Published just last week, the OECD report on uranium resources, production and demand, viewed as a ‘benchmark’ report by many, has confirmed what a great many industry analysts have been saying for a while – Fukushima has had little impact on the prospects for nuclear energy, and those prospects are good. I strongly encourage you to read the coverage of the report on Reuters as I personally found it paints a clear, concise view of industry growth – where it is coming from and over what time period.
The biennial report expects world nuclear capacity to grow by 44 percent to 99 percent by 2035, which is little changed from the range of growth of 37 percent to 110 percent in the edition two years ago. Reuters have quoted Gary Dyck, head of nuclear fuel cycle and materials at the International Atomic Energy Agency as referring to Fukushima’s impact on the nuclear industry as a “speed bump”.
The report also highlights China, India, South Korea and Russia as the largest driving force behind the growth with nuclear capacity due to by 125 percent to 185 percent by 2035.
Dev Randhawa
