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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The road to curbing global carbon emissions will be much harder if advanced economies allow nuclear power to fade as a major source of energy, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The report, "Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System," makes the case for continued and new investments in nuclear power to reduce carbon emissions.
Industrial Info is tracking more than $936 billion in nuclear power capital project activity across the globe.
Click on the image at right for a graph showing nuclear power capital project activity by world region.
The use of nuclear power has cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 60 billion metric tons, or nearly two years' worth of global energy-related emissions, during the past 50 years, according to the IEA report, which was released on Tuesday. "However, in advanced economies, nuclear power has begun to fade, with plants closing and little new investment made, just when the world requires more low-carbon electricity," according to the report.
The lack of further lifetime extensions of existing nuclear plants and new-build projects could result in an additional 4 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions, the report continued.
Achieving CO2 emissions reductions in line with the Paris Agreement, which has the goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius, would require large increases in efficiency and renewables investment, as well as an increase in nuclear power, according to the IEA. In 2017, President Donald Trump said he plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.
"Alongside renewables, energy efficiency and other innovative technologies, nuclear can make a significant contribution to achieving sustainable energy goals and enhancing energy security," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a press release "But unless the barriers it faces are overcome, its role will soon be on a steep decline worldwide, particularly in the United States, Europe and Japan."
The share of nuclear power in the world's electricity generating mix has dropped from a peak of 18% in the mid-1990s to 10% in 2018. The scale of new nuclear investments is a hurdle, making financing difficult. For example, Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) two-unit expansion of the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Georgia has ratcheted up to at least $27 billion, more than double its original projected cost, and has received $12 billion in federal loans. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and March 27, 2019, article - Vogtle Owners Receive $3.7 Billion in Federal Loan Guarantees.
Without extending the lifetimes of existing nuclear plants or building new ones, the buildout of other low-carbon sources like wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power would have to "accelerate to unprecedented levels" to fill the low-CO2 energy gap, according to the report. Wind and solar PV capacity has increased by about 580 gigawatts in advanced economies, but nearly five times that amount would be needed over the next 20 years without the contribution of nuclear power, requiring $1.6 trillion in additional investment and leading to higher electricity bills for consumers.
Despite the growth of solar and wind power, the overall share of clean energy sources in the total electricity supply in 2018, at 36%, was the same as it was 20 years earlier because of the decline in nuclear power, according to the report. Among other things, the report recommends that those countries that intend to retain nuclear power authorize lifetime extensions of existing plants "for as long as safely possible, and set up "risk management and financing frameworks that can help mobilize capital for new and existing plants at an acceptable cost...".
Industrial Info is tracking more than $470 billion worth of grassroot nuclear power projects. Among the projects are:
The report, "Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System," makes the case for continued and new investments in nuclear power to reduce carbon emissions.
Industrial Info is tracking more than $936 billion in nuclear power capital project activity across the globe.
The use of nuclear power has cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 60 billion metric tons, or nearly two years' worth of global energy-related emissions, during the past 50 years, according to the IEA report, which was released on Tuesday. "However, in advanced economies, nuclear power has begun to fade, with plants closing and little new investment made, just when the world requires more low-carbon electricity," according to the report.
The lack of further lifetime extensions of existing nuclear plants and new-build projects could result in an additional 4 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions, the report continued.
Achieving CO2 emissions reductions in line with the Paris Agreement, which has the goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius, would require large increases in efficiency and renewables investment, as well as an increase in nuclear power, according to the IEA. In 2017, President Donald Trump said he plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.
"Alongside renewables, energy efficiency and other innovative technologies, nuclear can make a significant contribution to achieving sustainable energy goals and enhancing energy security," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a press release "But unless the barriers it faces are overcome, its role will soon be on a steep decline worldwide, particularly in the United States, Europe and Japan."
The share of nuclear power in the world's electricity generating mix has dropped from a peak of 18% in the mid-1990s to 10% in 2018. The scale of new nuclear investments is a hurdle, making financing difficult. For example, Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) two-unit expansion of the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Georgia has ratcheted up to at least $27 billion, more than double its original projected cost, and has received $12 billion in federal loans. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and March 27, 2019, article - Vogtle Owners Receive $3.7 Billion in Federal Loan Guarantees.
Without extending the lifetimes of existing nuclear plants or building new ones, the buildout of other low-carbon sources like wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power would have to "accelerate to unprecedented levels" to fill the low-CO2 energy gap, according to the report. Wind and solar PV capacity has increased by about 580 gigawatts in advanced economies, but nearly five times that amount would be needed over the next 20 years without the contribution of nuclear power, requiring $1.6 trillion in additional investment and leading to higher electricity bills for consumers.
Despite the growth of solar and wind power, the overall share of clean energy sources in the total electricity supply in 2018, at 36%, was the same as it was 20 years earlier because of the decline in nuclear power, according to the report. Among other things, the report recommends that those countries that intend to retain nuclear power authorize lifetime extensions of existing plants "for as long as safely possible, and set up "risk management and financing frameworks that can help mobilize capital for new and existing plants at an acceptable cost...".
Industrial Info is tracking more than $470 billion worth of grassroot nuclear power projects. Among the projects are:
- The $24.8 billion Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station near Somerset, southwest England. EDF Energy, the U.K. arm of French energy company Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris, France), has said that above-ground construction of the 3,260-megawatt (MW) plant will kick off this year, with the startup of the first unit expected in 2025; see project report.
- Unit 1 of the $20 billion, 4,800-MW Akkuyu Nuclear Power Station near Gulnar, Turkey, is planned for completion in first-quarter 2023; see project report.
- The $13.7 billion, 500-MW Kalpakkam fast-breeder reactor project at the Madras Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam, India, kicked off construction in late 2009, with completion planned for this year; see project report.
