The global energy balance in the coming decades will be
impacted by the implementation of the recent Paris Agreement on climate change
as well as the gradual but steady development of the environmentally-friendly
power generation industry.
One of the main subjects considered at a major
international forum on nuclear power in Moscow, Russia was the role of nuclear
power in the generation of a reliable, economically predictable and
environmentally safe power source.
The ATOMEXPO 2016 Forum, which attracted participants
from over 50 countries, focused on “Nuclear Power as a Basis for Zero Carbon
Energy Balance” to create a foundation for the development of effective information
exchanges between state, private and public organizations, and to help scale
today’s best green economic practices.
“In recent years the nuclear power industry has
experienced fundamental changes; its influence on the international economy has
increased and fundamentally new technologies and innovative solutions aimed at
ensuring global environmental safety have been created,” said Sergey Kirienko,
General Director of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM).
Uranium-fuelled nuclear power is considered a clean and
efficient way of boiling water to make steam which drives turbine generators to
produce electricity.
A proven advantage of nuclear power is its
environmental friendliness – they do not emit harmful substances in the
atmosphere during their operation and are totally free of greenhouse gas
emission.
A properly managed nuclear facility does not directly
contribute to atmospheric climate change – no carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, mercury, or other toxic gases.
Uranium production, however, often evokes fear of exposure
to high levels of radiation which
could be deadly to human and animals.
A typical nuclear power plant generates 20 metric tons
of radioactive waste annually, which must be isolated, transported and stored
in remote locations for hundreds of years.
Safety and security in the development and management of
nuclear technologies therefore becomes the first priority because it is the
condition for the acceptance and development of nuclear energy.
“If safety cannot be guaranteed, then you should forget
about nuclear energy,” noted Mr. Kirienko, whist emphasizing ROSATOM’s responsibility
to guarantee the safety of its technologies.
“We need to develop an effective safety paradigm that
increases genuine public wellbeing by reducing emissions from polluting
sources, and ensures high nuclear safety standards are met,” said Agneta
Rising, General Director of World Nuclear Association.
Comparatively, coal-fired electric power plants emit
massive amounts of greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants to the
atmosphere daily – creates over 300,000 tons of waste ash and sludge each year.
Amidst the challenges posed by climate change to the
global ecosystem, interest in nuclear energy is growing because it is green
with long term economic benefits.
“If you look at the clean energies, nuclear is even
cleaner than the renewable – the most clean energy is hydro, followed by
nuclear if you talk about the greenhouse emissions,” says Professor Benjamin
Nyarko, Director General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC).
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