How green is nuclear power?

Some call it a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels, but others point to significant environmental costs.

In Kansas, where winds blow strong, the push for clean energy includes not only new wind turbines but also new nuclear-power plants as part of a “carbon-free” solution to climate change.

It’s an idea that may be catching on. At least 11 new nuclear plants are in the design stage in nine states, including Virginia, Texas, and Florida, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute website.


But that carbon-free pitch has researchers asking anew: How carbon-free is nuclear power? And how cost-effective is it in the fight to slow global warming?

“Saying nuclear is carbon-free is not true,” says Uwe Fritsche, a researcher at the Oko Institut in Darmstadt, Germany, who has conducted a life-cycle analysis of the plants. “It’s less carbon-intensive than fossil fuel. But if you are honest, scientifically speaking, the truth is: There is no carbon-free energy. There’s no free lunch.”

Christian Science Monitor