Where next for nuclear power?

Abstract

There is no doubt in the author's mind that nuclear power will be needed in the future to provide plentiful supplies of environmentally clean and low-cost electrical power. However, in North America and Western Europe there has been a politically motivated pause in new ordering of nuclear plant. In this period a great deal of development work has gone into new generations of nuclear reactor design. Most rely heavily on a wealth of experience from well over 400 commercial units operating successfully around the world. These plants offer an exceptional level of safety and preclude the need for any emergency planning for local populations. Some of the evolutionary designs are already starting to be built and put into operation in Southeast Asia and Russia. More radical new designs have also been developed with passive features that offer comparable levels of safety. These new reactor designs are generally smaller and greatly simplified. Most are at a point where they are ready for commercial exploitation. The electricity utility market has a wide choice in the coming years. It is by no means certain, but it looks as if large evolutionary designs will be adopted in countries with powerful electricity grid systems, while there is a huge potential for the smaller units in new markets.