When compared to solar, wind, and fossil fuels, is nuclear energy the cleanest source of energy?

[Nithavela]

Wind and solar energy can be stored through various means. For example, the energy can be used to turn water into hydrogen. That hydrogen can then be stored and used up as needed.

 

[FireDragon76]

There are solutions to the safe storage of nuclear waste but the problem is NIMBY ---- Not In My Back Yard. In addition highly efficient industrial scale batteries are in development.

Recycling nuclear fuel is one option, of course.

Generally, nuclear disasters aren't that bad for the environment. The environment in Japan and Ukraine has actually improved after their nuclear disasters, as humans leave the area. The radiation hasn't significantly effected the environment in the long term. Some people even live within the exclusion zone near Chernobyl without any seeming ill health effects.

Most of the hysteria against nuclear power is due to movies like Godzilla, fears about military nuclear programs, and to general scientific illiteracy in developed nations. France is one of the few western countries where nuclear power remains a cornerstone of national self-interest, as much of their power comes from nuclear energy.

 

[JackRT]

Recycling nuclear fuel is one option, of course.

Generally, nuclear disasters aren't that bad for the environment. The environment in Japan and Ukraine has actually improved after their nuclear disasters, as humans leave the area. The radiation hasn't significantly effected the environment in the long term. Some people even live within the exclusion zone near Chernobyl without any seeming ill health effects.

Most of the hysteria against nuclear power is due to movies like Godzilla, fears about military nuclear programs, and to general scientific illiteracy in developed nations. France is one of the few western countries where nuclear power remains a cornerstone of national self-interest, as much of their power comes from nuclear energy.

Agreed! For nations like Japan that are not blessed with an abundance of resources it is the only viable option. I think Germany is foolish to decommission their nuclear plants.

 

[Nithavela]

Agreed! For nations like Japan that are not blessed with an abundance of resources it is the only viable option. I think Germany is foolish to decommission their nuclear plants.

Nah, we're good. We're already producing 50% of our electricity through renewable means, and there is a lot of room for growth.

If anything, germans are stupid for not embracing more renewable energy. Every time someone wants to build a wind turbine, there's a Bürgerinitiative against it.

 

[Kalevalatar]

I think this is a great time to be alive. Seriously, I do believe that energy-wise, we are at the break of a new era, of whole new energy technologies, and I think that is quite exciting. Also, quite exciting to bet your modest little money on the emerging future energy technologies and see what bait bites, so to speak. Anyone else?

 

[FireDragon76]

Uranium mining is not clean and environmentally friendly and the spent nuclear fuel waste is a nightmare.

I dig geothermal ground source heat wells. It's clean, on-site so no need for fuel and infrastructure heavy transportation, reliable and and not dependent on weather conditions, and you get good thermal efficiency rates.

This is an option for colder countries that are sparsely populated, but billions of people live in hot tropical areas and I am not sure how it would benefit them.

 

[Kalevalatar]

This is an option for colder countries that are sparsely populated, but billions of people live in hot tropical areas and I am not sure how it would benefit them.

Hah, a doubting Thomas!

In the EU, heating accounts for 60-70% of household energy consumption, so geothermal can make a huge difference and is making a huge difference. Geothermal wells can be "reversed" to act as heat sinks for cooling in tropical climates (and here in colder countries too), although I should think that you get more value for money, so to speak, in countries with four seasons as you can use your well for both heating (winter) and cooling (summer).

When countries like Germany and France and metropolises like Paris are investing heavily in geothermal district heating on an industrial scale, the technology is clearly not just for sparsely populated places. The oldest city in Finland, Turku, is building geothermal heating & storage system smack in the middle of its market place in the heart of the city. Perhaps the fact that geothermal is big in the Nordic countries has more to do with the fact that the Nordic countries are the leaders in renewable clean energy than with population density...? We are talking about boreholes that take less space than water wells, after all.