HWN Suggests

Nuclear Is Hot, for the Moment

For years, the nuclear-power industry has had a complaint: Why does nobody love us?

Nuclear has been, after all, the Atlas of carbon-free energy production, keeping the world hefted on its shoulders, year after year, with thousands of megawatt-hours of electricity that required burning no fossil fuels. Even today, nuclear plants generate more zero-carbon power worldwide than wind and solar do combined.

And yet it has been (as the complaint goes) ignored, hated, marginalized. Traditional environmentalists have trashed it, opposing new construction and warning of catastrophic accidents. As recently as 2017, the Sierra Club’s Nuclear Free campaign warned that nuclear energy…

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 100,000 years and counting: how do we tell future generations about highly radioactive nuclear waste repositories?

Nuclear power is routinely portrayed by proponents as the source of “limitless” amounts of carbon-free electricity. The rhetorical move from speaking about “renewable energy” to “fossil-free energy” is increasingly evident, and telling. Yet nuclear energy production requires managing what is known as “spent” nuclear fuel where major problems arise about how best to safeguard these waste materials into the future – especially should nuclear energy production increase. Short-term storage facilities have been in place for decades, but the question of their long-term deposition has caused intense political debates, with a number of projects being delayed or cancelled entirely.

Articles of Interest

Humans just generated nuclear energy akin to a star

A recent nuclear fusion experiment puts physicists one step closer to achieving ‘ignition,’ a promising development for new clean energy.

Is Nuclear Power Part of the Climate Solution?

Investing in the next generation of nuclear reactors could give the world an important tool for reducing carbon emissions.

Is There a Nuclear Option for Stopping Climate Change?

While renewable energy has made enormous strides in recent years, nuclear power still has distinct advantages.

Nuclear Power Can Save the World

Expanding the technology is the fastest way to slash greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize the economy.

The discreet charm of nuclear power

It makes fighting climate change a lot easier.

The World Needs Nuclear Power, And We Shouldn’t Be Afraid Of It

For many years, we have let fear, rather than facts, control the narrative over nuclear power. While the conventional story around nuclear power focuses on the few disasters that have occurred, nuclear’s track record tells a different story: one of unparalleled safety, successful waste management, and abundant, affordable, green energy. The world needs nuclear power now more than ever.

10 years after Fukushima, safety is still nuclear power’s greatest challenge

Many advocates argue that in light of the threat of climate change and the increasing need for carbon-free baseload electricity generation, nuclear power should play a role in the world’s future energy mix. Others call for abolishing nuclear power. But that may not be feasible in the foreseeable future.

A New Generation of Nuclear Reactors Could Hold the Key to a Green Future

Fission isn’t for the faint of heart. Building a working reactor—even a very small one—requires precise and painstaking efforts of both engineering and paper pushing. Regulations are understandably exhaustive. Fuel is hard to come by—they don’t sell uranium at the Gas-N-Sip.

America’s Nuclear Waste Has Nowhere to Go and More Is Coming

The Pentagon recently announced plans to up the production of plutonium pits, a core component of nuclear weapons.

Blogging the Periodic Table

As with all technologies, thorium power has its shortcomings. Building any nuclear plant is still very expensive, and our nuclear-power infrastructure has focused on uranium for 50 years, meaning a switch to breeder reactors would cost even more.

How nuclear power figures into a green energy future

Well, nuclear energy today is by far the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the United States. That's a fact. That's indisputable.

Is Nuclear Energy Renewable?

How familiar are you with nuclear energy? If the only time you think about nuclear power is in terms of Homer Simpson’s job or while scrolling through Netflix, then probably not very.

Is Nuclear Power Our Best Bet Against Climate Change?

Beyond carbon emissions and safety, the debate must also confront how the choices we make now constrain the kind of world we can build in the future.

Nuclear energy isn’t a safe bet in a warming world – here’s why

The overwhelming majority of nuclear power stations active today entered service long before the science of climate change was well-established. Two in five nuclear plants operate on the coast and at least 100 have been built just a few metres above sea level. Nuclear energy is, quite literally, on the frontline of climate change – and not in a good way.

Nuclear power has been top-down and hierarchical. These women want to change that.

A new women-led, progressive energy group will devote itself to nuclear policy.

One Reason Nuclear Power Has Been Overlooked

The perception of radiation risks is out of whack with the reality.

The case for nuclear power – despite the risks

Nuclear power is likely the least well-understood energy source in the United States. Just 99 nuclear power plants spread over 30 states provide one-fifth of America’s electricity. These plants have provided reliable, affordable and clean energy for decades. They also carry risk - to the public, to the environment and to the financial solvency of utilities.

The Next Atomic Age: Can Safe Nuclear Power Work for America?

In an Idaho desert lies the epicenter of American nuclear energy research. Among the relics of early reactor experiments there, the country's energy future is taking shape.

The real reason to fight nuclear power has nothing to do with health risks

There may come a day when next-generation nuclear reactors can prove their economic viability in the real world and not just on paper. But until they do so—and especially while the old generation of nuclear power is dying—it makes no sense to promote nuclear power.

Tiny Nuclear Reactors Are the Future of Energy

New nuclear reactor designs could bring far more widespread use and public acceptance of this powerful form of energy.

Why America abandoned nuclear power (and what we can learn from South Korea)

There's a simple, compelling argument that the world ought to be building many more nuclear power plants. We'll need vast amounts of carbon-free energy to stave off global warming. It's not at all clear that renewables can do the job alone. And nuclear is a proven technology, already providing 11 percent of electricity globally.

Why can’t we decide what to do about nuclear energy?

Build them up? Or tear them down?