Re: Is nuclear energy renewable or non-renewable why?

Renewable energy is defined as an energy source that draws on resources that can be constantly replenished and will never run out. Nuclear energy as it is currently used in most applications is not renewable. The supply of uranium in the world is enormous and may last hundreds, if not thousands, of years, but it is still limited. The United States, as well as many other countries, uses a "once through" fuel cycle. (see http://www.uic.com.au/nfc.htm for more information) In this fuel cycle uranium is mined, enriched, burned in a reactor, and then the waste will be eventually buried in a geological repository.

Breeder reactors can produce their own fuel by converting Uranium-238 to Plutonium-239. So in a sense, one could consider breeder reactors to be renewable energy supplies. Unfortunately they are not used for commercial power production at this time, although some countries are working on their development. For an introduction to breeder reactors see one of the following links:

http://www.britannica.com/seo/b/breeder-reactor/

http://starfire.ne.uiuc.edu/ne201/course/topics/breeder_reactors/