Nuclear Energy Having a Global Revival 04/23 06:05

   

   (AP) -- The 1986 Chernobyl disaster fueled global fears about nuclear power 
and slowed its development in Europe and elsewhere. Four decades later, 
however, there's a revival around the world, a trend that has been given a big 
boost by war in the Middle East.

   Over 400 nuclear reactors are operational in 31 countries, while about 70 
more are under construction. Nuclear power accounts for producing about 10% of 
the world's electricity, equivalent to about a quarter of all sources of 
low-carbon power.

   Nuclear reactors have seen steady improvements, adding more safety features 
and making them cheaper to build and operate.

   While Chernobyl and the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan diminished 
the appetite for such power sources, it was clear years ago that there probably 
would be a revival, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International 
Energy Agency.

   With the war in the Middle East, "I am 100% sure nuclear is coming back," he 
added.

   "It's seen as a secure electricity generation system, and we will see that 
the comeback of nuclear will be very strong, both in (the) Americas, in Europe 
and in Asia," Birol told The Associated Press.

   Nuclear energy reliance stays strong

   The United States is the world's largest producer of nuclear power, with 94 
operational reactors accounting for about 30% of global generation of nuclear 
electricity. And it is increasing efforts to develop nuclear energy capacity 
with a goal to quadruple it by 2050.

   "The world cannot power its industries, meet the demands of artificial 
intelligence, or secure its energy future without nuclear power," U.S. 
Undersecretary of State Thomas DiNanno said last month.

   China operates 61 nuclear reactors and is leading the world in building new 
units, with nearly 40 under construction with a goal to surpass the U.S. and 
become the global leader in nuclear capacity.

   European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has acknowledged that it was 
Europe's "strategic mistake" to cut nuclear energy and outlined new initiatives 
to encourage building power plants.

   Russia, meanwhile, has taken a strong lead in exporting its nuclear 
know-how, building 20 reactors worldwide.

   Chernobyl's Reactor No. 4 exploded on April 26, 1986, while Ukraine was 
still part of the Soviet Union. The accident contaminated nearby areas and 
spewed radiation across Europe.

   Ukraine still relies heavily on nuclear plants to generate about half of its 
electricity. Those plants have played a vital role after Russia sent troops 
into Ukraine in 2022. Moscow's forces have captured Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia 
Nuclear Power Plant, and Kyiv accused Russia of a drone attack on the 
protective containment structure covering the damaged Chernobyl reactor.

   Japan has restarted 15 reactors after reviewing the lessons of the 
earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima plant, and 10 more are in the 
process of getting approval to restart.

   South Africa has the only nuclear power plant on the African continent, 
although Russia is building one in Egypt, and several other African nations are 
exploring the technology.

   "The momentum we are seeing today is the result of a growing recognition 
that reliable, low-carbon electricity will be essential to meet the world's 
rising energy demand," said Rafael Grossi, director general of the 
International Atomic Energy Agency.

   EU eyes nuclear expansion

   Europe sought to wean itself off Russian energy after the Ukraine conflict, 
but its dependence on hydrocarbons was underlined by the war in the Middle East.

   The European Commission has shifted its perception of nuclear energy and 
views it as part of clean energy, along with wind and solar power, to achieve 
climate goals.

   In 1990, nuclear energy accounted for about a third of Europe's electricity; 
now it's only about 15%, and von der Leyen has acknowledged that its reliance 
on imported fossil fuels puts it at a disadvantage.

   "I believe that it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a 
reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power," she said recently. "In the 
last years, we see a global revival of nuclear energy. And Europe wants to be 
part of it."

   The EU is considering the development of Small Modular Reactors. Expected to 
become operational in the early 2030s, they are seen as cheaper and faster to 
build and more flexible than traditional reactors.

   France and a few other EU members, including Sweden and Finland, have 
spearheaded nuclear power. On the other hand, Germany, Austria and Italy are 
among the EU members that outlawed its use.

   In a major policy reversal last year, Belgium repealed a law that demanded 
the closure of its reactors and extended their lifespan. Spain, meanwhile, 
still plans to phase out its nuclear capacity and shut down its seven 
operational reactors between 2027 and 2035.

   France remains a nuclear powerhouse

   With 57 reactors at 19 plants, France relies on nuclear power for nearly 70% 
of its electricity.

   Successive governments have backed nuclear power as central to France's 
energy independence, undeterred by the Chernobyl disaster. In 2022, President 
Emmanuel Macron announced plans to build six new pressurized water reactors, 
aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions and support the transition to low-carbon 
energy.

   The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the gas supply crunch triggered by the 
conflict in Ukraine, "revealed the limits of deploying renewable electricity 
and Europe's dependence on gas," said Nicolas Goldberg, a partner at 
Paris-based Colombus Consulting.

   "France has therefore been reinforced in its strategy of maintaining its 
existing nuclear plants, which means extending their lifespan as much as 
possible," he said.

   Germany stands firm in phasing it out

   Decades of anti-nuclear protests in Germany, stoked by past accidents, had 
pressured successive governments to end using a technology that critics saw as 
unsafe and unsustainable. Germany switched off its last three nuclear reactors 
in 2023, the final step in plans that had been drawn up by governments of 
various political stripes over two decades.

   A significant nuclear revival in Europe's biggest economy still looks 
far-fetched, despite recent talk among some in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's 
center-right bloc about being open to a possible future generation of small 
modular reactors.

   "The decision is irreversible -- I regret it, but that's how it is," Merz 
said, noting the plant operators's "consistent answer was: 'We are too far 
along with demolition.'"

   Russian domestic nuclear expansion and exporting reactors

   Russia has aggressively expanded its nuclear power capacity both 
domestically and internationally.

   It has 34 operational reactors, including eight Chernobyl-type RBMK 
reactors, known as the light water graphite reactors, which account for about a 
quarter of all nuclear power generation. They have seen extensive 
modernizations, adding safety features to fix the inherent design flaw that, 
coupled with human error, triggered the Chernobyl disaster.

   Key projects under construction include new units at the Kursk, Leningrad 
and Smolensk sites, a prospective plant in the Far East, and prospective 
floating nuclear units.

   Russia also is building 20 reactors in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle 
East, and has signed contracts to launch construction in several other 
countries.

   Russia has built the first nuclear reactor for neighboring ally Belarus, 
which has seen a third of its territory contaminated from the Chernobyl 
accident.

   "Belarusian authorities are using the changed context and the so-called 
'nuclear renaissance' to claim that we are acting like everyone else in the 
world, rather than solving the problems of Belarusians in the contaminated 
territories," said Irina Sukhiy, founder of the Belarus ecological group Green 
Network.