Nuclear energy has some distinct advantages in strengthening the external dimension of energy supply security. These include:
• Nuclear power plants produce electricity domestically. Their capital and labor inputs are also provided domestically. With more than 90% of its inputs in terms of value sourced domestically, it can be considered a largely domestic source of energy and electricity.
• Of course, a majority of OECD countries import part or all of their requirements of uranium plutonium. (more…)
Electric and gas utilities’ Research & Development activities deal nearly exclusively with energy conversion, distribution, and energy usage (at least to the extent that these firms still focus on these core businesses). Although detailed data on utility Research & Development are not collected systematically, it seems that Energy R&D spending by many utilities has declined during the past decade or so. For example, a 1996 survey by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) found that the combined Research & Development spending of the 112 largest operating utilities in the United States dropped from $708 million in 1993 to $476 million in 1996. (more…)
Geothermal energy is energy created by the heat of the Earth. Under the Earth’s crust lies a layer of thick, hot rock with occasional pockets of water. This water sometimes seeps up to the surface in the form of hot springs. Even where the water does not travel naturally to the Earth’s surface, it is sometimes possible to reach it by drilling. This hot water can be used as a virtually free source of renewable energy, either directly as hot water, steam, or heat or as a means of generating power. Geothermal energy as renewable energy is nonpolluting, inexpensive, and in most cases the sources is renewable. (more…)
Renewable energy sources cannot run out and causes so little damage to the environment that its use does not need to be restricted. No energy system based on mineral resources is renewable because, one day, the mineral deposits will be used up. This is true for fossil fuels and uranium. The debate about when a particular mineral resource will run out is irrelevant in this context. Renewable energy sources are replenished continuously.
Renewable energy sources—solar, wind, biomass (under specific conditions), and tides—are based directly or indirectly on solar energy. Hydroelectric power is not necessarily a renewable energy source because large-scale projects can cause ecological damage and irreversible consequences. Geothermal energy heat is renewable but must be used cautiously to guard against irreversible ecological effects. (more…)
