New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
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Around $91bn is projected be invested in the global nuclear sector over the next two years, driven by projects in China, India and Russia, according to a new report by Rystad Energy.
Investments in nuclear are expected to total $45bn in 2022 and $46bn in 2023, up from $44bn in 2021. Some 52 reactors are under construction in 19 countries worldwide. Once completed this new infrastructure will deliver 54 GW of new installed capacity.
Global installed nuclear power capacity totalled nearly 400 GW last year and accounted for almost 10% of global electricity generation. However, the analysts note that building a new nuclear plant takes at least five years, so capacity increases are unlikely in the near term, meaning the sector will experience a decline in capacity caused by recent shutdowns.
Nevertheless, global investments are rising due to countries with well-defined nuclear expansion plans, and capacity will increase in the long term.
The recent closure of nuclear reactors in countries including the US and France has caused a drop in installed nuclear generation capacity, with further phase-outs in countries such as Germany on the cards. Concurrently, other nations are establishing their first nuclear reactors to provide baseload low carbon electricity.
Europe has the most installed capacity, with more than 170 nuclear reactors. French operator EDF has 56 reactors in its portfolio. Asia is in second place with about 140 nuclear reactors and has a market share of just over 30%. North America, chiefly driven by the US, has 112 operational nuclear reactors (28% of the global total), says Rystad.
Global installed capacity is expected to grow at a modest compound annual growth rate of 0.2% from 2017 to 2023. Most of this growth will be in Asia, which has 32 nuclear reactors under construction, which will generate over 30 GW in electricity annually, with China, India and South Korea primarily driving the region’s growth.
The analysts note that although several countries are prioritising a role for nuclear power as part of the energy transition, others – like Germany – are opting out of nuclear power in the light of concerns over safety and other issues, and shifting their focus to other sources of energy.
