Mit-Nuclear Energy-2009 Essay

Submitted By peach1012
Words: 4930
Pages: 20
Open Document
Update of the mit 2003

Future of nuclear power
PROFESSOR JOHN M. DEUTCH
Institute Professor Department of Chemistry

DR. CHARLES W. FORSBERG
Executive Director, MIT Nuclear Fuel Cycle Study Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering

PROFESSOR ANDREW C. KADAK
Professor of the Practice Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering

PROFESSOR MUJID S. KAZIMI
TEPCO Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Director, Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems

PROFESSOR ERNEST J. MONIZ
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems Director, MIT Energy Initiative

DR. JOHN E. PARSONS
Executive Director, MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research Sloan School of Management Student Research Assistants:

DU, YANGBO and LARA PIERPOINT

Copyright © 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

Update of the MIT 2003 Future of Nuclear Power Study
In 2003 a group of MIT faculty issued a study on The Future of Nuclear Power.1 The study was motivated by growing concern about global warming and the urgency of developing and deploying electricity generating technologies that do not emit CO2 or other greenhouse gases (GHG). The study addressed the steps needed in the near term in order to enable nuclear power to be a viable marketplace option at a time and at a scale that could materially mitigate climate change risks. In this context, the study explicitly assessed the challenges of a scenario in which nuclear power capacity expands from approximately 100 GWe in the United States in 2000 to 300 GWe at mid-century (from 340 to 1000 GWe globally), thereby enabling an increase in nuclear power’s approximately 20% share of U.S. electricity generation to about 30% (from 16% to 20% globally). The important challenges examined were (1) cost, (2) safety, (3) waste management, and (4) proliferation risk. In addition, the report examined technology opportunities and needs, and offered recommendations for research, development, and demonstration. The 2003 MIT study on The Future of Nuclear Power, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, has had a significant impact on the public debate both in the United States and abroad and the study has influenced both legislation by the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) nuclear energy R&D program.
1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Future of Nuclear Power: an Interdisciplinary Study (2003). Available at: http://web.mit.edu/ nuclearpower/

This report presents an update on the 2003 study. Almost six years have passed since the report was issued, a new administration in Washington is formulating its energy policy, and, most importantly, concern about the energy future remains high. We review what has changed from 2003 to today with respect to the challenges facing nuclear power mentioned above. A second purpose of this Update is to provide context for a new MIT study, currently underway, on The Future of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, which will examine the pros and cons of alternative fuel cycle strategies, the readiness of the technologies needed for them, and the implications for near-term policies.

Update of the MIT 2003 Future of Nuclear Power Study

3

Summary finding of changeS Since the 2003 report Concern with avoiding the adverse consequences of climate change has increased significantly in the past five years2. The United States has not adopted a comprehensive climate change policy, although President Obama is pledged to do so. Nor has an agreement been reached with the emerging rapidly-growing economies such as China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico, about when and how they will adopt greenhouse gas emission constraints. With global greenhouse gas emissions projected to continue to increase, there is added urgency both to achieve greater energy efficiency and to pursue all measures to develop and deploy carbon free energy sources.

“The sober warning is that if
Show More

Related Documents: Mit-Nuclear Energy-2009 Essay

Alternative Energy: The Wind Energy Essay

Petroleum Poses Precarious Problems Presently The world’s energy crisis is here and it is a problem that will not go away unless action is taken to correct the damage that has been done. Facts only do justice to the predicament that has been caused by excessively using Earths natural resources. In the years before coal and fossil fuels being used as a primary resource of energy the Earth was in equilibrium and the thought of climate change was nonexistent. The world is responsible for consuming…

Words 2484 - Pages 10

Essay on Bric Analysis

Burges University of Ottawa By most objective metrics, Brazil is the least imposing of the ‘‘BRICs countries’’— less populous than China and India, slower-growing in recent years than China, India, or Russia, and the only member of the group lacking nuclear weapons. We argue that Brazil’s material capabilities are more significant than commonly supposed. Moreover, Brazil’s democratic transition in the mid-1980s, along with that of its neighbors, has for the first time enabled Brazil to…

Words 11120 - Pages 45

Heat Transfer Lab Report

Temperature represents the number of thermal energy accessible, whereas heat flow represents the movement of thermal energy from place to position. On a microscopic scale, thermal energy is expounded to the K.E. of molecules. The bigger a material's temperature, the bigger the thermal agitation of its constituent molecules (manifested each in linear motion and wave modes). It’s natural for regions containing bigger molecular K.E. to pass this energy to regions with less K.E. Several material properties…

Words 9618 - Pages 39

technology and ethics Essay

communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons. Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological…

Words 6502 - Pages 27

A Brief Note On The Islamic Republic Of Iran

Islamic Republic of Iran is a country rich in history, culture, scientific growth and economic opportunity. Despite sanctions imposed by western civilizations due to Iran's nuclear activity and resistance from more traditional leaders who oppose western cultural influences, Iran represents an opportunistic market for business and industry expansion. I.…

Words 5330 - Pages 22

Lien: Seti and Seti Institute Essay

SETI began in 1978 with his work at the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, the world’s biggest single-dish radio telescope. Today Horowitz, a physics professor by day, has become something of a figurehead for SETI. On Tuesday, he gave a lecture at the MIT Museum on SETI’s research as part of a series on life in the universe. He says he is constantly looking for new support. NASA had initially funded SETI, but the initiative is now completely private, dependent on prominent donors like the founders of…

Words 7110 - Pages 29