Low pollution
Nuclear power releases the least amount of greenhouse gases compared to other types of energy. It has been determined that the number of greenhouse gases has decreased by almost half because of the prevalence in the utilization of nuclear power. Nuclear energy has the least effect on nature since it does not discharge any gases like methane and carbon dioxide, also known as the primary greenhouse gases. In addition, it does not impact water, land, or any other territories in a bad way.
Low cost
Nuclear energy is cost-competitive. The electricity that nuclear powers produce is very inexpensive, and so is the price of Uranium, which is the element that is used as a fuel for the power plants. Even though the price of setting up the nuclear power plants is relatively high, the expense of running them is considered low.
The average life of a nuclear reactor is between 40 to 60 years, depending on how often it is used and how it is being used.
When all these variables are unified, the expense of delivering power is low. Moreover, the price of power will not be affected if the cost of uranium increased. As you can see in table 1, generating electricity in nuclear reactors is cheaper in comparison to electricity generated from gas and coal.
Reliability
It is estimated that with the current rate of consumption of uranium, we will have enough Uranium for about 70 to 80 years. It is believed that the supply is going to last much longer than that of fossil fuels if they are used in the same capacity.
It is also possible to fuel nuclear power plants with other fuel types, other than Uranium so that we do not have to worry when Uranium can no longer be found. Thorium, the element that could be Uranium’s substitute, has lately been given an increased amount of attention. China, Russia, and India have planned to start using Thorium very soon to fuel their reactors.
Nuclear power plants provide a stable base load of energy. It can work together with renewable resources like wind and solar energy. The electricity production from the plants can be lowered when good wind and solar resources are available, and raised up when the demand is high.
As you can see in Table 2, the nuclear energy’s capacity factor, or how much of a power plant’s potential is actually being used, is the highest and is the only electricity source near 100%.
Efficient power source
Nuclear energy has high energy density compared to fossil fuels. The amount of fuel required by nuclear power plants is less than what is required by other power plants as the energy released by nuclear fission is greater than the amount of energy released by fossil fuel atoms. For example, one gram of Uranium produces about 8,000 times more electricity than one gram of coal. We can conclude that nuclear power plants produce more electricity than coal or natural gas plants when they are given the same amount of fuel.