17 June 2010-- Nuclear power could generate 25 percent of the world’s electricity by 2050, according to a joint study by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).
The Nuclear Energy Technology Roadmap said that such an expansion would require nuclear generating capacity to more than triple over the next 40 years, a target described as "ambitious" but "achievable." It said the designs would need to be fully established over the next few years if they were to help nuclear energy be competitive after 2020.
Nuclear generating capacity worldwide is currently at 370 GW electrical, providing 14 percent of global electricity. It should grow to 1,200 GW to cut energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 50 percent by 2050, providing 24 percent of global electricity at that time.
The roadmap said that nuclear power was a mature, low-carbon technology that was ready to expand rapidly over the next few decades. The latest reactor designs build on more than 50 years of technology development. Nuclear power is one of the key low-carbon energy technologies that could contribute to decarbonization of electric supply, along with renewable energy sources and carbon capture and storage.
Financing the construction of new nuclear power plants is expected to be a challenge in some countries, and governments may have to support the nuclear programs through loan guarantees and other incentives until the programs are well established.
No major technological breakthroughs would be needed to achieve the level of nuclear expansion predicted, the roadmap said. However, important policy-related, industrial, financial and public acceptance barriers to the rapid growth of nuclear power remained a challenge.
Further, the study noted that progress in implementing plans for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste would also be vital and that the international system of safeguards to prevent proliferation of nuclear technology and materials must be maintained and strengthened where necessary.
Read more nuclear power operations and maintenance news