Why is nuclear energy only 6 percent of the total shares of world energy sources?

Answer 1

Nuclear power has a more limited utility than coal, oil, and natural gas. It cannot be used for transportation, except in large ships. It cannot be used in urban environments because of safety considerations, and so cannot be used directly for heating. In effect, nuclear is used only for electrical generation, which is about a third of our energy needs.

Nuclear plants are only about 30% to 40% efficient in converting their heat to electricity, they need to get rid of a lot of waste heat. So they are nearly always sited next to rivers, lakes, or the ocean, for cooling water. This limits their siting to only part of the land. Solar, hydro, wind, and geothermal all share the extent of this limitation, but are usually best sited in places where nuclear would be inappropriate. This means that these other forms of energy have their place, and, therefore, their percentages of total output.

Nuclear plants are the most expensive electrical generating facilities to build. In fact their payback time is a multiple of that of several other types of power, making them uneconomical. Furthermore, many of the costs of nuclear power have to be undertaken by government, and are therefore often not included in the data about cost to the consumer. One of these costs is government load guarantees, because without them, loans to the nuclear industry would not be attractive. Since there is no insurance industry organization that could cover the cost of a catastrophic failure, this is undertaken by governments - which means taxpayers. And since there is no clear way to deal with waste, this has to be dealt with by governments. Ultimately, all this makes nuclear power very expensive, so other power sources are more attractive.

Aside from economic considerations, there are several drawbacks to nuclear power. The potential for disaster makes it necessary to have evacuation preparedness. It also means there is constant political opposition to nuclear power. The carbon footprint of nuclear power is widely misreported, and therefore misunderstood; in reality, it is about ten to twenty times that of solar thermal, six to ten times that of wind, hydro, and geothermal, and three to five times that of solar photovoltaic. Nuclear fuel may last longer than oil, but will not last as long as coal or oil shale. And other technologies are being developed.

No other form of power has the potential for disaster than nuclear has. The Chernobyl disaster did damage to agriculture over a thousand miles away. This potential has to be considered whenever there is an alternative to nuclear power.

Answer 2

Nuclear energy makes up a small percentage of the total world energy sources due to high initial costs of building nuclear power plants, concerns about meltdowns and radioactive waste disposal, lengthy regulatory approval processes, and competition from cheaper fossil fuel alternatives. Additionally, the focus on renewable energy sources like solar and wind is increasing, diverting attention and investments away from nuclear power.