CLIMATE CHANGE COULD SINK NUCLEAR

Add another drawback to investing in nuclear plants besides where to put the waste and the risks of accidents, terrorist attacks and weapons proliferation.

Rising Sea Levels To Endanger Nuclear Future
Sam Kirtley, July 4, 2007 (321 Energy)

WHO
Decision makers: To nuclear or not to nuclear? That is a question.
a satelite image of a UK plant with sea level rise superimposed (click to enlarge and read caption describing flooding)

WHAT
To stop climate change, one strategy is more nuclear energy. But climate change will cause coastal inundation and interior drying. Sea level rise at the coasts will drwopn most nuclear facilities built near ocean, bay, lake and river coasts for access to the large amounts of water a nuclear facility requires. Drought inland will make water-intensive nuclear energy plants unworkable.

WHEN
Hypothetical, based on severe sea level rise predictions.

WHERE
The UK (19 nuclear reactors, 19-20% of its electricity):
- Hartlepool: drowns.
- Hunterson: drowns.
- Sizewell: partially submerged.
- Dungeness: lost at sea.
The US:
- Crystal River, Florida’s west coast: flood damage. A hurricane knocks it out.
- St Lucie, Florida’s east coast: drowns.
- Turkey Point, Southern Florida: drowns.
France (80% of its electricity is nuclear):
- Penly, Saint-Martin-en-Campagne, Seine-Maritime: submerged.
satellite image with superimposed hypothetical flood damage from climate change-caused sea level rise (click to enlarge)

Others:
- PWR nuclear reactor, Angra, Brazil: flood damage.
- PWR, Melkbosstrand, South Africa: one storm short of out of order.
- Tarapur BWR, Maharashtra, eastern India: drowned.

WHY
- Nuclear, coal, oil and gas power plants use water to create steam that turns a turbine to generate electricity. The steam is then cooled, condenses and the process is repeated. This requires large amounts of water for.
- When polar ice caps melt, sea levels will rise: facilities near the coast drown.
- With climate change, drought sets in: facilities inland have inadequate water supply to operate.
satellite image of a nuclear plant in India, completely submerged by sea level rise (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Author Kirtley: “This would be a devastating environmental, political, economical and most importantly humanitarian crisis.”
- Author Kirtley: “If we do not start planning and building the plants now, then we may be forced to rush the building in years to come, meaning they may be built in such a way or in such a place that the risk of an accident is dramatically increased.”