OilPrice.com By Josh Owens
- Nuclear energy has long been deemed too dangerous, too expensive, and too slow to build, with governments and companies alike eschewing nuclear power and pursuing solar and wind.
- More recently, nuclear energy has been having a renaissance as countries around the world attempt to meet their ambitious climate goals.
- Today, in the wake of Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine and a global energy shortage, the importance of nuclear energy in terms of energy security has been thrown into stark relief.
The global energy market is in turmoil, with electricity bills around the world soaring and scant options when it comes to securing new supply. A combination of Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine, years of underinvestment in new projects, and the rapid return of demand after covid have overwhelmed the energy market. The price of everything from coal to natural gas, oil, and even lithium is soaring. And while it may be impossible to conjure up new supply in the short term, now is certainly a good time to reconsider how best to invest in our energy infrastructure going forward so as to fortify it against future crises. In particular, it is time to revisit the debate over nuclear power, consider why it fell out of favor, and if it is time to bring it back.
The state of nuclear power today
Following the Fukushima disaster in 2011, nuclear power fell out of favor around the world. Most notably, Japan and Germany moved to phase out nuclear power altogether. Then, following the shale boom in the U.S. and the remarkable cost reduction of solar and wind energy, the economics of nuclear power grew increasingly unattractive. More recently, however, interest in nuclear energy is bouncing back. China has committed to building 150 new reactors in the next 15 years, the Biden administration is investing $6 billion in saving financially distressed nuclear reactors, and the European Commission declared that some nuclear energy investments would be labeled as âgreenâ. This sudden rush to support nuclear is perhaps unsurprising if you consider that the IEAâs road map to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 had nuclear power generation nearly doubling. Despite that roadmap, nuclear has been struggling to gain support.
Globally, nuclear energy made up 10% of global electricity generation in 2021, down from 17% in 2000. It did, however, see a 4% increase from the year before, adding 100Twh to reach a total of 2,736 TWh. It seems nuclear power could be on the brink of a renaissance, and Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine could well speed that up, but there are still plenty of reasons to be wary of the energy source.
