The Advantages of Nuclear Power Generation

The advantages of nuclear power generationnuclear power station 5 image by Vitezslav Halamka from Fotolia.com

As the cost of energy production has increased and the availability of natural resources has decreased, nuclear power generation has become a more common alternative for energy production. According to the University of Michigan, nuclear energy is the second-largest source of electrical power in the United States. It has several advantages over other energy sources.

Reduced Air Pollution

Many power sources--such as coal, natural gas and oil--require burning the fuel source to generate electricity. Nuclear energy production does not involve any combustion, so harmful gases such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and other greenhouse gases are not released into the atmosphere. These gases can cause smog and acid rain, and are linked to global warming.

Nuclear power plants produce more energy in a smaller facility than any other power source. According to the Franklin Institute, a nuclear power plant can produce 1,900 megawatts of power in a 500-acre facility. One thousand megawatts of power production from a solar park would require 35,000 acres, and 1,000 megawatts at a wind farm would require at least 150,000 acres.

Because of the nuclear plant's smaller size, more open space can be preserved, and endangered species have been known to thrive near nuclear power facilities.

Oil is a fossil fuel and a limited resource. As oil reserves drop, the cost of oil increases. Using nuclear power not only reduces the rate at which oil is consumed, it also reduces the amount of money spent on oil. According to the University of Michigan, nuclear energy reduces the amount of oil imported to the United States each year by 20 million barrels.

The cost of generating nuclear power is stable. Uranium, which is the fuel for a nuclear power plant, is not subject to cost fluctuations caused by environmental conditions or the global economic climate. Due to the amount of power that can be generated at a nuclear power facility relative to other types of facilities, the production costs per kilowatt hour of energy produced are also decreased.

A nuclear power plant is among the safest places to work in the United States. According to the Franklin Institute, there were 0.26 accidents per 200,000 worker-hours in United States nuclear power plants in 2000. In 1998, the most recent year data was available, the accident rate for United States businesses as a whole was 3.1 per 200,000 worker-hours.

Radiation exposure from a nuclear power plant is minimal. The amount of radiation absorbed by a person from a single medical x-ray is the same as it would be if a person lived for 2,000 years next to a modern nuclear power plant.