To be classified as sustainable, a practice must have environmental, social, and economic benefits. Will nuclear power prove to be a sustainable practice? Is nuclear energy the future? Let’s perform this analysis by looking at the facts of nuclear power.

What Exactly Is Nuclear Power?
Nuclear energy is released from the nuclei of atoms and can be harnessed as power. This can be done in either of two ways: fission or fusion. Fission is when the nucleus of an atom splits apart; fusion is when nuclei fuse together. While fusion has been experimented with by scientists, its prominent role in the universe is for the creation of stars.
Fission is how nuclear energy is turned into nuclear power. How this works is, an atom of uranium is hit by a neutron, splitting it apart. Each time this reaction happens energy in the form of heat or radiation is released. Uranium is used because its properties allow it to be easily split when it’s hit with neutrons—it also produces a lot of energy in the process. The heat that is released is used to boil water that spins turbines connected to generators, ultimately producing electricity.
What Are the Benefits of Nuclear Power?
Air quality
Nuclear energy is a zero-emission clean energy source. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the United States avoided more than 471 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 due to its use of nuclear energy. Additionally, nuclear power plants have reduced pollutants that have been linked to cardiovascular disease.
Land footprint is small
Nuclear power plants require minimal land area to function, which helps preserve natural resources and biodiversity. For example, a 1,000-megawatt plant needs around one square mile to operate, compared to wind farms, which require 360 times more than that to operate. This is a benefit of nuclear power over other sustainable power sources.
Economy
Each nuclear power plant can offer up to 1,000 jobs, which would greatly contribute to the economy on both a local and national scale. Additionally, each power plant generates substantial tax revenue, which would further contribute to local infrastructure development and education investment.
Reliability
Unlike other sustainable energy solutions, such as wind turbines and solar panels, which, while effective, rely on certain weather conditions, nuclear energy can work anytime. It doesn’t need windy or sunny days to be efficient.
What Are the Drawbacks of Nuclear Power?
Threats to national security
If a nuclear power plant is attacked, it would likely explode. This makes nuclear power plants potential targets of conflicts and terrorism. When they explode, there is a devastating impact on everyone in their vicinity—they have the potential to kill millions.
Additional risk factor
There have been two large-scale nuclear power plant incidents that were the result of the high-risk factor of explosion mentioned above. The first one was in Ukraine in 1986. A nuclear power plant exploded due to a surge in power during a test. The explosion caused negative health effects on the surrounding area. The other accident, in Japan, was more recent, in 2011. A tsunami bypassed a nuclear power plant’s safety mechanisms, which resulted in a substantial amount of harmful radiation again being released into the surrounding area.
Cost
Nuclear costs are on the rise, specifically for the initial investment, as well as maintenance costs. These costs are very high compared to other renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power.
Should Nuclear Power Be the Future?
Overall, nuclear power is a key factor in paving the way to a greener future, but due to the risks, it shouldn’t be the only source of power. Nuclear power’s reliability can complement that of wind and solar power, and all three should coexist moving forward. As for the costs, sources such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists believe that upfront costs will drop. The Bulletin has said that “those arguing from nuclear’s necessity or desirability were fairly confident that future costs will drop substantially, that construction can be expedited, and that safeguards can be developed and put in place to ensure public safety.”
Currently, Microsoft’s Bill Gates is working on a company called Terraplant, the purpose of which would be to develop nuclear power plants. Gates believes that “the next-generation nuclear power plant that TerraPower is building here will power the future of our nation—and the world. Everything we do runs on electricity: buildings, technology, and, increasingly, transportation. To meet our economic and climate goals, we need more abundant clean energy, not less.” As Gates mentioned, for the world to overcome the impacts of climate change, we must find ways to power the future, and nuclear power will have to be one of them.
References
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy. “Advantages and Challenges of Nuclear Energy.” Last modified 11 June 2024. Accessed 19 May 2025. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/advantages-and-challenges-nuclear-energy#:~:text=The%20.
- Blades, Joan, and John Harte. “Nuclear Power: Why the Divide in Expert Views?” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 6 Oct. 2023. https://thebulletin.org/2023/10/nuclear-power-why-the-divide-in-expert-views/.
- Gates, Bill. “The Clean Industrial Revolution Has Arrived.” Gates Notes, 25 June 2024. https://www.gatesnotes.com/work/accelerate-climate-innovation/reader/breakthrough-energy-summit-2024.
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