NUCLEAR FUEL AND COST
Introduction
The nuclear power is a methodology for electricity generation, the challenge associated with the development of atomic energy include safety issues and the high cost of production. The environmental problems associated with nuclear power are subject to security risks because fissile products can be utilized to manufacture highly destructive weapons. Uranium fuel in a different context can be harmful or constructive.
Nuclear power exploitation has emanated from the high cost of natural gas, enhanced operations of reactors and restricting of coal emissions. Operations cost and maintenance expenditure including fuel have dropped without the inclusion of capital cost (Miller, G., & Spoolman, S., 2016). The estimated value of creating nuclear facilities compared to coal ones is approximately $1370 per kilowatt. The long-time use of atomic power as a source of electricity relies on the decisions from the policymakers pertaining CO2 constraints which when implemented will make nuclear enjoy costing merit over other fuel options as resources for generating electricity.
The cycle cost of nuclear fuel is affected by the mean associated with the unit and standard deviation which includes possible uncertainty. Analysis of unit cost sensitivity of the atomic cycle related to fuel indicates that uranium price per unit is a determining factor in the cost of nuclear fuel cycle cost (ANNENBERG LEARNER, 2016). Power from nuclear energy is competitive compared with other types of electricity generation except for the case where there is the presence of direct access to low price fossil oriented fuels.
The cost of fuel used by nuclear plants is a small part of the overall generating cost, even though the capital cost is more significant than coal or gas facilities. Development of incentives which are long period oriented, (Miller, G., & Spoolman, S., 2016) more substantial capital investment in the unpredictable market which is influenced by short-term signals for prices put forward an obstacle in developing diversified and dependable electricity sourcing system. Generally, nuclear plants are costly regarding development but cheap to maintain.
Reference
Miller, G., & Spoolman, S. (2016). Living in the environment 19th Edition: principles, connections, and solutions. Nelson Education.
[ANNENBERG LEARNER]. (2016). The Habitable Planet-Energy Challenges-Unit 10 [Video File].
Retrieved from https://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=10&secNum=1