Collin Campbell Connor Flaherty Angie DiJohn Kelsey Francois

How nuclear power works. Uranium splits into two atoms making lots of heat (red) Heat is generated by the reactor (pink). Steam carries the heat to turbines (blue) Turbines take the energy from the steam and make electricity in a generator (yellow) Waste heat goes out to the cooling towers (teal)

Investment in Nuclear Power The Unites States has 208 nuclear reactors. 104 are commercial power producing reactors (produce electricity for homes and businesses) Commercial reactors are profitable, earing billions of dollars for companies. The United States has not built a new nuclear reactor in 50 years. The Energy Department is encouraging companies to build new nuclear reactors. It has designated $22.5 billion to help companies with costs. Several new nuclear reactors are now starting to be built.

Scientific Advancements All though the US has not built a new nuclear reactors in 50 years technology and design advancements have been going on non-stop. Also the existing 104 reactors have been improved a lot over the decades. Future nuclear reactors will be safer and have lower environmental impact than those built in the 1960s and 70s. Nuclear reactors are very efficient. Most are over 40 percent Some nuclear reactor designs could even be passively safe, which means no matter what they keep themselves cool and wont melt down. Some designs also can use waste heat to help factories operate, increasing their overall efficiency to all most 50 percent.

Plants in NY In New York there are six nuclear power plants, Ginna Nuclear Generating Station, Indian Point Energy Center, James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, Kintigh Generating Station and Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station. Indian point has had operating difficulties and leaked small amount of radioactive water. New York State is trying to shut Indian point down, because it is near New York City and unsafe. No new plants are being built in New York.

Electricity Generated As of July 27 th 2012, in the United States there were 65 nuclear power plants with 104 operating nuclear reactors that generated a total of 790 billion kilowatt-hours. The average nuclear power plant in the United States generates 1000 mega watts of electric power, and about 12.2 billion kilowatt hours over their lifetimes.

Why Is Nuclear Power Better Than Other Energy Sources? Doesn’t release huge amounts of radioactivity into the air like coal. Doesn’t require expensive air pollution controls like coal. Doesn’t cause acid rain and global warming like coal. Doesn’t have large price swings as gas and oil does. Gas and oil are very expensive for energy generation. Wind power needs three times the amount of installed generation to meet demand. Wind power is limited to windy areas. (wind doesn’t always blow) Wind power needs many towers and uses a small generator size. Sunshine is too weak, and solar cells are inefficient ( typically 10 percent). The sun does not always shine. And its weaker in the north and in winter. Geothermal energy is limited to areas with favorable geologic conditions Biomass fuel energy is promising but very new. It likely has green house gas issues similar to oil and gas. Tidal is also promising but in very few locations, and may have adverse effects on ocean life. Nuclear fuel is inexpensive and easy to transport. Nuclear power is efficient, and a plant can run for 50 or more years. Nuclear power does not pollute the air or cause global warming. If designed and run properly, nuclear power is safe and reliable.

Is Nuclear Power Really Safe? Three nuclear reactors have melted down. – Three mile island: a small leak confused operators. No one died – Chernobyl: did not have a containment building. Operators failed to follow procedures. Many died. – Fukushima: tsunami was 30 feet higher than any prior tsunami. Emergency systems failed. No one died. Nuclear reactors are carefully designed to be safe. Hundreds of reactors have operated safely for decades. Future reactors may be passively safe. If fusion reactors become viable, they are extremely safe, because they don’t produce radioactivity.

More Pros of Nuclear Power Nuclear power is considered carbon free and produces more electricity than solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and tidal energy Nuclear power produces more energy than coal at cheaper costs. Nuclear power plants are safer than coal plants. ( many people die in the coal industry). Nuclear power is now the largest source of energy production, that is free of greenhouse gas emissions. About 20 percent of the nations electricity is produced in the country’s 104 nuclear power plants. Two thousand tons of solid waste is generated by nuclear power plants in the United States each year. While there is one hundred million tons of sludge and ash generated by coal plants.

Cons of Nuclear Power There is no permanent storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. Melt downs, although very unlikely, can ruin land around reactor plants.