Complete industrial cycle
Romania is among the few states in the world that has a complete industrial cycle in this area, so the advantages of nuclear energy are huge.When they made the decision to develop nuclear energy in Romania, it was considered that Romania has energy resources for nuclear technology, situations suitable with low seismicity and cooling water.
Romania follows the development of an integrated nuclear cycle.The Nuclearelectrica SA National Society has taken over the Feldioara branch for the processing of uranium octoxide powder in uranium dioxide belonging to the National Uranium Company.Uranium dioxide is then delivered to the Pitești nuclear fuel factory belonging to the National Nuclear Actrica SA where the nuclear fuel pills are produced.
The pills are then included in zirconia, and further, the nuclear fuel beams reach the Cernavoda nuclear power plant.Such a beam stores the energy of 1,100 tons of coal.
High energy efficiency
One of the greatest advantages of nuclear energy is its extremely high energy density compared to fossil or renewable energy sources.A small amount of nuclear fuel can produce a much greater amount of energy than its fossil or renewable equivalents, which makes it an extremely effective and compact energy source.
Stability and reliability
Unlike renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind installations, which depend on weather conditions and can be intermittent, nuclear energy offers a constant and predictable energy source.It can provide electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of external conditions, which makes it extremely reliable and stable.
Energy independence
By using nuclear energy, countries can reduce dependence on imports of fossil fuels, which can improve national energy security and reduce vulnerability to global energy market fluctuations.This is an important consideration for countries that want to diversify their energy sources and strengthen their energy autonomy.
Economic development and new jobs
The nuclear industry requires a wide range of skills and specializations, from nuclear engineers and physicists to operating and maintenance staff.This can create well -paid jobs and stimulate economic growth in the regions where nuclear power plants are located.
Innovation support
The nuclear sector is at the border of many technological innovations, including the development of new types of reactors, such as small modular reactors (SMRS) and advanced fuel recycling technologies.Investments in research and development in this sector can lead to technological progress that benefit from other industries.
Avoid environmental problems created by the use of fossil fuel
One of the most important advantages of nuclear energy is the fact that it avoids the production of some of the environmental problems caused by fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas.These environmental issues exceed other human activities.The most commonly discussed issues include global warming, which represents the change of earth climate;acid rains, which represent the destruction of forests and kill the fish;air pollution, which represents the cause for the death of tens of thousands of people each year, by degrading the standard of living;The destructive effects of coal mining and oil spills that cause massive damage to the ecosystems.
- Global warming: The burning of fossil fuels produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, for example 3.7 tons in each tonne of burnt coal, and the carbon dioxide emits in the atmosphere retain the heat - which leads to heating the climate.The estimates regarding the increase of the temperature and the consequences of this fact are varied, but in the end the effects will be considerable.Agriculture is high-dependent climate and, consequently, it will be strongly affected, with rotations of crops.The forests will be subject to problems related to the increase of the fire potential.Finally, the melting of glaciers will lead to increased levels of the planetary ocean which will cause floods, massive damage as a result of the hurricanes, the penetration of salt water in the continental waters, which will harm the aquatic fauna, the contamination and insufficiency of drinking water in urban areas.The effects of changing the trajectory of winds, storms and rain will also be significant.
- Air pollution: If global warming causes economic disturbances, the acidic rain kills only trees and fish, air pollution kill people and cause diseases.A large volume of research was dedicated to understanding the mechanisms of pollution and identifying the main components, but success was limited.The effects of health pollution are known and attributed to chemical components such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, fine particles, hydrocarbons, ozone, volatile organic particles and toxic metals, but probably their combinations cause most diseases.
Fuel reserves
Another advantage of nuclear energy is the nature of the fuel used.Oil and gas are the main resources used for heating and transport and are difficult to replace in these sectors.The world reserves of oil and gas are in progress and will probably reach 50 years to the current consumption, and the costs will increase significantly as they are exhausted.
Coal can be used, in turn, to take over the duties of oil and gases, as well as coal reserves.Coal, oil and gases represent the raw material for the production of plastic and organic chemicals, without which the technological society in which we live would suffer.Thus, there are reasons why we preserve the existing resources.
Uranium, necessary for the production of nuclear fuel, has few auxiliary applications, and with "Breeder" reactors there is sufficient uranium resources to meet the needs of humanity for billions, without increasing the price of electricity by more than 1%.
Storage of radioactive waste
We have been bombarded over time with information about possible dangers of radioactive waste with long life from the activity of nuclear power plants.But these waste have the great advantage that they have a very small volume, which allows them to be easily stored in underground containers.
The results of some analyzes, presented in Table 1 indicate that the radioactive waste from the burning of coal is much more dangerous.These includes jerking substances such as beryl, cadmium, arsenic, nickel and chrome which, unlike radioactive waste, keep their properties permanently.
Uranium can also result from burning as an impurity of coal that is fixed on the surface of the soil and emits radiation uncontrollably.Unlike this, The nuclear industry consumes uranium, thus leading to avoiding radon exposure as a result of burning fossil fuels, as shown in table 1:
| Table 1 - possible number of deaths caused by waste resulting from 1000 MWh of energy | |
| Nuclear energy | |
| High radioactive waste | 0.018 |
| Radon emissions | -420 (avoided deaths) |
| Routine Emissions (CR, SE, S-14, H-3) | 0.3 |
| Poor radioactive level waste | 0.0004 |
| Coal | |
| Air pollution | 75 |
| Radon emissions | 30 |
| Carcinogenic substances | 70 |
| Solar energy | |
| Coal for manufacturing equipment | 3 |
| Cadmium sulphite (if used) | 80 |