Nuclear Power and Solar Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nuclear Power and Solar Power - Essay Example In a nuclear power station, the element uranium is applied in the process of producing nuclear power. The process of producing nuclear energy takes place in a nuclear reactor. In the nuclear reactor, the fuel used is uranium rods, and through nuclear fission, heat is generated. Heat in the nuclear core is generated when neutrons split in half after shattering into nucleus of the uranium atoms. Thereafter, water is passed through the heat, and as a result, steam, which drives turbines, is produced. Generators, connected to these turbines produce electricity (Petersons 23). It is also possible to produce nuclear energy via fusion. Fusion generally utilizes tritium or deuterium as a fuel, while recent advances have seen boron and lithium used. This process is, however , is expensive and complex thus has yet to be utilized commercially. Spent nuclear fuel can be assimilated into fuels of mixed oxides, and this is done in large scale, in France and Britain (Petersons 34). However, France, the most efficient of the assimilators, only reprocesses 28% of fuel used yearly. In a solar plant, sunlight is converted to electric energy via PV or CSP. CSP or concentrated solar power utilizes lenses and systems for tracking in order to focus large sunlight areas into smaller beams (Petersons 52). PV or Photovoltaics utilize Photoelectric effect to convert sunlight into energy, which is electricity. Commercial CSP plants were established commercially in the 1980s (Petersons 54). PV has been utilized since the 1860,s after fears on the â€Å"foreseeable† shortage of coal. Rationally, the facts are stacked in favor of solar energy. Recent studies by NC WARN show that costs related to nuclear energy are going up with the most recent estimate being 20 ¢$/kwh, while costs related to solar energy are going down, recently estimated at 15.9 ¢/kwh, before transmission charges at the site (Petersons