The Pros And Cons Of Clean Energy

One of the biggest problems the current generation of Americans face is rapid climate change, and its impact on the environment. There’s no denying the fact that human are the leading cause of carbon emissions; a problem that must be fixed for the sake of future generations. Many believe clean energy is the answer, and seemingly always point toward solar or wind. While these forms of clean energy are very effective solution to the greater problem, nuclear power isn’t nearly as relevant topic of political discussion as it should be. A nuclear plant works very similar to a traditional plant except nuclear fission is used to create the steam rather than burning coal. Nuclear power has the ability to generate a high amount of energy from a single …show more content…
If generated by other fuel sources, it would require: Oil: 13.7 million barrels – 1 barrel yields 576 kWh, Coal: 3.4 million short tons – 1 ton yields 2,297 kWh, Natural Gas: 65.8 billion cubic feet – 100 cubic feet yields 12 kWh”. (NEI, 2016). This precisely exemplifies the energy density of a single nuclear energy plant. Imagine the adverse effects on the environment 13.7 million barrels of oil would have. The only carbon emissions produced by nuclear power is the transfer of resources, which is insignificant compared to the competition. The largest U.S nuclear plant, Palo Verde in Arizona generates a total of 3,937 megawatts. (NEI, 2016). In comparison a traditional onshore wind turbine has a capacity to supply energy to 1,500 households. (Fired, 2014, p.18). This means 480 wind turbines would have to be built to equal the power output of one nuclear energy …show more content…
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear plant that has been in operation since 1969. Oyster Creek has been providing reliable, clean energy to citizens of Ocean County, New Jersey for over 48 years. Both wind and solar power are resources that are dependent on the weather. Unfortunately, energy storage technology hasn’t caught up with our ability to create power. As a result the energy people use has (relatively speaking) just been generated. Hypothetically, if there’s a city dependent of solar and wind power, a cloudy day without wind proposes a gigantic problem. Nuclear power is only really dependent of nuclear fuel, which we have a lot of. “According to the NEA, identified uranium resources total 5.5 million metric tons, and an additional 10.5 million metric tons remain undiscovered—a roughly 230-year supply at today 's consumption rate in total.” With inevitable advancements in efficiency this number is certainly going to