The nuclear industry experience last year was the same as almost every other for the past 30 years: a small number of reactor start-ups and a small number of closures.
Meanwhile, the growth of renewables is being turbocharged as countries seek to strengthen energy security.
Decline
There were seven reactor start-ups worldwide in 2022 and five permanent reactor closures, a net gain of just 4.2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generating capacity.
The fleet of mostly young reactors 30 years ago is now a fleet of mostly ageing reactors. Due to the ageing of the reactor fleet, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) anticipates the closure of 10 reactors (10 GW) per year from 2018 to 2050.
Over the past decade, from 2013‒22, there were on average 6.5 reactor construction starts annually. That’s a recipe for slow decline. There were 20 construction starts over the past two years, suggesting the possibility of a further period of stagnation. Continua a leggere “Nuclear is flatlining”