IAEA projects increase in nuclear’s growth for second year in a row

Other projections from the report include the following:

• Total electricity production is expected to jump about 23 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050, compared with 2021 levels.
• In the high-case scenario, nuclear electricity production is expected to see an approximate 40 percent increase from the 2021 level by 2030 and a more than 2.5-fold increase by 2050. Nuclear’s share of total electricity production is expected to tick up more than 3 percentage points.
• In the low case, nuclear electricity production is expected to move up about 12 percent from the 2021 level by 2030, reaching 29 percent by 2050. The share of nuclear in total electricity production is expected to decline by about 3 percentage points.

The report’s projections are derived from two studies: the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2021 and the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook 2021.

Words of Wisdom: “We are at a defining moment in the world’s transition to a more secure, stable, and affordable energy future,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, the IAEA’s director general, in a September 26 press release. “Driven by the impacts of climate change and the energy crisis, governments are reconsidering their portfolios in favor of nuclear power. But for the high-case scenario to be achieved, a number of challenges need to be addressed, including regulatory and industrial harmonization and progress in high-level waste disposal.”