Newsweek: Nuclear makes France leader in clean energy
Burton Richter writes for Newsweek about the example France has set in maintaining low levels of carbon emissions through the use of nuclear energy. Because France generates roughly 80% of its electricity from nuclear energy, the country produces only half of the carbon emissions per unit of GDP as the U.S.This performance helped France rank 10th out of 149 countries in Yale’s and Columbia’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The U.S. – which generates only 20% of our electricity from nuclear – trails France and many other economic competitors at 39th place. Switzerland tops the list and produces 40% of their electricity from nuclear. Nuclear energy also accounts for 42% of 3rd-ranking Sweden’s electricity and 30% of 5th-ranking Finland’s.
A 2008 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency found that “nuclear energy is virtually carbon-free.” Nuclear energy releases roughly the same small amount of carbon emissions as wind and solar power, but it is significantly less expensive, less land intensive, and far more efficient than wind and solar. The 2008 OECD report concluded that “nuclear energy is the only carbon-mitigating technology with a proven track record on the scale required” to generate base-load electricity supply.
Burton Richter reveals even greater rewards nuclear energy could potentially bring France in the future:
Nuclear power not only helps insulate France from wild fluctuations in energy prices, but it also suggests a way to reduce its dependence on oil for cars, trucks and buses: if and when plug-in hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are ready to replace today’s cars, French drivers will be able to tap clean energy from their electrical grid.”
