Environmental protection and climate change are important items on the political agenda. Generating energy is a big part of this. In general, most people agree that something needs to change. After all, we cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels. But when the subject of nuclear energy comes up, opinions are sharply divided. In 2019, it is not yet clear whether there is room for nuclear power stations in an environmentally friendly future vision of the Netherlands.
Contents
- What is nuclear energy?
- Benefits of nuclear energy
- Disadvantages of nuclear energy
- Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters
- The future of nuclear energy
What is nuclear energy?
Although almost everyone has an opinion about it, most people have no idea what nuclear energy actually is. The discussion surrounding this method of energy generation is therefore largely conducted with unclear or even incorrect arguments. That is why experts often argue for more information about the process that takes place in a nuclear power plant. First of all, generating nuclear energy requires fuel. This fuel is Uranium, a radioactive metal that is also used for the production of nuclear weapons. Uranium is mined and then processed, enriched and pressed into bars. These rods are used in nuclear power plants to generate energy. This is done by splitting the nucleus of the uranium atom. This releases an enormous amount of energy, which is used to heat the water in the power plant. The steam that is created is then used to drive turbines. Finally, these turbines drive generators, which produce electricity. Radioactive waste is created during this entire process. Because this nuclear waste can remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years, it must be handled very carefully.
Benefits of nuclear energy
An important argument of proponents of nuclear energy is the fact that a nuclear power plant does not emit CO2. Nuclear energy is therefore perhaps one of the cleanest types of energy. In addition, uranium, the raw material required for nuclear energy, is relatively cheap and sufficiently available. Yet we only have one nuclear power plant in the Netherlands, namely the Borssele nuclear power plant in Zeeland. In 2019, this one power station accounts for about 3 percent of our total electricity production. A nuclear power plant takes up little space and produces about as much energy as 6,000 wind turbines. The climate goals that Europe set for the Netherlands in 2018 could easily be achieved with a few nuclear power plants. The enormous investment that is initially required for the construction of a power plant is also easily recouped during the time of use, provided that the power plant is not closed prematurely. In addition, nuclear power plants are becoming increasingly safe and efficient, and they produce little radioactive waste, which is completely harmless if handled correctly.
Disadvantages of nuclear energy
For many people, the word nuclear energy has a negative connotation. This is related to some events in history and some disadvantages that nuclear energy entails. Nuclear energy, for example, is strongly associated with nuclear weapons, because the required materials and knowledge of both production processes are similar. Anyone who can generate nuclear energy may also be able to build nuclear weapons. This is obviously a disturbing thought for many. Radioactive waste is also released when generating nuclear energy. This waste varies from low radioactive to highly radioactive. In some cases it can remain radioactive for up to 250,000 years. This waste can be hazardous if not handled carefully. The storage of waste is also a problem. In some cases it has to be hidden away for hundreds of thousands of years. Building a warehouse in a completely enclosed area where no earthquakes or other natural phenomena can cause problems is not an easy task. In addition, these storage areas will need to be maintained throughout their entire time of use. Perhaps the biggest problem with building nuclear power plants, however, is the cost. Building just one nuclear power plant already costs billions of euros. No company is willing to spend that much, especially since they aren’t sure the plant will be around long enough to cover the costs. In 2019, politics is still very divided over nuclear energy, and the risk that the plant will be closed again soon after construction is simply too great. The construction of a nuclear power plant therefore requires a government investment, which is difficult to realize due to the enormous divisions.
Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters
In the discussion surrounding nuclear energy, reference is regularly made to the nuclear disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima. These disasters have had a major impact and raised questions about the safety of nuclear energy. But how did these nuclear disasters actually occur?
Chernobyl
On April 26, 1986, a nuclear disaster occurred in the city of Chernobyl in the then Soviet Union, the estimated death toll of which varies greatly; from a few thousand according to the World Health Organization to more than a hundred thousand according to Greenpeace. The disaster was caused by an operator error during a test and could not be repaired in time due to a design error. A number of nuclear power plant employees were not properly trained and did not know what to do in an emergency. In addition, the plant was used for experiments and the production of weapons. Soviet authorities regularly allowed security measures to be ignored. With hindsight it can easily be assessed that the risk of an accident was relatively high and perhaps even could have been prevented.
Fukushima
Another nuclear disaster occurred on March 11, 2011. This time in the city of Ōkuma in Japan. When an earthquake occurred that day in northeastern Japan, the nuclear power plant was immediately shut down. The electricity network was damaged, and the emergency power no longer worked due to the tidal waves caused by the earthquake. The batteries that the power station could rely on in an emergency only worked for a few hours, after which the emergency power or the normal electricity network would normally take over again. However, this was not the case, and the nuclear power plant could no longer be cooled. This caused the reactor to overheat and the fuel elements to melt, which is also called a nuclear meltdown. The seawater was then used to cool the reactor, which limited further problems, although it did prevent the plant from being repaired. The nuclear disaster in Fukushima had no (direct) victims, although according to the police and the government of Fukushima, more than 1,500 people died from stress and diseases caused by the earthquake, the tidal waves and the nuclear disaster.
The future of nuclear energy
Countries such as China, Russia, the United States and France are involved in nuclear energy on a large scale. In these countries the government spends billions to finance the projects. Germany has the opposite situation. All nuclear power stations there will be closed by 2022 at the latest, and no new power stations will be built. In 2019, there are no clear plans regarding nuclear energy in the Netherlands. The divisions are simply too great, and compromise is hard to find. However, fossil fuels are excluded by almost every party, which means that the possible solutions are limited to nuclear energy, solar and wind energy and some other, less used alternatives such as hydrogen. Nuclear energy as well as solar and wind energy entail enormous costs. Nuclear power plants require a larger one-time investment, but solar panels and wind turbines cost more to maintain during use. The estimates vary enormously, and different agencies have difficulty reaching agreement, meaning that Dutch taxpayers can no longer see the forest for the trees. There are also other factors to consider. Placing wind farms in the North Sea can disrupt the entire ecosystem, including by removing the habitat for fish and emitting harmful sound vibrations. In addition, about 30 birds die per wind turbine every year. Thousands of new wind turbines could then have a major effect. All these factors should be included in the discussions. Ultimately, there are inevitable drawbacks to every option, and while the discussion can go on indefinitely, a decision must be made.