By next year, global nuclear generation is forecast to exceed its previous record set in 2021, the IEA said in its Electricity 2024 report published today.
Even as some countries phase out nuclear power or retire plants early, global nuclear generation is expected to rise by nearly 3% per year on average through 2026. The key drivers of growth will be the completion of maintenance works in France, restart of some nuclear power plants in Japan, and new reactors coming online in China, India, South Korea, and Europe, among others, according to the IEA.
After the energy crisis of 2022, many governments – with the notable exception of Germany – have opted to boost their nuclear power generation to ensure energy security and reduce emissions from electricity generation as they aim to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
The UK, France, Sweden, and Switzerland are some of the European countries that are betting on domestic nuclear power generation and extension of power plant lifetimes as a way to boost energy security and reduce carbon emissions.
“The power sector currently produces more CO2 emissions than any other in the world economy, so it’s encouraging that the rapid growth of renewables and a steady expansion of nuclear power are together on course to match all the increase in global electricity demand over the next three years,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement.
“This is largely thanks to the huge momentum behind renewables, with ever cheaper solar leading the way, and support from the important comeback of nuclear power, whose generation is set to reach a historic high by 2025,” Birol added.
Soaring renewable capacity additions and the global nuclear renaissance are on track to enable low-emissions power generation to outpace robust electricity demand growth over the next three years, according to the IEA.
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