The State of the Nuclear Union

Today, nuclear power plants operate in 31 of 196 nations, providing only 5.7% of the world’s energy, and prompting world-wide debate about the merits and benefits of the use of nuclear energy.  Annual generation of nuclear power has been on a downward trend over the last 5 years, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has had a significant negative effect on the industry around the world.   Globally, nuclear power’s share of electricity generation has declined from 16% in 2002 to 12.3% in 2011.

Many of the debates focus around the cost of nuclear power, which has continued an increasing trend, whereas the cost of renewable energy is still continually declining.

To date all operating nuclear power plants were developed by state-owned or regulated utility monopolies where many of the risks associated with construction costs, operating performance, fuel price, accident liability and other factors were borne by consumers rather than suppliers. In addition, because the potential liability from a nuclear accident is so great, the full cost of liability insurance is generally limited by the government.  Recently however, many countries have liberalized or are looking to liberalize their electricity markets in ways which put more of the risk back on the plant suppliers and operators than consumers, which has lead to a drastically different evaluation of the economics of nuclear power plants.

READ MORE: http://enformable.com/2013/02/the-state-of-the-nuclear-union/

• Costs of nuclear power

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  Where to Put Nuclear Waste

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  Reactor Construction Projects Over-Budget

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  Nuclear Vulnerabilities to Climate Change