A fossil-fueled plant burns fuel—such as
coal, oil or gas—to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity. However, nuclear power plants split uranium atoms inside a reactor in a process called fission to produce steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity. Fission produces no carbon dioxide and one fuel pellet, roughly the size of a pencil eraser, equal to the amount produced by 4.5 barrels of oil, 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas or one ton of coal.
The Fuel
Uranium is a naturally occurring element abundant in the earth’s crust. Mined and extracted from other rock—most commonly uraninite or pitchblende—uranium is then enriched for use as nuclear fuel.
Uranium fuel arrives at
Fermi 2 as small ceramic pellets, about the size of a pencil eraser. Each of these powerful pellets can produce the same amount of electricity as 4.5 barrels of oil, 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas or one ton of coal.
Inside the Reactor
Once these non-radioactive pellets have been thoroughly inspected to ensure their safe condition, they are stacked end-to-end in 12-foot long tubes or fuel assemblies. These fuel assemblies are precisely arranged in bundles within the reactor with spaces between for control rods.
The fuel assemblies are surrounded by water. Fission occurs when uranium atoms split, releasing neutrons. These neutrons collide with other atoms, splitting them. The splitting generates intense heat, which converts the water surrounding the fuel assemblies into steam, which is used to spin the turbine to create electricity. The control rods are moved in and out of the reactor between the fuel assemblies to start and stop the fission process.