What place does nuclear power have in the energy transition?

2024-02-29 07:30:02

Fossil fuels have provided cheap, concentrated energy for regarding two centuries. But humanity is faced today with an energy challenge which consists, on the one hand of reducing its CO2 emissions, on the other hand of gradually replacing said fuels with sustainable and carbon-free energy sources, such as renewable energies. or nuclear power.

An extract of ” Energy analysis and outlook » par Christian NGO

The advantage of nuclear energy is to produce low-carbon electricity, continuously and at a competitive cost. However, this energy requires large investments (similar, moreover, per kilowatt installed, to other renewable energies) and fairly long implementation times. Mastering nuclear power also requires a high technological level, and requires the management of associated waste. In a certain number of countries, and particularly in Europe, it comes up once morest opposition from part of the populations concerned because of the risks attributed to it. The Fukushima accident in 2011 compounded these fears and contributed to strengthening safety measures, thereby increasing costs. For its part, thermonuclear fusion has been the subject of intense research with strong cooperation at the international level for decades. The new international ITER reactor, under construction in Cadarache near Aix-en-Provence, will advance knowledge of fusion plasma. But we are still far from an industrial application…

The compromises inherent to the energy transition

The energy transition aims to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and emit less CO₂ in the air. But the means implemented to achieve these objectives sometimes go once morest them. Thus, wind and solar power, which are intermittent energies, require complementary means that emit CO₂ to provide electricity when there is no wind or sun. There is no point in replacing a nuclear power plant, which does not emit CO₂ in operation, by wind turbines because the latter need additional thermal power plants in the absence of wind. On the other hand, if you have a coal-fired power plant, it is interesting as a first step to replace it with a natural gas power plant. Thus, we divide the CO emissions₂ by two. Then, we can add wind turbines or solar panels to limit the use of the gas plant.

More electricity will also be needed to recharge the batteries of plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles. These batteries will be used to smooth consumption and therefore reduce the means of production. We must always have a global approach to problems, particularly with regard to the environment. Thus, an electric vehicle does not emit CO₂ locally. It all depends on how we make electricity. In France, where only 10% is produced with fossil fuels, the quantity of CO₂ emitted is around 15 g/km (and probably less if the battery is recharged during off-peak hours). In a country producing its electricity entirely with coal-fired power plants, emissions would, however, be greater than 150 g of CO₂ per km, that is to say more than some thermal vehicles today.

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