Why do nuclear power plants produce so much energy?

Question

If nuclear power plants boil water to turn a turbine to make energy then why do they make more energy than a coal power plant that does the same?

In: 28

Answer 1

They don’t produce much more energy per power plant. If you compare big nuclear reactors and big coal power plants they produce about the same amount of electricity.

Nuclear power plants produce far more energy *per fuel mass*, because splitting the nuclei of atoms releases far more energy than chemical reactions (a few million times more): You need several tonnes of coal to match the energy a single gram of uranium can release.

Nuclear power plants tend to be more complex: You need more precautions handling the fuel, the reactor and so on, no matter how large or small the reactor is. That means making a small nuclear power plant is less attractive, while making a smaller coal power plant can make sense in some places.