Nuclear energy costs, safety concerns weighing down adoption - Yahoo Finance
Nuclear energy costs, safety concerns weighing down adoption
The United Nations Climate Change Conference — known as COP28 — adjourned earlier this week with nearly 200 countries in agreement of a pledge to transition away from fossil fuels, with some setting their eye on adopting nuclear energy as a renewable energy goal.
Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Rick Newman weighs in on this agreement and the challenges holding more widespread nuclear energy adoption back, including public safety concerns and the high costs, particularly in the US.
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Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.