Electricity

About 1 billion consumers around the world depend on nuclear electricity for some of their power needs. Electricity is an important commodity, and as the world's population grows, the need for electricity will grow. World consumption of electricity is actually expected to double over the next 30 years! Electricity is used in industry, commerce, public transport and of course, in homes. Although many countries around the world are using nuclear energy to generate electricity, there are still about 2 billion people living in under-developed countries who have no electricity at all!

Pressurised Water Reactor

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Nuclear-generated electricity does not produce greenhouse gases like fossil fuel power stations. Fossil fuelled power stations contribute to air pollution and can be more costly to operate than nuclear-generated electricity that needs less source material. In fact, one kilogram of natural uranium yields about 20,000 times as much energy as the same amount of coal. France has managed to reduce its air pollution by a factor of five by generating 75% of its electricity from nuclear energy. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to all means of electricity production.

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Greater technical detail can be found on this topic by searching through the listed briefing papers and education resources at www.uic.com.au.