If you’ve been following government announcements you’ll know that the UK’s government is solidly behind nuclear energy and, more specifically, a new wave of nuclear power station construction. A report published last week from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows very clearly just why the UK considers nuclear power as an integral part of the country’s energy mix.
The report, coverage of which you can read here , puts the economic benefits at £5 Billion (($7.78 Billion) per year and as many as 32,000 jobs. Whichever way you look at it, that’s a huge bonus and can be achieved while meeting another imperative which is to drive down carbon emissions.
What I find just as interesting, however, is the report’s focus on something that not all industry commentators acknowledge: the need to secure electricity supplies. As worldwide demand increases, so the battle for resources intensifies. Nowhere is this more visible that in the area of energy.
Electricity demand is expected to grow as much as 76 % by 2030. Considering the base load requirements of national grids, it’s simply not feasible to meet this demand while also reducing carbon emissions (moving away from fossil fuels) unless nuclear energy plays a prominent part in the energy mix.
The UK government is not the only one that understands this. Russia, a canny player in the world energy market with huge natural gas reserves and other natural resources, is currently constructing 10 reactors, has another 17 in the planning phase and a further 24 in the proposal stage and they are just the tip of the iceberg. China has nearly three times as many reactors in the build and planning stages and nearly six times as many proposed. Nor are these two countries alone. Thirteen countries worldwide are currently building new reactors and 27 countries are in the planning stages.
The economy, the environment and security – the reason that nuclear’s part in the energy mix will continue to grow.
Dev Randhawa
