If you are thinking about investing in nuclear companies, then you should know the risks and the benefits involved in using nuclear power. Nuclear energy investment is a very high risk stock, so you need to do your research and make sure you are fully informed regarding each company, how they function, what their plans are and what the likelihood of their success and survival are. Before running off and investing in nuclear companies, here is some information regarding nuclear energy itself.

1. Nuclear power emits fairly low amounts of carbon dioxide. Because of this, the emissions of green house gases are also not very much and therefore, surprisingly, the effect of power plants to global warming relatively low.




2. The technology of nuclear power is already available. It is not something that needs to be developed. It has been tested and is ready to go.




3. One single plant can generate an extremely high amount of electrical energy. This means that coal powered energies which are very bad for the environment, can eventually be phased out and taken over by power plants.




4. The main advantage of nuclear energy is that it is incredibly power and more efficient than alternative energy sources. The advancements in technology have ensured it is a more viable choice. If you decide that investing in nuclear companies is a good idea, this will likely be your number one reason.




5. Other sources like solar and wind require the sun and wind in order to make electricity. These can be unreliable. Nuclear energy can be produced in power plants even when the weather conditions are not complying.

While those may sound like great ideas for the world and the environment. Here are some of the disadvantages to nuclear power:

1. Radioactive waste that comes from a nuclear power is very dangerous. It has to be carefully contained and taken care of for 10,000 years according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.




2. Accidents can still happen even if there are high security standards. It would be impossible to build a plant that was 100% secure. Just one accident could lead to devastating consequences for humans as well as nature. This means that the more plants there are, the more chance of accidents.




3. Having a nuclear power plant is an open invitation to a terrorist attack. An attack on the plant itself or on the waste from the plant would be catastrophic across the entire world. Imagine having another attack like 9/11; a power plant would not be able to sustain that no matter how prepared they thought they were.




4. Radioactive waste is what is used to make nuclear weapons. If the waste is stolen, it can be used to build weapons of mass destruction. Either that or, the world might see the construction of a nuclear power plant as an act of war and begin to build defense weapons.




5. Nuclear energy uses Uranium which is a scare resource. Depending on how much is used, the supply is estimated to only last for the next 60 years, at most. The more power plants there are, the quicker Uranium will be used up. Also, it takes about 20 to 30 years to build nuclear power plants which only gives a maximum of 30 to 40 years in which the plant can actually function.




6. Nuclear power isn’t thought to be sustainable.

Those are the problems with investing in nuclear companies. Investing in energy companies is risky as it is, but nuclear investments in particular are not likely to gain much traction. However, there is a chance that nuclear power is going to have a comeback and there are many savvy investors that are holding on to this.

Of course, the world is always trying to go more green and nuclear power seems to be a step backwards in that regard but the other benefits of it might outweigh that fact. Little by little, people are coming around to the idea of nuclear power plants as electricity becomes a more constant necessity. People are still concerned about being energy efficient and if they really looked into power plants, they would realize that they are in fact, very energy efficient because of their reliability.