Nuclear Power and Renewable Energy

Nuclear Power and Renewable Energy

Introduction

Even though that nuclear power is considered to be a low source of carbon power generation, the legal use of nuclear power along with renewable energy source is one of the main debates in UK's economical growth. The scientific as well as statutory use of the renewable energy often excludes the current technologies of nuclear energy. The renewable energy source can be diversified into renewable heat and renewable electricity generation.

Discussion

After the 1990s, renewable energy started to take part in the electricity generation of the United Kingdom, providing a little capacity for hydroelectric generation. The renewable energy was able to provide nearly 9.5 % of the generated electricity in UK in the year 2011 that was observed to be an electricity generation of 34.5 TWh. In the early 21st century the nuclear power plant contributed to a quarter of the annual generation of electricity within UK. However, this gradually decreased due to the closure of many old power plants as well as ageing related issues that were affecting the availability of the plants (Renewable, energy, 2013).

In the year 2011, 365 billion TWh of electricity was generated in United Kingdom. This consisted of 19 percent nuclear, 40 percent gas, 30 percent coal, 4 percent wind and the remaining was generated from hydroelectricity, wastes and bio-fuels. Based over the stats as well as the demand of renewable energy sources it can be observed how much the nuclear energy can assist in the generation of renewable energy. The initial figures in the year 2012 show that nuclear energy accounted for 21 percent of the electricity supplied. Mainly the share was divided by gas and coal which are at the highest level since the early 90s.

The electricity import from France in the year 2011 compromised of 6.2 billion KWh which is only 2 percent of the entire supply in the UK. Within the UK there are presently 16 operating reactors that cover a capacity of 10 GWe. The last reactor known as Magnos would shut down when its fuel would run out till September 2014. This would lead to 7 AGR and 1 PWR stations in the UK (WNA, 2013).

New nuclear policy and procedure

Originally it was intended that the reactor Sizewell B will be the initial of PWR reactors however this was abandoned in 1990. From them, the nuclear build question was ruled out till the year 2006, when an energy policy was reviewed to reverse the opposition of the government to the nuclear era. The government policy of UK has ever since been supporting the nuclear power plants that would be built and financed by private companies along with decommissioning costs as well as internalized waste based over the international industry norm. In order to implement nuclear strategies for renewable energy the government has started to support different measures (Preston, 2013).

Usage of nuclear energy as renewable energy source

Mainly, the renewable related to the harvesting of energy from the natural sources that are being renewed by the ...