Is nuclear power carbon-free?

Not according to Dr Uwe Fritsche, a researcher at the Öko Institut in Darmstadt, Germany, who says there's no such thing as carbon-free power.

A big 1,250 megawatt plant produces the equivalent of 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year during its life, he says. Its does better than coal- and gas-fired turbines but in reality, a lot of Co2 is produced in setting up the plant, mining the uranium ore it requires and in operating it.

So it seems that when its life-cycle cost of reducing Co2 emissions is compared with other energy alternatives, nuclear power may not fare as well in the global warming equation. There are suggestions that improving a nation's energy efficiency would produce far less Co2 than a new nuclear plant.


Source: Öko Institut

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