Energy Realpolitik: Towards a Sustainable Energy Strategy

TL;DR

This paper advocates for a sustainable energy strategy emphasizing diversified energy sources, with a focus on advanced nuclear technologies and clean coal, to adapt to ecological, economic, and geopolitical challenges.

Contribution

It proposes a long-term, adaptable energy strategy prioritizing new-generation nuclear and clean coal technologies based on comparative analysis.

Findings

Nuclear energy, especially advanced reactors, should be central to future energy strategies.

A diversified energy portfolio enhances sustainability and resilience.

Innovative nuclear technologies can address waste and safety concerns.

Abstract

A long-term strategy based on existing technological, ecological, economical, and geopolitical realities is urgently needed to develop a sustainable energy economy, which should be designed with adaptability to unpredicted changes in any of these aspects. While only a highly diverse energy portfolio and conservation can ultimately guarantee optimum sustainability, based on a comparison of current primary energy generation methods, it is argued that future energy strategy has to rely heavily on expanded coal and nuclear energy sectors. A comparison of relative potentials, merits and risks associated with fossil-fuel, renewable, and nuclear technologies suggests that the balance of technologies should be shifted in favor of new-generation, safe nuclear methods to produce electricity, while clean-coal plants should be assigned to transportation fuel. Novel nuclear technologies exploit fission of uranium and thorium as primary energy sources with fast-spectrum and transmutation (burner) reactors. A closed fuel cycle and waste transmutation resolve the strategic issues associated with nuclear power. Innovative reactor designs utilize spallation of heavy metals in subcritical accelerator driven systems or molten-salt reactors. Importation and reconstruction of technical expertise already lost and aversion of further erosion are preconditions to any successful energy strategy. Research opportunities to perfect innovative nuclear, coal, and renewable energy technologies should be pursued.