Nuclear energy as a component of sustainable energy systems

Abstract

Achieving sustainable solutions to today's energy, environmental, and sustainable development problems requires long-term planning and actions. Energy issues are particularly prevalent at present and nuclear energy, despite the ongoing debate, appears to provide one component of an effective sustainable system. In this paper we investigate increasing the utilization efficiency of energy resources and reducing environmental emissions to achieve more sustainable development, focusing on utility-scale cogeneration and contributions of nuclear energy. A case study is presented for Ontario using the nuclear and fossil facilities of the main provincial electrical utilities. It is observed that implementation of utility-based cogeneration in Ontario can contribute to a sustainable future by reducing significantly annual and cumulative uranium and fossil fuel use and related emissions, providing economic benefits for the province and its electrical utilities, and allowing nuclear energy to be substituted for fossil fuels.