Nuclear Energy: Is it the future of clean power?

By: Kayla Penhasi

As the world races to cut carbon emissions, this raises the question of whether or not nuclear energy is a sustainable source of clean energy. Nuclear energy, in certain perspectives, is too large of a risk—and in others, is an entering solution to the urgent climate conversation. Statistics reveal that 2024 had the warmest temperatures since global surface temperature tracking began in the 1850s (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 2024). As the issue of climate change grows more serious by the day, the need for clean energy sources grows. 

Nuclear energy generates electricity without emitting fossil fuels. As a result, a large amount of carbon dioxide emissions is avoided by using nuclear energy. Statistics display that the cut down of carbon emissions from the year of 2020 was 471 million metric tons of emissions avoided, proving efficiency in conserving fossil fuels (The Nuclear Energy Institute, 2024). 

One of nuclear energy’s largest benefits is that its land footprint is small, requiring much less land than other energy sources to produce energy. 

“Wind farms require up to 360 times as much land area to produce the same amount of electricity as a nuclear energy facility, a Nuclear Energy Institute analysis has found,” the National Energy Institute said. “Solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities require up to 75 times the land area.” 

Additionally, since nuclear energy is dense, it produces minimal waste and is able to be recycled. There are numerous advanced reactor systems being supported for reactor technologies—some of which include the Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor, the Very High Temperature Reactor, and the Molten Salt Reactor (Office of Nuclear Energy, 2021). 

However, from perspectives in opposition to the rise in use of nuclear energy, the argument that nuclear energy is reusable is invalid in the United States. 

The United States does not recycle nuclear energy due to cost-effectiveness, as well as the concern of nuclear proliferation—the spread of nuclear weapons to countries not recognized as nuclear-weapon states, increasing risks of nuclear war. 

“Reprocessing spent fuel is a complicated and expensive process, but a major concern regards the risk of nuclear proliferation,” reporter R.C. Drews said, courtesy of Project Optimist. “For spent fuel to be recycled, it first needs to be transported. This could be across state lines or, in the example of Japan’s agreement with France, it could be international. Some experts argue time in transit is an opportunity for radioactive materials to be intercepted and repurposed into either a ‘dirty’ bomb or functioning nuclear weapons.”

Despite the concerns regarding nuclear energy, the United States aims to move forward with utilizing this power source, setting nuclear deployment targets. 

“The plan is to add 35 GW of new capacity by 2035 and achieve a sustained pace of 15 GW per year by 2040 to help keep us on track toward our ultimate goal,” the U.S. Department of Energy said. “The new framework is the first of its kind for our nuclear sector and identifies more than 30 actions the U.S. government can take, along with industry and power customers, to help expand our domestic capacity. The targets also align with last year’s historic pledges at COP to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 and to secure a nuclear fuel supply chain that’s free from Russian influence.”

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Works Cited

National Centers for Environmental Information. (2024). Annual 2024 Global Climate Report | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Noaa.gov. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202413

Nuclear Energy Institute. (2022, August). Annual Emissions Avoided by U.S. Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Energy Institute. https://www.nei.org/resources/statistics/old/emissions-avoided-by-us-nuclear-industry

Nuclear Energy Institute. (2015, July 9). Land Needs for Wind, Solar Dwarf Nuclear Plant’s Footprint. Nuclear Energy Institute. https://www.nei.org/news/2015/land-needs-for-wind-solar-dwarf-nuclear-plants

Office of Nuclear Energy. (2021, April 12). 3 Advanced Reactor Systems to Watch by 2030. Energy.gov. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/3-advanced-reactor-systems-watch-2030

Drews, R. C. (2024, February 21). Why the US doesn’t recycle spent nuclear fuel. Project Optimist. https://www.projectoptimist.us/why-us-doesnt-recycle-spent-nuclear-fuel/

U.S. Department of Energy. (2024). U.S. Sets Targets to Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity by 2050. Energy.gov. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/us-sets-targets-triple-nuclear-energy-capacity-2050

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Photo by the Department of Energy