Uranium Extraction From Seawater Makes Nuclear Power Virtually Renewable

Technological breakthroughs from the United States Department of Energy’s national laboratories have made removing uranium from seawater close to being economical. And nuclear fuel made with uranium extracted from seawater makes nuclear power practically as renewable as solar, hydro and wind. If humanity’s electricity use stabilizes at about 40 trillion kWhs per year, then this would provide all of the world’s electricity needs for 1000 years if nuclear were 100% of our source and we used the presently predominant design (Light Water Reactors; LWR) that operate with the once-through fuel cycle (utilizing less than 1% of the energy value of the natural uranium). However, uranium extracted from seawater is replenished continuously through geochemical interactions with the Earth’s crust deposited in seawater mainly via river flow.