The world is accelerating the development of nuclear power.

The pace of nuclear power development worldwide is accelerating, leading the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to predict that this sector will grow significantly in the coming decades.

Reuters reported on November 28, citing informed sources, that French officials are finalizing plans to provide interest-free loans to the French electricity company EDF to support the construction of six nuclear reactors. This new move reflects the accelerating development of nuclear power in many countries, with France currently accounting for 62.6% of the country's electricity production, the highest percentage in the world.

Nuclear power is making a comeback.

In July, the Czech Republic approved a similar plan to boost its nuclear power project. Other countries such as the UK and Poland also plan to build new nuclear power plants to meet their energy self-sufficiency needs. The UK government recently pledged over £5.5 billion to support the preliminary development of the 3.2 GW Sizewell C nuclear power project.

Fangcheng Port Nuclear Power Plant in Guangxi Province (China)

In the US, the Department of Energy estimates that the country will need approximately 200 GW of nuclear power to meet demand by 2050. At the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan (November 11-22), the US set a target of adding 35 MW of nuclear power by 2035 and an additional 15 GW annually. In China, the World Nuclear Association (WNA) reports that the country has 56 operational reactors with a total capacity of 54.3 GW, in addition to 30 more reactors with a total capacity of 32.5 GW currently under construction.

In September, the IAEA projected that global nuclear power capacity would increase 2.5 times by 2050, with a significant contribution from small modular reactors (SMRs). "The IAEA's new projection reflects a growing understanding of nuclear power as a clean and secure energy source, as well as increasing interest in SMRs for both power and non-power applications, helping to achieve climate goals and sustainable development," according to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

As of the end of 2023, the world had 413 operational nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 371.5 GW. According to the highest projections, the IAEA believes this capacity will increase to 950 GW by 2050. At last year's COP28 conference in the UAE, 22 countries committed for the first time to tripling their nuclear energy use by the middle of this century to help curb global warming. By COP29, six more countries had joined the commitment.

Source: Statista

Graphics: Meditation

New motivation

According to Bilbao y Leon, Director General of WNA, many more people are now open to discussing nuclear power as an energy solution and a way to combat climate change. "It's a whole new dynamic," she stated. Nuclear power has been used in the U.S. for the past 60 years and is the nation's largest source of clean energy, helping to avoid emissions of over 470 million tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to the emissions of 100 million cars on the road, according to the U.S. Department of Energy website.

Pennsylvania recently announced plans to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, expected to create 3,400 jobs and generate $3 billion in tax revenue. "Natural gas is under attack. Coal is shutting down all over this country. You have to have a basic energy source, and nuclear is probably the most efficient one we have," AFP quoted Robert Bair, president of the Pennsylvania Board of Construction and Commerce, as saying.

Inside the Flamanville nuclear power plant in France

Experts believe the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution has dramatically increased energy demand for data centers, prompting cloud computing giants to seek additional low-carbon energy sources. Microsoft, OpenAI's largest shareholder, signed a 20-year contract in September to purchase electricity from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Last month, Kairos Power (California, USA) reached an agreement to build six or seven small nuclear reactors to power Google's AI needs. Additionally, Amazon purchased a nuclear-powered data center in March from independent power producer Talen Energy.

KRCRTV recently cited a Pew Research Center survey of 8,638 randomly selected American adults, showing that 56% support building more nuclear power plants. The main reason is concerns about climate change, as nuclear power emits virtually no greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuels. According to The New York Times, among the countries recently committed to building nuclear reactors for electricity production are those that have long used this technology, such as Canada, South Korea, the United States, and France; but also countries that currently do not have nuclear power, such as Kenya, Mongolia, and Nigeria. In addition, countries like Turkey and the United Kingdom are exploring ways to finance new nuclear power plants or how smaller reactors can generate the energy needed for various industrial purposes.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/the-gioi-tang-toc-phat-trien-dien-hat-nhan-185241128222714323.htm