2025 was a banner year for nuclear. Not only has the global commitment to tripling nuclear energy by 2050 continued to grow, but hardly a day went by without a major announcement on nuclear developments somewhere around the world. Just a few of the many announcements in 2025 include: And Read more
As we entered 2025, we wrote that if we truly want to deliver on the pledge to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050, this is the year to start making things happen. While attention is often focused on reactor designs, financing models, or supply chain readiness, you can’t build new Read more
When discussing the future of nuclear power plant construction, there is general agreement that to control costs and risks there is a need to build a fleet of standardized designs. The 2024 US DOE Liftoff report clearly states a committed order book of 5–10 deployments of a single reactor design Read more
As we reported last month at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Government Pledge to triple global nuclear by 2050 added six new signatories bringing the total number of countries who have signed the pledge to 31. Support for nuclear power to both meet countries’ clean energy and energy security Read more
As COP 29 got underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, expanding nuclear power continued to be high on the agenda. The Government Pledge to triple global nuclear signed at last year’s COP 28 in Dubai added six new signatories this year, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Nigeria, and Türkiye, bring the total Read more
In our last two posts we looked at the pledge signed by more than 20 countries at COP28 in Dubai to triple the amount of nuclear globally by 2050 and the pledge made by more than 120 companies in the nuclear industry to meet this challenge. This month we comment Read more
In our last post we looked at the pledge signed by more than 20 countries at COP28 in Dubai to triple the amount of nuclear globally by 2050. This month we consider the pledge made by more than 120 companies in the nuclear industry to meet this challenge and support Read more
In our recent post on nuclear project financing, we noted the importance of reducing risk to investors to ensure projects can raise sufficient competitively priced capital needed to build them. Today we will discuss project structures. What are they and why are they important? The project structure is how the Read more
Early last month, Vogtle Unit 3, the first new nuclear plant to be built in the United States in decades, went critical, meaning it started to nuclear fission and move down the path to producing its first electricity and becoming operational. This was great news as the project has had Read more
On December 15, 2022, the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) issued ”Pathways to Decarbonization – A report to the Minister of Energy to evaluate a moratorium on new natural gas generation in Ontario and to develop a pathway to zero emissions in the electricity sector”. This report considers a Read more
In its 2022 report on the role of nuclear power in fighting climate change, “Nuclear Power and Secure Energy Transitions”, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says “Nuclear energy can help make the energy sector’s journey away from unabated fossil fuels faster and more secure.” It goes on to clearly lay Read more
In the early 1990s, deregulating electricity generation seemed like a good idea. Led by the UK, many markets rushed to dismantle their vertically integrated electric utilities with the goal of creating competition to benefit their customers, the electricity using public. The view was that utilities had become fat and lazy Read more
In our last post, we quoted from recent reports that clearly lay out the environmental benefits of nuclear power. This month we want to start off the year by launching a short series addressing some of the issues that impact energy economics. Today we will talk about the importance of Read more
This past year, as COP26 came and went, and the climate discussion turned from emission reductions to net zero targets; more and more governments have come to accept that nuclear power should, and in fact must, play an important role in meeting their aggressive climate goals. China is leading the Read more
Nuclear power is a people business. Through the hard work of many, most plants operate at very high operating factors and produce clean economic electricity 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They produce in good weather and bad, when it is sunny and when it is dark, when Read more
It has been more than a decade since the nuclear industry focused its attention on the next generation of nuclear plants, the Generation III designs. Most of the world’s current operating fleet (440 nuclear reactors in 30 countries) are classified as Generation II plants, the first generation of truly commercial Read more
When it comes to nuclear project implementation there is no greater challenge than getting the costs right. The industry can focus on improving public acceptance and demonstrating a need for low carbon generation, but only a cost competitive nuclear industry will really meet its full potential. This is the third Read more
Of the many challenges to expanding the use of nuclear power, economic competitiveness is essential for future success. Nuclear projects are large complex projects that have frequently experienced delays and overruns. Earlier this year, we wrote about the need to build nuclear plants on time and on budget as the Read more
There are more nuclear plants in the European (EU) than anywhere else. Yet a broad range of nuclear policies across the European nations is having a large impact on its future. Currently there are 127 nuclear plants in operation in the EU (plus another 5 in Switzerland). Of the 14 Read more
Large capital projects are hard. They require a huge amount of planning, the logistics are often staggering and depend upon many contractors and suppliers, all who must perform completely in step for everything to come together as planned. The project manager is like the conductor of a large orchestra and Read more