Why Has Nuclear Power Been a Flop?

One of the biggest challenges for nuclear fission is economic: New plants take years to build and cost billions of dollars. A number of factors contribute to nuclear fission’s economic challenges, which have only increased over the past few decades. In addition to the obvious capital costs, onerous regulations stretch out the development times for ... See more

Additionally, the heat engines that fission power plants use to convert fission energy into electricity (i.e., heat produces steam which turns a turbine) are incredibly inefficient. Another challenge for nuclear fission is optics and government backing. Demand for nuclear power has been heavily impacted by nuclear accidents. Today, nuclear power ha... See more

It’s not just the current political climate leading to a renewed interest in nuclear power. The story of nuclear fission is one of decreasing physical size, increasing safety, and increasing efficiency.