The Environmental, Economic and Social Performance of Nuclear Technology in Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy B Malatesta
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Energy Mix ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
Reduce Emissions

Abstract The prominence of climate change is surging with Australia feeling the impacts of hotter and dryer climates. With 2030 approaching, Australia's promise to reduce emissions is seeming harder to achieve with their energy mix being dominated by fossil fuels. The development of SMR technology in the nuclear industry offers a possible solution for Australia to shift away from coal and gas energy sources and invest in low carbon nuclear technologies. SMR technology is suitable for the Australian context due to the number of remote locations, the size of the mining and processing industries and the minimal nuclear experience Australia has. This study aimed to quantify the environmental benefits of Australia incorporating nuclear power in their energy mix and to calculate the levelized cost of electricity of constructing a 684 MWe nuclear plant using the NuScale Module. Additionally, a survey was created to provide an insight into the Australian perception of energy generation and nuclear power. The responses showed the Australian attitudes towards nuclear power and the misconceptions that are resulting in negative perceptions and attitudes.

Development of Experimental Setup of High Temperature Helium Loop and Preparation for In-Pile Operation

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Miletić ◽  
Rostislav Fukač ◽  
Igor Pioro ◽  
Alexey Dragunov
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Nuclear Reactor ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Experimental Setup ◽  
Creep Tests

Rapidly increasing energy and electricity demands, global concerns over the climate changes and strong dependence on foreign fossil fuels supplies are powerfully influencing greater use of nuclear power. In order to establish the viability of next-generation reactor concepts to meet tomorrow’s needs for clean and reliable energy production the fundamental research and development issues need to be addressed for the Generation-IV nuclear-energy systems. Generation-IV reactor concepts are being developed to use more advanced materials, coolants and higher burn-ups fuels, while keeping a nuclear reactor safe and reliable. One of the six Generation-IV concepts which will utilize thermal neutron spectrum is a Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR). This reactor concept uses a graphite-moderated core with a once-through uranium fuel cycle, using high temperature helium as the coolant. Because helium is naturally inert and single-phase, the helium-cooled reactor can operate at much higher temperatures, leading to higher efficiency. Current VHTR concepts will use fuels such as uranium dioxide, uranium carbide, or uranium oxycarbide. Since some of these fuels are new in nuclear industry and due to their unknown properties and behaviour within VHTR conditions it is very important to address these issues by investigate their characteristics within conditions close to those in VHTRs. This research can be performed in a research reactor with in-pile helium loop designed and constructed in Research Centre Rez, Ltd. The purpose of the High Temperature Helium Loop (HTHL) is to simulate technical and chemical conditions of VHTR’s coolant. The loop is intended to serve an as experimental device for fatigue and creep tests of construction metallic materials for gas-cooled reactors and it should be also employed for research in field of gaseous coolant chemistry. The loop will serve also for tests of nuclear graphite, dosing and Helium purification systems. Because the VHTR is a new reactor concept, major technical uncertainties remain relative to helium-cooled advanced reactor systems. This paper summarizes the concept of the HTHL in the Research Centre Rez Ltd., its design, utilization and future plans for experimental setup.

Australia’s energy mix will fuel overseas disputes

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Mix ◽  
Public Opposition

Significance The UN summit will follow Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s refusal to reduce Australia’s fossil fuels reliance during talks with Pacific leaders in Tuvalu this month. Impacts Australian domestic concerns will dictate emission policies, even at the risk of harming Pacific relations. Renewables will dominate the long-term electricity fuel mix, but coal is still needed to maintain output. Australian public opposition will hinder potential investment in nuclear power.

scholarly journals Implications for Deriving Regional Fossil Fuel CO2 Estimates from Atmospheric Observations in a Hot Spot of Nuclear Power Plant 14CO2 Emissions

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 1556-1572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix R Vogel ◽  
Ingeborg Levin ◽  
Doug E J Worthy
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Local Concentration ◽  
Candu Reactors ◽  
Global Emission ◽  
Observational Site ◽  
Pseudo Data

Using Δ14C observations to infer the local concentration excess of CO2 due to the burning of fossil fuels (ΔFFCO2) is a promising technique to monitor anthropogenic CO2 emissions. A recent study showed that 14CO2 emissions from the nuclear industry can significantly alter the local atmospheric 14CO2 concentration and thus mask the Δ14C depletion due to ΔFFCO2. In this study, we investigate the relevance of this effect for the vicinity of Toronto, Canada, a hot spot of anthropogenic 14CO2 emissions. Comparing the measured emissions from local power plants to a global emission inventory highlighted significant deviations on interannual timescales. Although the previously assumed emission factor of 1.6 TBq(GWa)-1 agrees with the observed long-term average for all CANDU reactors of 1.50 ± 0.18 TBq(GWa)-1. This power-based parameterization neglects the different emission ratios for individual reactors, which range from 3.4 ± 0.82 to 0.65 ± 0.09 TBq(GWa)-1. This causes a mean difference of-14% in 14CO2 concentrations in our simulations at our observational site in Egbert, Canada. On an annual time basis, this additional 14CO2 masks the equivalent of 27–82% of the total annual FFCO2 offset. A pseudo-data experiment suggests that the interannual variability in the masked fraction may cause spurious trends in the ΔFFCO2 estimates of the order of 30% from 2006–2010. In addition, a comparison of the modeled Δ14C levels with our observational time series from 2008–2010 underlines that incorporating the best available 14CO2 emissions significantly increases the agreement. There were also short periods with significant observed Δ14C offsets, which were found to be linked with maintenance periods conducted on these nuclear reactors.

