NUCLEAR POWER
Nuclear power plants exploit the controlled use of the nuclear fission reactions of large periodic table elements such as uranium and plutonium—reactions that release a massive amount of heat energy—to provide heat to generate steam for electrical power generation. In a nuclear power plant most of the available heat is captured and used to generate steam, which drives a condensing steam turbine so there will be little heat available for CHP applications. However, it is possible to adapt a nuclear plant so that some of the heat is available.
Nuclear power has been used in Russia and some other eastern European countries for district heating and for seawater desalination, a form of CHP when combined with power generation. However, nuclear CHP technology has never been adopted in the developed world.
The size and cost of building a nuclear power plant means that nuclear CHP plants, where they are built, are constructed for strategic reasons and form part of a national planning strategy. Small nuclear plants capable of CHP use have been proposed in the past but none has reached commercial maturity. Recent safety concerns have also made the future of nuclear generation appear fragile. Nuclear CHP is, therefore, likely to remain the preserve of countries like Russia and is unlikely to find widespread application for the foreseeable future.