Nuclear
Columbia Generating Station is Washington State's only commercial nuclear power plant. Nuclear power may have significant potential to contribute to the energy needs of the future in a carbon-constrained world.
Nuclear energy currently supplies about 16% of the world's electricity. Under some scenarios of a carbon-constrained future, nuclear technology could expand to supply a third of all energy over the next century, supplying hydrogen fuel for transportation as well as electricity. In other scenarios, due to pessimistic assessments of competitive economics in the next few decades, a concern over reactor safety, nuclear wastes, or the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the technology is condemned to play a relatively minor role in the future. Nonetheless, nuclear power is one, among a very few large-scale energy sources, that produces no carbon emissions and one that could make a major contribution to atmospheric stabilization if it were further developed. The nuclear deep dive is designed to evaluate the potential for advanced nuclear systems to contribute to a carbon-free energy system within the context of world carbon and energy policies.
While there are clearly major challenges that need to be addressed, nuclear technology, particularly the advanced reactor and fuel system designs currently in the R&D stage, may provide alternatives for energy production in many parts of the world that also advance our ability to address climate change. A deeper analysis of the costs, benefits and technical feasibility of various new designs, in the context of the larger global energy system, is required to better understand the competitive role of nuclear as compared to other technology options. Understanding the cost and performance objectives and targets for these advanced systems, and integrating those into our broader economic and energy model, is required to evaluate the competitive position of nuclear energy in a future global energy system.