Nuclear power plant in Hunan province of China. Photo: China Daily.
China and Russia dominate the market of new nuclear reactors just when rising energy prices present a major new opportunity for the industry, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).
China and Russia have built 87% of the nuclear reactors that have been installed since 2017, while the UK, US, France and Canada together accounted for just 10%, according to a new IEA report.
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IEA notes that this represents a loss of leadership for Western powers in the face of the advancing Eurasian axis, as “27 out of 31 reactors that started construction since 2017 are Russian or Chinese designs,” said IEA Executive Director Faith Birol.
The report argued that uncertain times for global energy make nuclear power a key geopolitical battleground, overshadowing past safety concerns about nuclear power that arose after major accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants.
Despite the aforementioned tragedies, nuclear power remains cheaper, more economic, and cleaner than fossil fuels. “If nuclear investment is not accelerated… it would raise the consumer electricity bill by $20 billion a year to 2050,” the report noted.
China is at the forefront of nuclear energy generation, destined to become the leading producer of nuclear technologies by 2030, according to the IEA. As for Western power stations, the report says that their technologies are obsolete. This is how the new axis of power is gaining ground on the nuclear energy front.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/JRE
