What are the advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear energy to generate electricity?

Answer 1

Renewable power, that is wind, solar,tidal,wave, biomass, geothermal, hydro, is never likely to be able to make up the 20 percent of electricity generated at present in the US by nuclear. So if nuclear is not used, additional fossil fuel probably coal would have to be used. Which is preferable?

There are other questions in the answered list on the general advantages and disadvantages of nuclear fission power

Answer 2

The obvious advantage is the tremendous amount of energy that can be gleaned from a relatively small amount of fuel. The obvious disadvantage is the problem of safe disposal of the radioactive waste.

Answer 3

The advantages of nuclear power are, first that uranium fuel can substitute for fossil fuel, and the more different types of fuel we can use, the less dependent we are on any single type, and fossil fuel dependency is a political, economic, and environmental problem. Second, the use of fossil fuel has become increasingly a matter of concern because it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is a major cause of global warming. Third, as compared to such things as wind mills or solar power panels, nuclear power gives us a very compact source of large quantities of electric power; it does not require as much real estate as some other power sources. Disadvantages include the very large disadvantage that in the case of accidents such as Chernobyl or Fukushima, large amounts of very dangerous radioactive material are emitted into the surrounding region, causing many cases of cancer. Nuclear power produces nuclear waste, and we still do not have reliable enough storage or recycling procedures for such waste, which if it not handled well can also become a source of radioactive pollution and hence, a source of increased cancer rates. Nuclear power plants have the potential to be used to create fissionable material for use in nuclear weapons, and nuclear proliferation is a serious global political problem. It has also been the experience of the nuclear power industry, over the past half century, that nuclear power has turned out to be quite expensive.

Answer 4

The benefits or advantages of nuclear electric energy can be to reduce harmful emissions of sulfur dioxide and produce more energy in a short amount of time. The disadvantages of nuclear electric energy is that nuclear energy can produce significant amounts of radioactive wastes and people have a hard time deciding where to store the waste.