A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors generating nuclear power.
As of 2005 there are 443 licensed nuclear power reactors in the world [1], of which 441 are currently operational [2]. Together they produce about 17% of the world's electric power.
Advantages of NPPs are:
- Essentially no greenhouse gas emissions - Does not produce air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, - sulfur dioxide, mercury, nitrogen oxides or particulates - The quantity of waste produced is small - Small number of accidents - Low fuel costs - Large fuel reserves - Ease of transport and stockpiling of fuel - Future designs may be small and modular (SSTAR, etc.)
Disadvantages are:
- Nuclear waste produced is dangerous for thousands of years - Consequences of an accident might be disastrous - Risk of nuclear proliferation associated with some designs - High capital costs - In the past long construction periods, imposing large finance costs and delaying return on investment - High maintenance costs - High cost of decommissioning plants - Current designs are all large-scale
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