Energy

Where it is

As is the case with other non-renewable energy resources, such as coal, oil and natural gas, the question is how much nuclear fuel is available on the Earth and at what price. There is a huge quantity of natural uranium. The oceans, for example, contain approximately one billion cubic kilometres of uranium. Technically, the extraction of the "sea-uranium" is feasible but it would cost 30 times more than the current market prices. In 2009, the total quantity of the extractable uranium on the mainland at economically sustainable costs exceeds 3,7 million tonnes (Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – Red Book, Uranium: Resources, Production and Demand, June 2010). In particular, a higher concentration of it can be found in rocks containing uranium. The total quantity of available uranium is apparently very large, but it is markedly downsized when it is compared to the necessary quantity to operate a reactor. To produce nuclear energy on a large scale a sufficient quantity of natural uranium at a reasonable cost is needed. In particular, the enrichment process and the dedicated equipment need to have a sufficient capacity and the enrichment prices need to be reasonable. Moreover there is a need to assess the economic viability and the effectiveness of the reprocessing equipment to treat the nuclear fuel already used in the reactors to recover the still "un-burnt" uranium. In short, the costs of the nuclear power plants are to be assessed with a view to the whole nuclear energy cycle, which is much more complex than that of other energy resources. Costs include: the whole fuel cycle, building and operating the plant, including emergency cases, disposing of the waste and dismantling the plant.