Nuclear energy. an insider's view from the outside

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1979 · Chem. Eng. Prog.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6146747

Mason, E A

Only coal and nuclear fission are sufficiently advanced technologically and commercially to offer real opportunities for significantly increasing U.S. energy supply in the next 15-20 yr. To avoid drastic increases in oil imports, the consensus of projections for the year 2000 calls for about a sixfold increase in nuclear fission power from the present 3 quads/yr and a 2.5-3-fold increase in the burning and conversion of coal from its present level of 14 quads/yr. If realized, by the year 2000, this would result in approx. 275,000 additional Mw of nuclear capacity over and above the existing 51,000 Mw capacity in the U.S. This would be equivalent to 8-9 million bbl/day of oil or equal to the current oil import level. The advantages of nuclear energy over other forms of energy (lower total costs, its reliability as a source of energy in extremely cold winters, the lower environmental disturbance due to mining and transportation, its superiority from an environmental standpoint) and the availability of viable methods for storage and isolation of high-level nuclear wastes are discussed.

• Research Organization: Standard Oil Co. (Indiana)
• OSTI ID: 6146747
• Report Number(s): CONF-781110-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Chem. Eng. Prog.; (United States) Journal Volume: 75:5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290600* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
ENERGY
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY SUPPLIES
EVALUATION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
PLANNING
REACTOR MATERIALS