Prospects of and requirements for nuclear power as a contributor toward managing greenhouse gases
The world`s population, energy demand, and rate of carbon emissions are increasing, but the rates of increase are uncertain. Even modest growth rates present significant challenges to existing and developing technologies for reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions while meeting growing energy demands. Nuclear power is currently the most developed alternative to fossil fuel combustion and is one of the options for meeting these challenges. However, there remain significant technical, economic and institutional barriers inhibiting growth of nuclear capacity in the U.S. and slowing implementation worldwide. In the near-term, the major barriers to nuclear power, especially in the U.S., appear to be economic and institutional, with the risks such as safety, waste management and proliferation having reasonably acceptable limits considering the current installed capacity. Future growth of nuclear power, however, may well hinge on continuous evolutionary and perhaps revolutionary reduction of these risks such that the overall risk of nuclear power, aggregated over the entire installed capacity, remains at or below today`s risks.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 620999
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-128675; CONF-9710142-; ON: DE98051348; TRN: 98:006879
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International conference on environment and nuclear energy, Washington, DC (United States), 27-29 Oct 1997; Other Information: PBD: 23 Oct 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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