Revisiting Nuclear Power

In an era defined by anxiety over global warming and the search for alternative fuel sources, nuclear power is rarely part of the conversation. It promises limitless power and a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Yet, it is by no means perfectly safe or “clean,” as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima remind us. Even so, thirty countries are operating 444 reactors, accounting for almost 11 percent of the world’s electricity production. The debate over nuclear energy is a fierce and emotional one, and arguments, agendas, assumptions, and factual information must be scrutinized meticulously and carefully. This volume allows readers to do just that as they begin to form their own opinions on the viability of nuclear power.

This book explores the topic of nuclear power in the United States. Nearly three decades after the most recent order was placed for a new nuclear power plant in the U.S., several utilities are now expressing interest in building a total of up to 30 new reactors. The renewed interest in nuclear power has resulted primarily from higher prices for natural gas, improved operation of existing reactors, and uncertainty about future restrictions on coal emissions. This book compares the cost of two-fuel cycle alternatives for the current generation of thermal reactors -- one alternative being direct disposal, and the other reprocessing. This book also includes analyses of the potential effect of the tax credit for nuclear power provided by the Energy Policy of 2005 and possible competitive effects of various proposals to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Under baseline assumptions, the cost of electricity from new nuclear power plants is likely to be higher than power generated by new coal- and natural gas-fired plants. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.

When people think about nuclear power, they typically identify with one of two binary positions: either they believe nuclear power is an important part of the solution to climate change, and favor its expansion; or they believe its risks far outweigh any benefits it may provide. Those in the latter group might picture vast areas of uninhabitable land, massive evacuations of people from their homes, or the famous three-eyed fish from The Simpsons. Those in the former might view nuclear power as an often overlooked clean energy source with enormous potential to perform in the midst of uncertain climate conditions, and critical in addressing impending catastrophic consequences of greenhouse gas emissions. Most people who are informed about the issue of climate change can agree that action is needed - at nearly inconceivable scale and speed. Reaching a consensus about the scientifically demonstrated need to rapidly remove carbon emissions from our energy generation took world governments longer than environmental leaders hoped, but eventually happened; now the challenge is tackling the remaining obstacles causing stagnation at global climate negotiations. Our aversion to nuclear power is one of these obstacles; this paper aims to show that including it in energy discussions once again is crucial not only but in our strategies for survival.

In 1989, South Africa made the momentous decision to abandon its nuclear weapons, making it the first and still the only country that has produced nuclear weapons and given them up. Over thirty years, the apartheid regime had created a remarkably sophisticated capability to build nuclear weapons-both the nuclear warhead and advanced military systems to deliver them. The program was born in secret and remained so until its end. The government initially sought to dismantle it in secret. It hoped to avoid any negative international consequences of possessing nuclear weapons. The apartheid government's strategy did not work, because too many intelligence agencies knew about South Africa's nuclear weapons. Faced with intense pressure, South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk reversed course and adopted a policy of transparency in 1993. However, he decided to hide many of its aspects. Nonetheless, most of the remaining secrets emerged over the ensuing 25 years. Revisiting South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Program draws on previously secret information to provide the first comprehensive, technically-oriented look at South Africa's nuclear weapons program; how it grew, evolved, and ended. It also finds lessons for today's nuclear proliferation cases.

This open access book discusses the eroding economics of nuclear power for electricity generation as well as technical, legal, and political acceptance issues. The use of nuclear power for electricity generation is still a heavily disputed issue. Aside from technical risks, safety issues, and the unsolved problem of nuclear waste disposal, the economic performance is currently a major barrier. In recent years, the costs have skyrocketed especially in the European countries and North America. At the same time, the costs of alternatives such as photovoltaics and wind power have significantly decreased. Contents History and Current Status of the World Nuclear Industry The Dramatic Decrease of the Economics of Nuclear Power Nuclear Policy in the EU The Legacy of Csernobyl and Fukushima Nuclear Waste and Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants Alternatives: Heading Towards Sustainable Electricity Systems Target Groups Researchers and students in the fields of political, economic and technical sciences Energy (policy) experts, nuclear energy experts and practitioners, economists, engineers, consultants, civil society organizations The Editors Prof. Dr. Reinhard Haas is University Professor of energy economics at the Institute of Energy Systems and Electric Drives at Technische Universität Wien, Austria. PD Dr. Lutz Mez is Associate Professor at the Department for Political and Social Sciences of Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. PD Dr. Amela Ajanovic is a senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives at Technische Universität Wien, Austria.--

More than half a century after the advent of the nuclear age, is the world approaching a tipping point that will unleash an epidemic of nuclear proliferation? Today many of the building blocks of a nuclear arsenal—scientific and engineering expertise, precision machine tools, software, design information—are more readily available than ever before. The nuclear pretensions of so-called rogue states and terrorist organizations are much discussed. But how firm is the resolve of those countries that historically have chosen to forswear nuclear weapons? A combination of changes in the international environment could set off a domino effect, with countries scrambling to develop nuclear weapons so as not to be left behind—or to develop nuclear "hedge" capacities that would allow them to build nuclear arsenals relatively quickly, if necessary. Th e Nuclear Tipping Point examines the factors, both domestic and transnational, that shape nuclear policy. The authors, distinguished scholars and foreign policy practitioners with extensive government experience, develop a framework for understanding why certain countries may originally have decided to renounce nuclear weapons—and pinpoint some more recent country-specific factors that could give them cause to reconsider. Case studies of eight long-term stalwarts of the nonproliferation regime—Egypt, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Syria, Turkey, and Taiwan—flesh out this framework and show how even these countries might be pushed over the edge of a nuclear tipping point. The authors offer prescriptions that would both prevent such countries from reconsidering their nuclear option and avert proliferation by others. The stakes are enormous and success is far from assured. To keep the tipping point beyond reach, the authors argue, the international community will have to act with unity, imagination, and strength, and Washington's leadership will be essential. Contributors include Leon Feurth, George Wash

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Drawn from presentations made at the Hoover Institution's October 2007 conference, this collection of essays examines the practical steps necessary to address the current security challenges of nuclear weapons and to move toward the Reykjavik goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons. The distinguished group of contributors includes former officials of the past six administrations—Republican and Democratic—along with senior scholar and scientific experts on nuclear issues.