Uranium

Uranium
Uranium is already approximately 20% cheaper than coal. New reactor designs, such as CANDU reactors, promise to be approximately 60% of the price of regular uranium, or roughly half the price of coal. These reactors, in and of themselves, derive approximately 60-70% of their price from nothing but pure interest from bank loans. If that was removed, via low-interest loans by the government and the use of slightly enriched uranium, it could be an additional 3 times cheaper, or at least 6 times cheaper than coal. This by and large would be the cheapest electricity in the U.S., and so cheap in fact that carbon fiber or electric batteries could become on par with the price of automotive steel and it's engine, making electric cars possess roughly the same price as regular cars. These cars would not only be lighter weight and safer, but more fuel efficient, and allow for the use of electricity which would be, 6 times cheaper. This is in addition to other advanced technologies that consume large amounts of electricity in their production. On top of this Uranium is incredibly clean, producing little to no carbon emissions and it's nuclear waste can easily be stored and dealt with (contrary to some belief). By itself, it would be an ideal fuel source to meet America's energy need, and eventually, the world, getting them off of the use of fossil fuels.

Uranium currently comprises approximately 19-21% of the U.S.'s electricity generation per year, or around 8-9% of the U.S.'s total energy usage. [1] This is predominately powered by 104 U.S. nuclear uranium reactors, with a third of the power coming from just 10 of these reactors. [PDF][PDF]

There has never been a total melt down on U.S. soil, or in a U.S. military station.[4][5][6] Uranium produces little to no emissions (there may be some, for the initial power to get the plant running). substantial consistent power, and as of now there have been less fatalities and injuries with uranium usage world wide than coal, oil, or natural gas. The hazardous waste produced by Uranium can be easily isolated and relocated without much issue. Part of this comes from the unusable space that is naturally radioactive from the ambient uranium mined in parts of the world or at the nuclear facility itself in incredibly regulated airtight containers (where people are generally unable to live). Part of this is because the threat of Uranium waste has been exaggerated over the years, as Uranium fuel is only dangerous for about 50 years before cooling down to a much safer state. Thorium could also potentially reduce the price of nuclear waste clean up, by being polarized but substantially cheaper than the clay which is usually used to clean up nuclear waste.[1][2][3]


Costs
According to the U.S. department of energy's 2012 estimates, advanced nuclear reactors are predicted to cost approximately 112.7 dollars per megawatt hour, compared to advanced coal at around 112.2 dollars per megawatt hour, or 99.6 for current, conventional coal. This puts advanced nuclear (or new nuclear power plant costs) around the same cost as coal, per megawatt, or around 13% more expensive than current coal prices (although this may change in the future). Therefore it's costs are comparable to coal (unlike say solar costs, which could be approximately twice as expensive), although they are currently about 20% cheaper.

However, there are many potential ways to reduce costs. A large bulk of the cost of uranium comes from the cost of the reactor, the large down payment, and interest and insurance over time. Interest, on average makes up about 2/3rds of the cost; in some cases, the cost of interest can reach up to 70% of the cost of Uranium Power, and the return investment costs, that is large downpayments, typically make up 70-80% of the cost of nuclear power. [1][PDF] By using low-interest loans, such as those provided by the government, it would be theoretically possible to drop the price of Uranium by nearly two thirds or, make it 3 times cheaper. When coupled with the already low price of CANDU reactors, it is possible for Uranium reactors to be up to 6 times cheaper than coal, and potentially cheaper than that if smaller facilities and slightly enriched uranium was used.

Annually, roughly 6,000 tonnes of uranium are consumed in reactors by the U.S. [1][2][3]; the U.S. peaked uranium mining at roughly 16,000 tonnes in X year.[1][2] Uranium costs roughly 125 dollars per kilogram[1][2][3]; this means that for annual consumption, the fuel costs of Uranium are roughly 750 million to 2 billion dollars. Yet annually, from this uranium, the costs for uranium power was somewhere around 70 billion dollars.[1][2][3] The rest of the cost for uranium rests in processing, safety protocols, the breeding process, safe transportation, waste disposal, and various other costs, such as the large down payment for the reactors.

If the government provided cheap, low interest loans, not necessarily profitable for banks, but possible for the government, Uranium power could be substantially cheaper, not only more so than coal, but enough to make many energy intensive products significantly cheaper (such as carbon fiber or lithium ion). By reducing interests rates alone, uranium costs could be lowered by up to 70%, or over 2/3rds.

As a down payment, that, presumably, the uranium companies would repay, this would cost the government approximately X trillion dollars. Compared to the government bail outs of X and X, and the fact that these costs would be repaid, this issue seems manageable.

In return the government would have at least produced 3-6 times cheaper electricity, which in turn could produce more economical transportation, batteries, and many other benefits to society, potentially sparking a technological revolution. It as well, would at least reduce government spending by approximately without reducing coverage. It's easy to see that these benefits would be well worth the cost, and with the technology and capabilities well established, there are little issues present with the theoretical design. All that needs to be done is for government cooperation and bills to pass to support this.


Waste Reduction and Danger




CANDU and Advanced Reactors

Yeah!