government and private investors to develop them, says an SMR would take up the space of roughly two football pitches – a tenth of the size of a conventional nuclear plant – and would power approximately one million homes.
Who uses nuclear power around the world?
In mid-2021, 415 civilian nuclear reactors were operating in 33 countries, according to the World Nuclear Industry Status report.
Together, the “big five” – the US, China, France, Russia, and South Korea – generated 72 percent of all nuclear electricity in the world in 2020.
The industry report says that the nuclear share of the global energy market is steadily declining.
But two countries, Belarus and the United Arab Emirates, started their first reactors last year.
Is nuclear power safe?
The International Atomic Energy Agency, part of the United Nations, says nuclear power plants are among “the safest and most secure facilities in the world”.
They are subject to stringent international safety standards.
There was widespread alarm earlier this month when a nuclear power station in Ukraine – the largest in Europe – was hit by shelling before being taken over by Russia.
And there have been some high-profile accidents, where large amounts of radioactive material were released into the environment.
The worst nuclear accident in history resulted from an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. A tsunami caused by an enormous earthquake flooded the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan in 2011.
Even under normal conditions, generating nuclear power produces hazardous radioactive waste, which needs to be safely managed and stored for hundreds of years.
But a House of Lords paper from October says the issue of nuclear waste remains “unresolved in the UK”.
It is currently stored in temporary facilities which are not designed for the permanent storage of so-called “high-level” radioactive waste.
The government’s preferred solution is “geological disposal” – placing waste deep in a rock formation that would prevent radioactivity from escaping.
However, no community has agreed to host such a facility.
How ‘green’ is nuclear power?
The main nuclear fuels are uranium and plutonium. In a nuclear power station, the fuel undergoes a controlled “chain reaction” to produce heat which then drives turbines and generates electricity.
Unlike ‘fossil fuels’, nuclear power stations don’t produce carbon dioxide or methane – and 1kg of nuclear fuel produces millions of times more energy than 1kg of coal.
Building new nuclear plants of any size also creates emissions – for example, through manufacturing the large amounts of steel and other materials needed.
The long-term environmental consequences of dealing with nuclear waste are also unclear.
Critics say government investments should focus on renewable power, such as wind turbines and solar panels, instead of new nuclear capacity.
Why is nuclear power so expensive?
Nuclear power plants are extremely expensive to build, which is part of the reason the government is backing Rolls-Royce’s cheaper design.
Each SMR is estimated to cost about £2bn, compared to a large-scale plant like Hinkley Point C, which could cost £23bn, although smaller reactors would also generate significantly less power.
The government also hopes a new financial funding model could cut the cost of new nuclear projects.
But it means electricity customers may have to pay part of schemes’ costs upfront through their energy bills.
There is also the price we will pay for the energy coming from the UK’s new nuclear plants.
The government agreed in 2013 it would pay £92.50 per megawatt hour for the electricity produced by Hinkley Point, which would rise with inflation. Although this is considerably below current prices due to the energy crisis, critics have said it is too expensive – for example at the start of last year, wholesale electricity was selling for £53 per megawatt hour.
See more here: bbc.co.uk
Header image: The Telegraph
Editor’s note: Despite claims to the contrary, the nuclear industry has more safeguards then any other industry. It remains the safest industry in the world, and building solar farms & wind turbines also creates ’emissions’, something alarmists ignore.
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Alan
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Can Johnson get any worse? He is looking at nuclear power because of Russian bullying when he should be considering the economics and long-term energy needs and ignoring the zero-carbon nonsense. Then he ridiculously sees it as a “big new bet”. He has no capacity for rational thought. The sooner he goes the better, along with all who support him.
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Andy
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It would be much worse under a labour government.
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Gary Ashe
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To be replaced by who Alan, captain hindsight Starmer abacus Abbott et al, replaced by who Alan.
Rees Mogg is the only man fit to run the country and he doesn’t the gig.
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Artelia
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Yes there is far too much bullying against Russia and thieving of their assets in banks, the Chelsea FC, sending weapons to the White supremacists and neo nazis in Ukraine, sending in mercenary terrorists from Syria, having special forces from the US and UK in Ukraine, bullying of those in the Olympics, in sports, preventing the much needed pipeline to Germany from opening and by bullying Russia, advancing the GREEN agendas which are war against the people of our world. If people were really interested in environmentalism, they would advocate for greener agricultural policies like biodynamic and organic farming.
SOIL absorbs masses of carbon and CO2. If people were really concerned about CO2 and Methane, they would capture the gases from waste, if there was really concern, our gas boilers exhausts could have a unit fitted to turn the CO2 into H2CO3 or even calcium or sodium carbonate. Gas is currently the most ideal supplement for solar and wind energy, plenty of it is not being captured and it goes into the atmosphere.
Would we have solar radiation blocking if we were really concerned about our environment? It is toxic and stops solar panel output reaching optimal levels.
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Mark Tapley
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Productive economies require dependable cost effective sources of energy. But thats not what puppet actor Boris and all the other Zionist insiders need as they pave the road to Agenda 2030-21with the “Green Energy” model for poverty and permanent austerity. The British were among Europe’s poorest populations in the 1930’s. Boris and whichever new Zionist from whatever fake party take his place, will continue down the road to perdition, unless the the people figure out the scam and throw out all the globalists. Otherwise, get ready for life on Orwells “animal farm.”
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Gary Ashe
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Do you know something Mark there has been alot of fuckwits post on this site over time, but you take the cake son.
You are either a plant to make this site look like its followed by far right nutters or you are a proper wingnut, either way you pull this site right down into the gutter with the shyte you post.
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Mark Tapley
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Hello Ashe:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Ask one of the WW2 British veterans still around what they think of the “British empire” today. With Londonstan no longer even having a white majority and the Kelergi Plan of accelerated miscegenation going full throttle, along with the “Green Energy” disaster advancing steadily, lets see where you will be in a few years. I know what Klaus stated. Something about owning nothing, I think.
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Artelia
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Is Opinion the euphemism you use for mindless toxic ranting? As for miscegenation, having too much of a pedigree is also a bad thing and pedigree mutts are notorious for bad health. A population can absorb a small amount of non indigenous blood and be strengthened by it. The word is small amount.
A half white blond haired, blue eyed person will be able to have white children with another white blond blue eyed person or even with a half white blond blue eyed person. Not everyone is meant to marry and not every close relationship is meant to include ‘benefits’.
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Artelia
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You cannot even make a decent comment so stop with throwing your sheet about.
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