Readers Support Renewables Over Carbon-Intensive Nuclear

In Alex Wilson’s editorial in the June 2007 issue [

EBN Vol. 16, No. 6], he was careful to point out that “the

heat source in nuclear power plants does not emit greenhouse gases” (my emphasis). This simplification distorts the true emissions picture, as shown in an analysis performed by Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen and Philip Smith of carbon dioxide (CO₂) production during the fuel production cycle and decommissioning of nuclear power plants. (The article, along with a rebuttal and response, can be found at www.stormsmith.nl.)

With fuel from the highest-grade soft uranium ores (1% uranium by mass), the amount of CO₂ emitted by fuel processing for operating a nuclear plant for 20 years and decommissioning the plant is the same as that emitted by operating a gas-fired power plant for seven years. As ores are depleted, and the percentage of uranium in them declines, the CO₂ emissions of fuel processing increase. Total CO₂ emissions from the nuclear plant will thus increase over time. When the available ore depletes to 0.01% uranium, the total emissions of the nuclear plant are about equivalent to those of operating a gas-fired plant over 20 years—about the safe useful life of a reactor. And ore quality is declining steadily and will decline faster if more nuclear plants are built. So nuclear plants are

not carbon neutral, by any considered analysis. When we reach the time when only the lowest grade ores are available, nuclear power becomes a “carbon loser” compared with natural-gas-fired generation.

Storm van Leeuwen and Smith, you, and I all reach the same conclusion—significant investment in efficiency and renewables is critical. But it is very important to dispel the myth that nuclear energy does not emit CO₂.

A further, perhaps more subtle, reason to avoid further nuclear power is the increased militarization of our society that is required to accompany the production, transport, use, storage, and disposal of such a highly dangerous material.

Andy Shapiro

Energy Balance, Inc.

Montpelier, Vermont

I strongly agree with Alex Wilson’s position on nuclear power. We have four reactors in Virginia, with plans in the works for building another reactor on the North Anna site, about 40 miles from Richmond.

This is a critical time in history. We must turn away from fossil fuels and nuclear power. Let’s go full force toward renewables and conservation.

Karl Bren, Founder

Green Visions Consulting

Richmond, Virginia