Nuclear Power Rises Again
Renewed growth will require a great deal of political will combined with
considerable energy and innovation from the industry and its backers.
By Stephen Kidd
O
pinions about nuclear power are very much coloured transformed the economics of nuclear power as reactors are
by its history. The accidents at Three Mile Island and now generating power at costs below those of rival
Chernobyl, together with concerns over international technologies such as coal, gas and oil. Even taking into
nuclear proliferation surrounding countries such as Iran, are account the heavy investment costs of new nuclear plants,
both important. Nevertheless, the current increase in interest building them can make sound economic sense if they can be
in nuclear power is leading to much debate about enhanced constructed and completed quickly and also operate at high
international co-operation, which should support a revival in capacity factors for many years. This is particularly so at a
nuclear plant construction in many countries. The arguments timewhenpricesoffossilfuelshaverisensharplyandarenow
used against expanding nuclear power are looking extremely volatile. Improved economic performance has also
increasingly weak. However, renewed growth will require a led to applications for operating license extensions for nuclear
great deal of political will combined with considerable energy plants, and many are now expected to operate for up to 60
and innovation from the industry and its backers. years. So the number of plant closures has been limited,
It is often believed that nuclear power has been in decline although over half of the world’s reactors are now 25 years or
throughout the world for many years. The current position, more from their start-up date.
illustrated in Table 1, shows there have indeed been relatively
few new reactor start-ups in the western world in recent years, The European Experience
while the numbers of gas-fired plants have increased. Yet the CommercialnuclearpowerintheUKgrewdirectlyoutofthe
nuclear share of world electricity generation has remained nuclear weapons programme of the late 1940s and 1950s. The
remarkably constant at around 16% since the late 1980s, a first generation of reactors were essentially ‘dual use’ in that
period of 20 years. Nuclear power generation has kept up with they were used to supply plutonium for bombs at the same
growing overall electricity supply but how has this happened? time as generating electricity. The early enrichment facilities
The answer lies partly in the shift of the centre of nuclear likewise produced highly enriched uranium (HEU) for bombs
industry to Asia. Although North America and western Europe as well as low enriched uranium (LEU) for the next generation
have almost stopped commissioning new reactors, the nuclear ofreactors.Ithasbeenhardforthecivilnuclearsectortothrow
programmes in Japan, Korea and, more recently, China and off these military beginnings and much of the secrecy and
Indiahavebeenpushingahead.Yetthe general suspicion that surrounds it
number of reactors in operation (436
... despite only slow growth in
undoubtedly have their origin here. It
today) is little changed from the late
1980s, with a few going out of service
world nuclear generating
would also be fair to say that those
responsible for creating a more positive
eachyearandasimilarnumberofnew
capacity, electricity production
imageforthecivilsidedidaverypoorjob
ones starting up. The new reactors,
has risen much more quickly
in the early days. Indeed, it could almost
however, are much larger than those be said that nobody really tried at all –
shutting down, so world nuclear generating capacity has been thepublicwasexpectedtobeextremelygratefulforthe‘gift’of
increasingslowly,butsteadily.Anotherveryimportantfactorin nuclear power, without having it explained to them properly.
this has been capacity up-rates at existing reactors. Plant The image of civil nuclear power in the UK has also
operators have found this to be a highly economic way of undoubtedly been soured by the experience of previous reactor
gaining more power – indeed, up-rates in the US have already programmes. Political interference and inconsistencies in
added the generating capacity of several new reactors. policy-making led to the adoption of a poor reactor choice.
The most important factor in increasing nuclear generation Persisting with gas-cooled reactors as a nationalistic option
has, however, been the improved operating performance of when the world was adopting light water reactors contributed
existingreactors,manyofthem20or30yearsold.Someofthis toaninferioreconomicperformance.Thiswasworsenedbythe
can be attributed to electricity liberalisation in many markets. timeittooktobuildthereactors–upto20yearsinsomecases.
But whatever the explanation, nuclear plants in many If nuclear power is to be economic, reactors have to be brought
countries are now operating 90% of the time, whereas before on-line quickly and this has never happened in the UK. This
70% was regarded as an adequate performance. So despite has led to the general assumption that nuclear power will
only slow growth in world nuclear generating capacity, always be a non-economic choice and requires government
electricity production has risen much more quickly. This has subsidies to survive.
152 worldPower2009
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164