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Primary Energy Consumption: Nuclear
Primary Energy Consumption: Nuclear
Primary Energy Consumption: Nuclear
These notes are intended to accompany the slide presentation entitled ‘Primary Energy Consumption:
Nuclear’ available from The Gaia Project at www.thegaiaproject.ca.
For more information, please contact brian.mccain@thegaiaproject.ca
OECD refers to the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development. OECD countries are
generally those countries that are considered to be developed (such as Canada, US, Europe, Australia,
Japan), while non‐OECD countries are developing nations (such as China, India, all of Africa).
Slide Number Description
1 Title
These slides show graphs of a variety of indicators related to primary energy both
regionally and globally.
Primary energy refers to energy that can be found naturally and has not been subject
to any sort of man‐made conversion process. Therefore, it includes energy sources
such as coal, wind and hydro, but not electricity since this is produced from primary
energy sources.
There are a large number of graphs contained in this package, and it is not essential to
understand each one in detail. Instead, when viewed together, they provide an overall
indication of where we were and where we are now in terms of energy consumption.
2 Nuclear
Nuclear energy can be obtained from any element that undergoes radioactive decay.
In fact it is happening naturally all the time around us every day (background
radiation), but in order for it to be useful we have to use it a concentrated form.
Uranium isotopes are the main source of fuel used in nuclear reactors for energy
production. Unlike fossil fuels, they are not burned, but instead bombarded with
neutrons to set off a nuclear chain reaction that releases heat and light energy. Since
no carbon is being burned, no carbon dioxide is released in a nuclear reaction.
February 24, 2010 1 realistic environmentalism
www.thegaiaproject.ca
Slide Number Description
3 Annual Global Nuclear Energy Consumption
Nuclear energy is used almost exclusively for electricity production, and the graph
here shows almost the entire history of man‐made nuclear energy production on
Earth. The first commercial nuclear power plant wasn’t built until 1956 in the UK.
Nuclear was heralded as the future of energy, with electricity being ‘too cheap’ to
meter, and grew rapidly. However, public fear has resulted recently in many countries
cancelling their nuclear programs and new nuclear plants are hard to find in the
developed world.
4 Annual Global Nuclear Energy Consumption ‐ OECD versus Non‐OECD
Historically, much of the growth in nuclear energy has been in the developed world,
as we had the money and the knowledge to build nuclear plants. The technology was
withheld from many developing nations due to fear of nuclear weapons proliferation.
Today, the nuclear capacity installed in the developing world is largely being allowed
to decline. Old plants are closing and not being replaced by new ones. New plants are
being built rapidly in countries such as China and India, who see it as a secure source
of cheap, clean power.
5 Annual Regional Nuclear Energy Consumption
The vast majority of growth in nuclear energy consumption in the OECD has been in
Europe. France currently generates over 80% of their electricity from nuclear fuel;
however, you can see that the European segment has largely flattened off in recent
decades as countries have suspended building new nuclear reactors due to public
fears.
February 24, 2010 2 realistic environmentalism
www.thegaiaproject.ca