Nuclear reacto11/29/2023 ![]() Please visit the following pages for much more information on nuclear science and its role in the energy industry. Higher temperature and more modern designs like the Generation IV nuclear reactors could potentially reach above 45% efficiency. Typical nuclear power plants achieve efficiencies around 33-37%, comparable to fossil fueled power plants. The amount of electric power produced for each unit of thermal power gives the plant its thermal efficiency, and due to the second law of thermodynamics there is an upper limit to how efficient these plants can be. The efficiency of a nuclear power plant is determined similarly to other heat engines-since technically the plant is a large heat engine. This similarity exists because the process of turning heat into electricity is almost identical between nuclear power plants and coal-fired power plants. Many other power plants like coal-fired power plants have cooling towers or these large bodies of water as well. Many nuclear power plants simply put the waste heat into a river, lake or ocean instead of having cooling towers. ![]() Click here to see how a cooling tower works. Moreover, these plants do not release any carbon dioxide-the primary greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Hot water cools in contact with the air and a small portion, around 2%, evaporates and raises up through the top. They work to reject waste heat to the atmosphere by the transfer of heat from hot water (from the turbine section) to the cooler outside air. Perhaps the most iconic symbol of a nuclear power plant is the cooling towers, seen in Figure 4. The rotation of the turbines is used to spin an electric generator, which produces electricity that is sent out the the electrical grid. These get up to extremely high speeds, causing the steam to lose energy, therefore, condensing back to a cooler liquid water. Once steam has been produced, it travels at high pressures and speeds through one or more turbines. Two cooling towers of a nuclear power plant. The production of steam is common among all nuclear power plants, but the way this is done varies immensely.įigure 4. The reactor is what makes it differ from other external heat engines. The power plant encompasses not just the reactor, but also cooling towers, turbines, generators, and various safety systems. This heat is then transferred to the reactor's coolant, which provides heat to other parts of the nuclear power plant.īesides their use in power generation, there are other types of nuclear reactors that are used for plutonium manufacturing, the propulsion of ships, aircraft and satellites, along with research and medical purposes. Uranium is the dominant nuclear fuel used in nuclear reactors, and its fission reactions are what produce the heat within a reactor. The reactor is the heat source for the power plant, just like the boiler is for a coal plant. The reactor is a key component of a power plant, as it contains the fuel and its nuclear chain reaction, along with all of the nuclear waste products. Components and Operation Nuclear Reactor main article A boiling water nuclear reactor in combination with the Rankine cycle forms the basis of a nuclear power plant. That could hit bills in August, two months after residential customers saw a $16-a-month increase to pay for higher fuel costs.Ĭommissioners will decide later who pays for the remainder of the costs of Vogtle, including the fourth reactor.Figure 2. Georgia Power’s 2.7 million customers are already paying part of the financing cost and elected public service commissioners have approved a monthly rate increase of $3.78 a month for residential customers as soon as the third unit begins generating power. Oglethorpe and MEAG plan to sell power to cooperatives and municipal utilities across Georgia, as well in Jacksonville, Florida, and parts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Smaller shares are owned by Oglethorpe Power Corp., which provides electricity to member-owned cooperatives, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the city of Dalton. Georgia Power currently owns 45.7% of the reactors. In Georgia, almost every electric customer will pay for Vogtle. “Bringing this unit safely into service is a credit to the hard work and dedication of our teams at Southern Company and the thousands of additional workers who have helped build that future at this site.” ![]() ![]() “This project shows just how new nuclear can and will play a critical role in achieving a clean energy future for the United States,” Southern Co.
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