[LINK] Should Australia consider nuclear electricity?

[Karl Auer]

On Wed, 2021-11-24 at 02:51 +0000, Stephen Loosley wrote:
> UN crowns nuclear as lowest carbon electricity source

True! And nuclear power stations also produce the deadliest, longest-
lived and hardest-to-control waste products of any technology ever
invented, with the possible exceptions of actual biological and nuclear
weapons. And with even deadlier and even less-controllable outcomes in
case of accident or natural disaster.

It is pollyanna-ish to think that we can create, store, transport and
"dispose of" nuclear waste safely for a period *longer than all of
recorded human history*. Yet that is exactly what nuclear-power
apologists do all the time - they gloss over the issue of waste
management.

When the nuclear brigade get permission to put a nuclear reactor and/or
a nuclear waste dump in Mossman, I'll listen.

Regards, K.


> 
> BY:NICHOLAS EARL MONDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2021 4:25 AM
> https://www.cityam.com/un-crowns-nuclear-as-lowest-carbon-electricity-source
> 
> 
> Nuclear power produces less CO2 emissions over its lifecycle than any
> other electricity source, according to a new report by United Nations
> Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
> 
> The commission found  nuclear power has the lowest carbon footprint
> measured in grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), compared to any
> rival electricity sources – including wind, solar, gas and coal.
> 
> It also revealed nuclear has the lowest lifecycle land use, as well
> as the lowest lifecycle mineral and metal requirements of all the
> clean technologies
> 
> While nuclear and renewables are zero-carbon at generation point,
> every electricity source produces CO2 at various stages, including
> construction, operation and decommissioning.
> 
> UNECE supports the findings of a separate study into the lifecycle
> emissions of Britain’s newest nuclear power projects, Hinkley Point C
> and Sizewell C.
> 
> It found both plants were likely to have a lifecycle impact of 5.5g
> CO2 per kilowatt hour.
> 
> This would mean the two projects would have the lowest carbon
> intensity and highest clean energy output of any plant constructed in
> British history.
> 
> Nuclear’s sustainability makes the energy source an attractive tool
> for the UK as it aims achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
> 
> Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng recently relaunched the country’s
> funding model for nuclear plants, leveraging tax payer money to
> support the construction phase.
> 
> He is hoping to encourage domestic private investors and reduce the
> country’s reliance on overseas funds from countries such as China to
> build crucial energy infrastructure.
> 
> The government has also backed Rolls-Royce’s plans for small, modular
> nuclear reactors with a £210m grant.
> 
> Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association,
> praised the report as “detailed” and “scientific”, and argued it
> confirmed nuclear as a “green and sustainable technology”.
> 
> He said: “If we are serious about cutting emissions and meeting net
> zero targets, we must act on the science and build new nuclear
> alongside other low-carbon sources of energy.”
> 
> --
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Karl Auer (kauer at biplane.com.au)
http://www.biplane.com.au/kauer

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