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<div align="center">Science, Technology, and Global Security Working
Group at MIT<br><br>
presents<br>
<br>
Nuclear Power and its Alternatives for a Carbon-Constrained World<br>
<br>
Robert Williams<br>
<br>
Princeton Environmental Institute <br>
<br>
Princeton University<br>
<br>
Wednesday, April 23, 2008<br>
12:00p - 1:30p<br>
E51-095<br>
<i>Free and open to the public.</i> <br>
<br>
<br>
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We assess the comparative costs and benefits of three alternative options
for baseload electric power that do not release carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere: nuclear power, coal power with carbon capture and
sequestration (CCS) and wind power with compressed air energy storage
(CAES). All three must overcome major challenges before they can be
implemented on a large enough scale to reduce carbon emissions
significantly. In the case of nuclear power, there is a widespread
consensus that the present non-proliferation regime cannot handle the
increased risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism in a world that
relies much more heavily on nuclear power, but little agreement on how
these risks can be minimized. With regard to CCS, the major challenge is
to demonstrate that sequestration on the required scale can be
implemented economically and with minimal environmental impact. For wind
power, the major challenges are the intermittent nature of the source and
the need to transport the generated electricity from wind-rich regions to
major population centers. We conclude that all three options are roughly
cost-competitive, so that non-climate considerations will probably
determine the technology-mix under a climate change mitigation
policy. <br>
<br>
<br>
</font><pre>Robert H. Williams is Senior Research Scientist at Princeton
University's Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. His research
interests span a wide range of topics relating to advanced energy
technologies, energy strategies, and energy policy, for both
industrialized and developing countries. A considerable part of his
research is focused on energy technologies and strategies for developing
countries, where most of the growth in global energy demand will take
place, and where environmental and security challenges relating to energy
are especially great. He was Chair of the Renewable Energy Task Force for
the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
and was the principal author of “Renewable Energy”,(Chapter 6) in the
1997 report, Federal Energy Research & Development for the Challenges
of the 21st Century and Report of the Energy R&D Panel</u>. He
received a B.S. in physics from Yale University in 1962 and a Ph.D. in
theoretical plasma physics from the University of California at Berkeley
in 1967.
</pre><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font face="Book Antiqua, Bookman">Danielle Mancini<br>
Program in Science, Technology, and Society<br>
Science, Technology, and Global Security Working Group<br>
MIT, E51-163D<br>
77 Massachusetts Avenue<br>
Cambridge, MA 02139<br>
<a href="http://web.mit.edu/stgs" eudora="autourl">
http://web.mit.edu/stgs<br>
</a>Tel: 617-452-2542<br>
Fax:617-258-5750<br>
Email: dmancini@mit.edu <br><br>
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