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Environment
Powering nuclear power
August 1, 2016
| A version of this story appeared in
Volume 94, Issue 31
Jeff Johnson ends his article on the decommissioning of California’s last nuclear power plant, the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, with the following statement: “Nuclear power is carbon-free when generating electricity; however, it demands significant electricity, carbon-free or otherwise, when enriching uranium for fuel” (C&EN, June 27, page 15). This is true enough, and the energy required for uranium enrichment must be included in the energy budget for the life cycle of a nuclear power plant.
However, it is scarcely something unique to nuclear power. The corresponding energy cost of a solar electric plant would be the energy expended in the production of the solar cells used by the plant.
Evan Appelman
State College, Pa.
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