With growing concerns over environmental issues and global energy consumption, there is increasing interest in nuclear power generation, despite its diminished role in the West over the last few decades. Many of those involved with nuclear power and environmental agencies see controlled expansion of nuclear plants as the most environmentally friendly way of meeting growing energy demands.
Nuclear Renaissance: Technologies and Policies for the Future of Nuclear Power examines the future of nuclear power in the contexts of economics, environmental sustainability, and security of electricity supplies. A range of future technologies is considered, illustrating the technical challenges and opportunities facing nuclear power.
This semi-technical overview of modern technologies meets the growing interest from scientists, environmentalists, and governments in the potential expansion of nuclear power. Various countries are starting to announce plans for new nuclear plants, either to replace those being decommissioned or to provide additional power. Many commentators regard this renaissance as just beginning.
Nuclear Renaissance: Technologies and Policies for the Future of Nuclear Power is essential reading for physicists, engineers, policy-makers, researchers, energy analysts and graduate students in energy sciences, engineering and public policy.
"When it was announced that France had beaten Japan in the race to host the world's next big fusion lab, the news made headlines around the world a clear sign of the growing debate surrounding the future of nuclear power. [This book] is a welcome contribution to that debate. ... It reviews past, current and prospective nuclear technologies, but links them clearly to the wider topics of energy policy, climate change and energy supply. [A] useful book that will help the reader get up to speed on nuclear technology." - Physics World, Sept. 2005 "For anyone seeking to take an informed position in the debate on the role - if any - of nuclear power in meeting our future energy needs, it is hard to imagine a better starting point than this comprehensive, meticulously researched and thought-provoking book" A. Lee, The Engineer, February 2005 "Nuttall's intelligent policy overview deals succinctly with issues of nuclear safety, energy economics, and waste managementWide-ranging and technically grounded, Nuclear Renaissance offers a useful introduction to the newly revitalized debate over the role of nuclear power in the years to come." -Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July/August 2005 "a welcome addition to the literature on nuclearpower. [the author] provides an accurate and concise surveyof the important aspects of light- and heavy-water reactors, gas-cooled reactors, and liquid metal-cooled reactors. covers the full scope of the nuclear-power scene, from the hardware to national energy polcies Chapter 1 alone, which surveys the more important social and policy factors affecting nuclear power in the United States and Britain is worth the price of the book . The book is essential reading foranyone who is interested in the relationship between energy, society and environment." -- Nature "Nuttall's intelligent policy overview deals succinctly with issues of nuclear safety, energy economics, and waste managementWide-ranging and technically grounded, Nuclear Renaissance offers a useful introduction to the newly revitalized debate over the role of nuclear power in the years to come." -Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July/August 2005 This book is both timely and essential; Readers of Nuclear Renaissance: Technologies and Policies for the Future of Nuclear Power will be better qualified to look rationally at an issue which will soon have to be resolved. --Rt Hon. Brian Wilson MP "For anyone seeking to take an informed position in the debate on the role - if any - of nuclear power in meeting our future energy needs, it is hard to imagine a better starting point than this comprehensive, meticulously researched and thought-provoking book. Can the nuclear industry shake off its heritage and take its place as a safe, and even 'green' energy source? Nuttall looks at the current state of nuclear technology and a range of future options. He also examines its role in the wider context of power economics at a time when the UK and other advanced economies are wrestling with the challenge of maintaining secure, reliable energy supplies in an increasingly uncertain world" --A. Lee; The Engineer; Feb 2005
