Compare Nuclear and Wind Energy

Keywords: wind vs nuclear energy

At present, society is developing rapidly so mankind needs more electricity. Most countries are using the method of burning fossil fuels to make power to produce the materials which effects the environment because carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide are emitted. These gases can help to build the greenhouse effect and acid rain pollution, which will make the earth’s temperature warmer and the rain acidic. Therefore, mankind uses new ways to produce energy, such as, nuclear, wind and solar. In this essay, nuclear energy will be compared and contrasted with wind energy; both of them are energy for sustainable development, though the main differences are their location, environment and efficiency.

The similarity is that both nuclear energy and wind energy are will have a negative affect for environment, although both of them are not product bad for environment gas. According to Darvill (2010), the nuclear energy is produced by the large nuclei splitting to release energy. However, after nuclear fission, the nuclear power plant will produce some danger waste, when the radiation happening, Marples (1996) stated that Iodine-131, Cesium-137, and Strontium-90 were the most serious radioactive elements to be disseminated by the disaster at Chornobyl. The cases it was nuclear and pollution. For example, Marples (1996) reported that the famous nuclear leakage is the disaster at Chornobyl on the middle of ninety century which the contaminated areas include, approximately 20 percentage of the territory of Belarus, circa 8 percentage of Ukraine and about 0.5-1.0 percentage of the Russian Federation, altogether the total area is about the size of the Northern Ireland combined the state add of Kentucky or of Scotland. Besides that, wind energy is also harmful to the environment. Because wind power energy needs to build a high tower, put a large propeller on the top, the wind blow the propeller turn round. Furthermore the windmill can kill birds, Darvill (2012) show than migrating flocks tend like to dependent on strong wind move. However, the windmills also like to build in those areas. Therefore the species will be abatement or disappear to break the ecological balance, which is the same badly for environments. Both ways to make electricity are bad for environments.

One obvious difference is the geographical limitations of power generation. When a country found the new way to make energy, this is the most important thing they considered. Nuclear energy and wind power energy both have geographic limitations. Most nuclear power stations are built in coastal regions, because the nuclear power stations need to use the sea water as the coolant. If the stations were building inland, nuclear power station also can use the fresh water as the coolant, however the investment would be raised. The location of wind power is more important for generation, mankind would like to build a lot of these towers together, to set up a “wind farm” and produce more energy, before building the station, the most important part is to choose a place which has strong wind as “wind farm”. Duncan (2000) pointed out that the wind speed should be around in 25 meter per second to make sure that the wind turbines are working stably, it than mean the wind must strong and reliable. Such as Darvill (2010) showed that at the open plains, on the tops of hills and gaps in mountains. Therefore, wind energy cannot be used everywhere.

Another difference between nuclear energy and wind energy is efficiency. Nuclear power stations work as the fossil fuel burning stations, both of which are heating the water to make steam, that turn turbines and make electrical power. “One ton of uranium produces more energy than that produced by several million tons of coal or several million barrels of oil” (Thinkquest). Thus, the nuclear power energy is more efficiently than the fossil fuels when making power. However wind power energy is a kind of low efficiency energy. Duncan (2000) illustrated that both of from solar energy and wind power energy, the cost of produced electricity are substantial higher than for a heat power station, furthermore the generators are erratic since they require sunshine or wind to work. For example “Currently only 1 percentage of the state of California’s electricity supply comes from 17000 wind mills, with the equivalent output of one fossil-fuel plant” (Duncan, 2000). The efficiency is the obvious difference for nuclear energy and wind energy.

In conclusion, nuclear energy and wind power energy are both have different and similar property. The similarity is both of them are not product the bad for environment gas. The nuclear energy is high efficiency energy, it cost less source to make more energy; Even though, after fission, it would produce waste, which is dangerous the wash, it is danger. Furthermore, the wind energy is efficiency is too low and the geographical limitation is a big problem. In my opinion, the nuclear energy power can be the popular to use in future, because nuclear is more efficiency, the waste problem will with the social development to resolve.