Guide: Is nuclear power considered renewable?

The short answer is no, as resources are used up in the generation of electricity.

Nuclear power relies on the fission of uranium or plutonium atoms to generate heat, which is then used to produce steam and generate electricity. While nuclear fuel sources like uranium are relatively abundant, they are not renewable in the sense that they are finite resources on Earth.

Additionally, mining and the processing of the raw materials also has an environmental impact but perhaps the biggest problem with nuclear power is what to do with the radioactive waste that is produced.

So nuclear power isn't the long-term answer to power generation?

This is where it gets more complicated as nuclear power could be considered a low-carbon energy source, given the very low amounts of carbon generated when producing electricity.

And nuclear fusion remains a tantalising prospect to solve future global power requirements.

Here's a breakdown of the nuclear fusion process:

1. Fuel: The fusion process typically involves isotopes of hydrogen, with deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen with one proton and one neutron) and tritium (an isotope of hydrogen with one proton and two neutrons) being the most commonly considered fuels due to their abundance and ease of fusion.
2. Fusion: Under extremely high temperatures and pressures, the nuclei of the hydrogen isotopes collide and fuse together to form helium, releasing a neutron and a large amount of energy in the form of kinetic energy.
3. Energy capture: The energy released during the fusion process is captured as heat, which can then be used to produce steam and drive turbines connected to generators, producing electricity.

The potential advantages of nuclear fusion as an energy source include:

• Abundant fuel supply: Deuterium can be extracted from water, and tritium can be produced from lithium, which are both abundant resources.
• High energy yield: Nuclear fusion has the potential to produce a large amount of energy from a relatively small amount of fuel.
• Reduced radioactive waste: Unlike nuclear fission, which produces long-lived radioactive waste, nuclear fusion produces only short-lived radioactive waste.

Despite the promising potential of nuclear fusion, it remains a challenging technology to develop and commercialise due to the extreme conditions required to initiate and sustain the nuclear fusion reaction, as well as the technical and engineering challenges associated with containing and controlling the plasma at such high temperatures and pressures.

However, the promise of nuclear fusion is such that the development of the technology continues at pace.

According to the World Nuclear Association, over 90 per cent of the waste created by nuclear technologies is successfully managed around the world using widely agreed disposal practices. However, storage and disposal is a costly and long-term activity with deep geological disposal now one of the most widely accepted forms of disposal, which simplistically means burying the waste deep underground in a way that doesn't allow any of the material to escape.

Suitable sites need to be in areas of very low geological activity and ideally with 'natural' protective barriers, such as clay or salt beds.

Some countries, notably USA and France, put great store in the dependable and long term energy nuclear power stations provide. In the United States alone 92 reactors are providing enough energy to cater for 20 per cent of the country's energy needs. While in France, they're even more dependent on Nuclear, with around 70 per cent of French energy provided by Nuclear, from 56 reactors.

Comparatively, the UK is far behind with around 15 per cent generated by Nuclear power from five locations and only one additional reactor currently being built - Hinkley Point C in Somerset, and not due to be operational until 2030. While over in Germany, the last reactor was switched off in April 2023, with safety given as the reason for the country moving away from Nuclear.

Energy generation across the globe is a complex business, with no one technology offering a definitive solution, we're likely to see Nuclear fission being used for generations to come.