Global nuclear boom expected

A global “nuclear renaissance,” the cliche for a growth in nuclear power plant construction, is not merely talk, according to a new report by the Cambridge Energy Research Associates. New reactors are in various phases, from planning to construction, and even the United States, which hasn’t approved a new reactor since 1978, will likely take part.

The 435 nuclear reactors worldwide provide 16 percent of worldwide electricity (103 reactors feed 20 percent of U.S. electricity). Another 28 are under construction outside the United States, mostly in Asia, and 20 countries are part of the boom CERA expects.
“We see good prospects,” said CERA Senior Director Jone-Lin Wang, co-author of “Is the ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ Real?”

“There are hurdles,” Wang said, but the growth of the nuclear industry will overcome them.

“Quite a few countries, outside of North America and Western Europe, have actually never stopped building nuclear,” Wang said. “So there are continuing efforts in Japan, China and South Korea, unlike the U.S. that stopped for three decades, never stopped and upped the targets recently.”

Russia is also looking to expand its nuclear presence both in and out of the country.

“They want to build nuclear power plants so they can release more natural gas to sell,” Wang said. Atomstroyexport, its nuclear export firm, is building reactors or has contracts to do so in India, China, Iran, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. In order to become more of a player, Russia will consolidate its various nuclear companies (transportation, fuel, construction and more) into a vertically aligned state entity.

UPI