The competitiveness of nuclear energy in an era of liberalized markets and restrictions on greenhouse-gas emissions

2009 ◽  
pp. 37-62
Author(s):  
Luigi De Paoli ◽  
Francesco Gulli
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Markets ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Generation Costs ◽  
The Cost

- The debate on the benefits of nuclear energy revolves around the very competitiveness of this energy source. This article tries to show why it is not easy to answer unambiguously the question whether or not it is convenient to resort to nuclear power in a given country. After listing the factors on which the cost of electricity generation rests and discussing the range of probability of their value, the levelized cost of electricity generation from nuclear, coal and gas-fired plants is calculated using the Monte Carlo method. The results show that nuclear power is likely to be competitive, especially if policies to combat CO2 emissions will continue in the coming decades. There are, however, some margins of uncertainty, mainly related, to the one hand, to the cost of nuclear plants, that depends on the socio-institutional context, and on the other, to the fossil fuels cost, that are inherently difficult to anticipate even on average. Finally it is noted that the context of liberalized electricity markets may make it more difficult for investors to accept the risk of investing in nuclear power plants and for the community to socialize some of the costs associated with this technology.Key words: Nuclear energy, generation costs, Montecarlo method, environmental impacts.JEL classifications: G11, H23, L72, L94, Q31, Q40

scholarly journals The national-level energy ladder and its carbon implications

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 484-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
National Level ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Level Energy ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

AbstractThis paper uses data for 134 countries for the period 1960–2010 to document an energy ladder that nations ascend as their economies develop. On average, economic development results in an overall substitution from the use of biomass to energy sourced from fossil fuels, and then increasingly towards nuclear power and certain low-carbon modern renewables such as wind power. The process results in the carbon intensity of energy evolving in an inverse-U manner as per capita incomes increase. Fossil fuel-poor countries climb more quickly to the low-carbon upper rungs of the national-level energy ladder and so typically experience larger reductions in the carbon intensity of energy as they develop. Leapfrogging to low-carbon energy sources on the upper rungs of the national-level energy ladder is one route via which developing countries can reduce the magnitudes of their expected upswings in carbon dioxide emissions.

scholarly journals Entering new markets: nuclear industry challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2B) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Ondir Freire ◽  
Delvonei Alves De Andrade
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Carbon Taxes ◽  
Transport Costs ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Physical Constraints ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Industry Needs

Nuclear ship propulsion and isolated islands energy supply are unexplored markets for nuclear vendors. Carbon taxes and fuel regulations may make fossil fuels more expensive. Such markets pay more for energy because of organization and transport costs and use of small machines, which are less efficient than grid generators. The goal of this work is to find the measures the nuclear industry needs to take to get into new potential markets. This work shows the different actors and their interests and points the natural or physical constraints they face. Considering interests and constraints, this work named the most probable market niches where nuclear power may beat other power sources. After considering natural constraints, this paper analyses human-generated constraints and presents a way on how to mitigate or solve them. This study shows that nuclear industry needs to take technical, administrative, and political measures before nuclear power arrives to a wider market. This work is based on literature review and qualitative analysis and cannot point precise thresholds where nuclear power should be competitive. Future work will consist of statistical analysis to find precise thresholds to help in the decision-making process.

scholarly journals Lessons Learned from the EU Referendum to Better Promote Nuclear Energy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew W Bingham
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right

Abstract The need for investment in new nuclear is vital to achieve the decarbonization targets put forward by governments around the world (particularly in the UK) and secure the supply of energy for generations to come. For governments to invest in this costly and time-consuming solution public support is needed, something that has traditionally been difficult to attain. Similarities can be seen between the way nuclear is perceived today and how perceptions of the European Union were utilized to great effect in the British referendum on membership. Understanding of the real issues, targeting the right sections of the public and use of secondary messaging all combined to win a referendum for a side that was given very little hope of victory. A referendum type question on nuclear power would be similarly divisive with large supporter bases against the technology. Therefore, these lessons must be understood if the nuclear industry is to continue to grow and thrive in the modern and future low carbon economies.

scholarly journals Ghana’s Nuclear Power and Its Role in Climate Change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M.A. Dawood ◽  
Emmanuel O. Darko ◽  
Eric T. Glover
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Atomic Energy Commission ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Source Power ◽  
Energy Mix ◽  
The Government

Abstract The Ghana Nuclear Power Agenda is a programme laid out by the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission in collaboration with the government of Ghana to guide and facilitate the installation of Ghana’s first ever nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant is expected to generate between 1000 and 12800 MW of electricity from its very first and final installations in a span of 20 years. Ghana's Third National Communication (TNC) Report to the UNFCCC indicates 59 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO2e) emission in 2011. Between 1991 and 2011, Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions grew by 20% as energy intensity of the economy rose alongside with a growing demand in industry, transport and households. If nothing is done to curtail GHG emission from fossil-source power plants, the looming catastrophe of the changing climate will occur faster than we imagine. On the basis of this, advocacy for nuclear power has been intensified in Ghana. Nuclear power is not only environmentally friendly (zero-to-low carbon emission), it is efficient and sustainable source of energy. It offers current and future energy needs without burdening future generations with a broken environment. Using Monte Carlo’s model, the current study estimates a cumulative increase (35%) in CO2 emission between 2016 and 2026 without nuclear power in Ghana’s energy mix. With the inclusion of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix by 2029, the model estimates CO2 emission cut by 12.5% between 2029 and 2039. Thus, given the same period of time, the rate of emission of CO2 was found to be more than twice its reduction.

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