Page 22 - DIY Investor Magazine | Issue 36

A NEW URANIUM BULL MARKET IS UNDERWAY, DRIVEN BY THE RACE TO NET ZERO
Dec 2022 22 Energy underpins our civilization and is vital for the survival of society. It is
needed to heat and light up homes, power factories and transport food, people
and everything else.
DIY Investor Magazine · Since the 19th century, we have relied upon oil, gas, and coal
Environmental advocates face the tough choices required for this. These proved to be cheap, reliable, and abundant
to decarbonize economies. While there are still holdouts, the energy sources, providing the backbone of the world’s
political tone toward nuclear power is on the upswing. immense economic progress over the past 150 years.
However, this has come at a cost. It is now widely accepted that the CO2 released when fossil fuels are burned is heating up the planet to catastrophic effect, with far-reaching humanitarian consequences. In response, governments around the world have set ambitious net-zero targets. In total, 83 countries, responsible for 74.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, have communicated a net-zero target.
A core part of these goals will be decarbonizing electricity generation. Over 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions are due to the burning of fossil fuels for electricity generation.
Therefore, to make significant progress in achieving their net- zero goals, countries need to invest in infrastructure that can replace carbon-producing energy sources with carbon-free energy sources. Changes on the margin will not suffice. Small increases in renewable energy sources and incremental moves toward electric vehicles are considered low-impact tweaks that will barely move the needle.
By contrast, nuclear power has the potential to provide high-impact change that can significantly move the needle. Given that nuclear power can provide an appealing solution, sentiment has turned much more positive in recent years.
‘COUNTRIES NEED TO INVEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT CAN REPLACE CARBON-PRODUCING ENERGY SOURCES WITH CARBON-FREE ENERGY SOURCES’
THREE REASONS NUCLEAR POWER IS AN APPEALING INVESTMENT
1) Nuclear is reliable
For a national, state, or local utility, the appeal of nuclear power starts with its reliability. Regions with nuclear power plants deploy reactors round-the-clock, using nuclear as the baseload power source for electric grids.
All other power sources depend on less-reliable inputs — whether that’s fuels with volatile prices, or natural conditions that are unpredictable and intermittent, like wind, solar and hydroelectric.
2) Nuclear is efficient
One uranium fuel pellet — about the size of a gummy bear — is the energy equivalent of three barrels of oil, or one ton of coal, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, according to the American Nuclear association.
The energy density of uranium translates to huge efficiencies. Efforts to reprocess or recycle spent fuel in nuclear plants extend uranium’s efficiency further. Enriched uranium only uses about 4% of the potential energy in the first cycle through a reactor.
As the technology advances to make it more economically viable to recycle fuel, the efficiency of nuclear is likely to rise even higher.