Here in the UK many of our fossil fuel and nuclear Power Plants are coming to the end of their lives. Therefore, plans are being made for the next generation.

I believe that most of our Power Plants are about 50 years old, so why at this age do they need knocking down and re-building? Why not give them a lick of paint?

Also if we do have another Generation of Nuclear Power Plants have they moved on much since our original ones were built?

Is it surprising that the lifespan of power plant is about 50 years?

I don't know anything about them, so I'm comparing them to things I do know a little about... like cars, computer labs, and other wonders of technology.

Car and computer technology has obviously moved on a lot in fifty years... so why not nuclear power technology?

(I personally have no idea... but I'm curious)

Here in the UK many of our fossil fuel and nuclear Power Plants are coming to the end of their lives. Therefore, plans are being made for the next generation.

I believe that most of our Power Plants are about 50 years old, so why at this age do they need knocking down and re-building? Why not give them a lick of paint?

Also if we do have another Generation of Nuclear Power Plants have they moved on much since our original ones were built?

It's because most things that are primarily mechanical in nature (and a nuclear plant most certainly is!) will eventually reach a point where the costs of repairs and upkeep will exceed the cost of building from the start.

Yes, there have been several advances made in their design, both from an operational and safety standpoint. The most recent is the "pebble-bed reactor) which pretty well eliminates the possibility of a melt-down, even if the cooling systems fail. You might might want to do a Google search on that. ;)

Well, nuclear power plants definately have finite lifespans. The reactor assembly and building actually become more brittle over the years as it is subjected to bombardment by neutrons released by the fission reaction. One can imagine how this is not a good thing on the long run.

geothermal is the way of the future, but governments seem reluctant to fork out that much money

geothermal is the way of the future, but governments seem reluctant to fork out that much money


Many areas on Earth don't have any geothermal energy sources to begin with. Geothermal doesn't create enough energy to supply millions of people with adequet power. Fusion would be the best way to get energy but they haven't been able to develop that type of energy source as yet.