Energy Problems : Oil and Carbon Dioxide

of talk (see introduction to the articles, above): At present, nuclear fission reactors produce a sizeable fraction of the electricity in the developed world: nearly 20% in the US. and substantially greater fractions in many western European countries and in the most developed Asian countries. However. the construction of new nuclear power plants has stopped almost everywhere. with very few orders having been placed almost anywhere in the world in the last few years. This paper addresses the reasons for this near cessation in new construction; which reasons differ from country to country; the conditions that could in the future generate interest in further expansion of fission­ electric power; and activities now underway in various countries in this arena. The paper discusses both technical and institutional factors. Technical factors include (1) how safe the existing generation of plants are, based on recent analyses; (2) how safety improvements have embedded in several recent advanced designs, based on lessons learned from experience with current designs; and (3) how recent progress has improved the likelihood for a sound technical resolution of the high-level waste issue. Institutional factors include (1) how. and how well. nuclear safety is regulated in various countries; (2) how well the operating electric utilities mange the enterprise; and (3) the way the fmancial benefits (and costs) of nuclear fission power are treated, and the effect of this treatment on the future of nuclear power. While the paper will emphasize US experience. its perspective will attempt to be world-wide in scope.