Abstract
Introduction
- Nuclear power is on an ascendant path, after years of stagnation. The
environmental fight against fossil fuels is heating up. As informed people
start to ask questions about what renewables will be able to achieve, nuclear
power is re-entering the picture
- In 2009 there are 439 nuclear power reactors in operation in 38 countries,
with total generating capacity of 370,721 MW
- A further 36 nuclear plants are under construction and 316 are planned or
proposed.
- The first commercial nuclear power plant was commissioned in the UK in
1956 and by 2005 nuclear power provided 6.5% of the world' s primary energy
consumption and 9% of electricity generation
- There was a brown out of nuclear power in the 1970s and 1980s. Stations
were shut down and several countries declared moratoria on it, for various
reasons, not least being public safety fears
- Nuclear power has been bedevilled by political perceptions, but other
sources of power are now being subjected to similar scrutiny
- Nuclear power stations are highly efficient, being operated at higher load
factors than thermal or hydro stations
- But the public has always been more afraid of nuclear power than the
industry, and is largely unaware of the difference between the so-called
"nuclear legacy" from the 1960s and 1970s, and the sophisticated "back-end"
measures being engineered into modern nuclear plants
- The nuclear industry is seeing an acceleration of international mergers
and acquisitions and is increasingly crossing national boundaries in a race to
achieve critical mass in a high technology industry.
There are many uncertainties about the economics and future of nuclear energy.
Nuclear power plants are very expensive to build but costs are being reduced.
The fuel is politically more secure than oil or gas and uncertainties also
remain about the practicalities of nuclear energy. Nuclear Power Plants have
long lead times from concept to grid. The public perception of nuclear power
is not a positive one but several governments have shown that public opinion
can be reformed with intelligent information and debate. No less than 20
countries are rethinking their positions on nuclear power. Coal has already
rebounded and nuclear may well do the same.
Report Scope
- The report looks at the global nuclear energy market, past, present and
future
- It looks at the countries now considering Nuclear Power, including those
considering it for the first time and several countries which are reinstating
its use
- The report provides country profiles of nuclear use and future plans
- It contains the statistics of nuclear energy and power
- The nuclear fuel cycle and supply
- The safety and environmental issues
- The history and economics
- The nuclear power utilities and nuclear power manufacturing companies are
as listed
- As are the international associations and organisations
- The report provides a global overview and comprehensive data
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