Nuclear Energy - CReality

Worldwide phase-out of nuclear energy by 2050

[deutscher Text hier...]

Theses on the current problems
1. 442 nuclear reactors were in operation in 31 countries in 2020.
2. 12 of the 54 new nuclear reactor construction projects worldwide were in China.
3. 6 units started operation in 2019 (3 in Russia, 2 in China, and 1 in South Korea).
4. Most reactors were built between 1968 and 1986 in Europe, the U.S., the then Soviet Union, and Japan.
5. In 2021, the following nuclear reactors were in operation and planned: in the U.S., 94 in operation and 2 under construction; in France, 56 in operation and 1 under construction; in China, 49 in operation and 17 under construction; in Russia, 38 in operation and 2 under construction; in Japan, 33 in operation; in India, 21 in operation and 6 under construction (see DW 2021 and statista 2021).

Ideas for possible solutions
-Immediate halt to all nuclear power plants planned or under construction worldwide
- Shutdown of at least 15 nuclear power plants per year worldwide
- Priority shutdown and dismantling of the oldest nuclear reactors
- Expansion and extension of hydroelectric power plants
- Construction of solar power plants in all sunny and sparsely populated areas of the world (e.g. desert areas, mountains)
- Construction and expansion of tidal power plants in the seas
- Expansion of wind energy in all windy and sparsely populated areas of the earth (e.g. desert areas, mountains)
- Expansion and renewal of all electricity distribution networks
- Promotion of local, decentralized and renewable energy production.

Discussion
The waste problem of nuclear power plants remains unresolved. In Chernobyl, there is a concrete sarcophagus that has to be renewed every few dozen years - in other words, a permanent construction site for generations to come. And on the site of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, there are now more than 1.2 million tons of radioactively contaminated water - and because groundwater is still flowing into the damaged reactors, more radioactive water is being added all the time (cf. Speicher 2021:5). And these are only the consequences of accidents - in addition there are the "normal" radioactive wastes of the operating nuclear reactors, for which there are practically nowhere safe and long-term storage possibilities, which is why they are "temporarily stored" in many places on the nuclear power plant site.

Forum

Cited Literature
- DW
2021:Energie Atomkraft: Schleichendes Ende oder Renaissance? Link.
- Speicher, Christian
2021: Es gibt keine saubere Lösung für das kontaminierte Wasser von Fukushima. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung vom 17.4.2021. 5.
- Statista
2021:  Anzahl der betriebsfähigen Reaktoren in Kernkraftwerken weltweit nach Ländern im Juli 2020. Link.