Nuclear Power Use Needs to Increase if The USA is to Hit 2030 Target of Lowering The Carbon Footprint
There are mixed feeling around the world in regards to the use of nuclear power, but for the USA to improve their environment and meet the strict emissions targets for 2030, it is vital.
There are mixed feeling around the world in regards to the use of nuclear power, but for the USA to improve their environment and meet the strict emissions targets for 2030, it is vital. No other energy source is cost efficient and will help lower the carbon footprint as much as nuclear power.
Through the use of nuclear power, a zero carbon policy could be adopted worldwide. At the moment it is estimated that around 20 percent of all electricity generated in the USA is done through the use of nuclear power stations. That may seem like quite a substantial portion, but that figure is on the decline. But for us to achieve a healthier environment, we need nuclear power so need to turn this dying trend around.
Maybe the answer is not in any one energy source alone but in a combination of renewables that would be sufficient enough to promote a healthy living environment for us all. With the Clean Power Plan (CPP) policy now in force, the aim is to see a reduction of over 30 percent nationwide in carbon emissions by 2030, which will include the closing of many coal mining facilities and an increase of renewable energy sources appearing.
However, nuclear power does still require a certain level of investment in order to create new plants or just to maintain the existing ones. And, the cost of nuclear is slightly higher than that of the wind or solar power. But, it is a much more reliable source and for this reason is more profitable. Once we get the cost issue, it is just a case of reassuring the people that it is a safe method of generating electricity and one that we must do in order to survive.
We do need to embrace the nuclear power generation methods as a backup to running along other renewable energy sources to (or “intending to”) maintain a low carbon environment that is sustainable. Work has started commencing in the USA that intends to maintain and upgrade 78 reactors to extend their life by another 20 years. In doing this, costs are kept to a minimum and hopefully the savings can be passed on to the people.
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Daniel Okafor
Daniel Okafor is the Senior AI Reporter at TrendinTech, where he covers large language models, machine learning research and the practical use of artificial intelligence across business and government. He previously reported on artificial intelligence for MIT Technology Review, covering the labs behind the current generation of frontier models and the policy debates in Washington and Brussels. Daniel holds a Master of Science in Machine Learning from Carnegie Mellon University and follows the research community closely, attending NeurIPS and ICML each year to speak with the people behind the papers. He has a particular interest in evaluation: how models are benchmarked, where those benchmarks fail and what that means for the companies betting on them.
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