In the context that the hot issue between Russia and Ukraine has not come to an end, the US and Western countries continue to introduce more measures they call sanctions. Recently, a group of US Republican congressmen introduced a bill, aimed at ending uranium imports from Russia. From this action, analysts have said that Russian nuclear is a new target of US sanctions.
In fact, the US is a country with many nuclear reactors involved in the production of electricity for the country. While uranium from Russia is one of the three largest sources of US supply, the “biting” of this supply is expected to cause a slight disruption of electricity production in the US.
Nuclear energy in the US
Nuclear power has been produced since the 1960s in the United States. Statistics show that by the end of 2020, the country has a total of 94 nuclear reactors in a total of 56 nuclear power plants across 28 states. The nuclear reactors here have an average lifespan of about 39 years. Unit 1’s longest-lived reactor, the Nine Mile Point plant in New York, has been operational since December 1969. The “youngest” reactor, started in 2016, is part of the unit. Unit 2, Watts Bar factory.
In 2012, US nuclear power capacity peaked at about 102,000 MW .* from 104 reactors. The total electricity capacity in 2020 was 96,555 MW. Between 2014 and 2018, even though the United States cut back on some reactors, nuclear power capacity and output increased year-on-year. The use of technology to improve reactor capacity has kept electricity output stable, accounting for about 20% of total US electricity production between 1990 and 2019.
*MW (mega watts): unit of measurement of amperage
Nuclear power capacity and output in the US from 1957 to 2020. Green: capacity; yellow: yield. Source: US Energy Information Administration.
Do you know: In December 1942, in the stands of the stadium at the University of Chicago, Dr. Enrico Fermi created the first conditional nuclear reaction. After that, a series of nuclear experiments were carried out for the purpose of making nuclear bombs. However, this research is also a stepping stone in the application of nuclear technology to commercial power generation in 1958 in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, USA.
Reactors appear all over the US
Most of America’s nuclear reactors are built on the east side of the Mississippi River. The state of Illinois is the state with the most nuclear reactors in the country with 11 reactors and 6 plants. In the summer of 2020, the total electricity capacity in this state is also the largest in the country, about 11,582 MW; Among them, the reactor with the largest capacity is 1,400 MW, accounting for 12% of the state’s total electricity production.
Reportedly, the State of Georgia is planning to build two more reactors, each with a maximum capacity of 1,100 MW.
Diagram of the distribution of nuclear reactors in the United States. Source: US Energy Information Administration.
Do you know: The nuclear reactor alone located at the Grand Coulee Dam site in Washington has the highest capacity of any power plant in the United States; total electricity production in the summer of 2020 is about 2,079 MW and about 20 million MW for the whole year. The Palo Verde power plant in Arizona with three reactors has the second largest power output in the United States, 3,937 MW; total production in 2020 is 32 million MW.
Still have to import fuel from abroad
In the field of nuclear power, Uranium is a very common fuel at the stage of nuclear fission. Uranium is a common metal that is found all over the world but is very difficult to mine. Several large uranium deposits are found in the western United States, Australia, Canada, Central Asia, Africa and South America.
Despite owning two uranium mines of its own, the US has to import an amount of Uranium up to 48.9 million pounds (about 22.2 thousand tons) in 2020 for nuclear power production and other purposes.
According to statistics, the US imports most of its uranium from different countries. Source: US Energy Information Administration.
According to statistics, in 2020, 22% of Uranium comes from Canada, 22% from Kazakhstan, 16% from Russia, 11% from Australia, 8% from Uzbekistan, 5% from Namibia and 14% from domestic mining and other sources. other.
The graph shows the sources of uranium supplied to nuclear power plants in the US during the period 1950-2020. Unit: Million pounds. Source: US Energy Information Administration. (blue: domestic production; red: import; green: domestic production).
Because 16% of Uranium comes from Russia, so when the US enforces a ban on importing Uranium from Russia, it will have to actively supply from other countries or step up mining to avoid interruption of energy supply.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Soha.vn – Read the original article here
