What role should nuclear power play in the world's energy future?

In recent months, nuclear power has received increasing attention in the global debate over the world's energy future, which has prompted a new look at and new thinking about this source of energy.

There are currently several hundred nuclear reactors operating around the world. Nuclear power generates approximately 15% of the world's electricity¹. The contribution of nuclear power to individual countries' electricity generation varies significantly, from more than 70% of France's electricity generation, to less than 5% in India, China and others². The debate, then, is not over whether or not the world should "go nuclear", but rather whether the world should rely on increasingly more nuclear power to satisfy its energy needs.

Supporters of nuclear power cite the benefits:

• Zero greenhouse gas emissions during generation
• Nuclear power reduces the world's dependence on oil (though less than 10% of global electricity generation uses oil as its fuel base)³, as well as natural gas
• Air quality improvements, as nuclear plants do not emit many of the pollutants that fossil fuel based plants emit
• The relatively low cost of nuclear fuel and operations
• The safety record of nuclear operations: over the last decade, experience with nuclear power plants prove they can be operated safely and reliably

Critics of nuclear power often cite the risks:

• Accidents such as Chernobyl are so dangerous to people, communities and natural resources that even one major incident is unacceptable
• Nuclear waste remains deadly for tens of thousands of years, and a proper long-term solution to its management has not yet been developed
• Nuclear plants pose an attractive target to terrorists, and even nuclear waste could be used against populations in the wrong hands
• The proliferation risks associated with civil nuclear programs are unacceptably high and could present a grave national security threat
• The economics of new nuclear generation are uncertain (primarily due to the very high - and often underestimated - cost of construction and operating liability which is uninsurable by private means), most often requiring government support to make new plants financially viable

So do the benefits outweigh the risks? Can the risks be sufficiently managed? And how do we balance local issues with the global concerns over energy security?

1. Nuclear Energy Institute -
   http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/nuclear_statistics/worldstatistics/
2. Nuclear Energy Institute -
   http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/nuclear_statistics/worldstatistics/
3. Energy Information Administration -
   http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/pdf/electricity.pdf (PDF, 132 KB)