SeekerBlog

Ed Crooks writing on nuclear power for the FT in their special report on “The future of energy“. It is “good news” that this brief status report on nuclear power makes the FT special report.

(…) Hans-Holger Rogner, head of planning and economic studies at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear watchdog, says: “If we want to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent to 80 per cent by 2050, and we don’t use nuclear power for base load electricity generation, what can we use instead? It is not a quick fix: it depends on public acceptance and government support. It is not the whole solution to the problem. But it can make a contribution.”

That argument is gaining ground around the world. In total, new reactors under construction or proposed would more than double the 436 now in operation, according to the World Nuclear Association, the industry group.

The country with the most ambitious plans for nuclear expansion is China. Of the 50 new reactors now under construction worldwide, 16 are in China, and of the 432 that have been proposed, China accounts for 125.

(…) In Europe, there have been dramatic turnrounds in the UK, which plans to start building new nuclear plants after a two-decade delay, and in Italy, which has had no nuclear power since the 1980s and now plans at least four new reactors.

Some countries have not even reached that point yet. Spain has been retreating from its policy of shutting down all its reactors, and under its new government Germany is expected to do same, but both are still far from being able to secure public acceptance for new reactors.

In countries that want to start nuclear industries for the first time, it is international support that will matter. The nuclear non-proliferation treaty states that countries can develop civil nuclear power so long as they do not also acquire weapons capability. In practice, that means staying out of the nuclear fuel cycle: uranium enrichment and waste reprocessing.

That is how the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, has said it plans to structure its nuclear programme. But the prospect of US-UAE nuclear co-operation has nevertheless raised concerns in the US Congress, particularly in light of doubts surrounding Iran’s ostensibly civil nuclear programme.

The highly politicised nature of nuclear power means that in many countries its progress will be delayed.

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