Which Produces More Energy - Coal or Nuclear?

Nuclear power and coal power are both common sources of electricity. Nuclear power is defined as energy harnessed from the heat given off when an atom is split. Coal power is energy generated from the burning of coal. Electricity is one of the primary forms of energy used to heat and power the world. Its generation is the foremost use of coal and nuclear power. A measurement, therefore, of the electricity generated by these two technologies is the best means of comparing the amount of energy they produce.

Energy Generated By Coal

Coal is the largest source of electricity in the United States and the world. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. government's official provider of energy statistics, slightly over 2 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity, or about 48 percent of all electricity generated in the U.S. was derived from the burning of coal in 2007. Worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency, coal was responsible for 6.8 trillion kilowatts hours, or 40 percent of the electricity produced in 2006.

Energy Generated By Nuclear Power

Nuclear generates far less electricity than coal, both in the U.S. and worldwide. According the EIA, 790 billion kilowatt hours, or just over 19 percent of all electricity generated in the U.S., was derived from nuclear power in 2007. Worldwide, according the IEA, nuclear power produced 2.7 trillion kilowatt hours in 2006, accounting for a little less than 16 percent of all energy use.

Conclusion

It is clear that coal produces twice as much electricity annually as nuclear. Although these statistics, the most reliable available, are from several years ago, the process by which countries shift their sources of electricity production is a very slow one. There has been no large, unprecedented shift in electricity production in recent years. We can safely conclude that nuclear and coal still produce energy in approximately the same proportion now as they did in 2006 and 2007.

Additional Factors

We can also conclude that more total energy is produced by coal than nuclear because coal, unlike nuclear, is also commonly used to produced energy in forms other than electricity. Coal is commonly burned simply for heat, as in a stove or campfire, while nuclear power is seldom used for anything other than electricity generation. So, on top of the energy coal generates in electricity production, we can add the energy generated in these other uses. This makes it doubly clear that coal power generates more total energy than nuclear.

The Future

This may not always be the case, however. According to the World Nuclear Association, the world is moving toward a heavier reliance on clean, less carbon-intensive sources of energy. The use of nuclear power, which emits almost no carbon, is increasing. Concerns about climate change have brought pressure to stem the use of coal, which is a leading source of carbon dioxide.

References

• Energy Information Administration Power Generation Statistics
• World Nuclear Association
• International Energy Agency (IEA)

Resources

• EPA: Health and Environmental Effects of Energy Use