Power-hungry Emerging Countries Look to Nuclear Energy to Meet Demand, According to a New Study on ASDReports

Tuesday 24 February 2015, Amsterdam

Emerging markets will play a major role in the expansion of global nuclear installed capacity, which will increase from 371 Gigawatts (GW) in 2013 to 517 GW by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.5%.

The company’s latest report, now available on ASDReports, states that while the world’s nuclear power generation decreased in 2011 and 2012 in the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown, the market is gradually recovering, with large-scale capacity additions expected in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

The report says: “The after-effects of the Fukushima meltdown go beyond the decline of nuclear power generation in Japan.

“Germany and Switzerland are now planning to phase out nuclear power, while others, such as China, Japan, France and the UK, have developed strong frameworks for nuclear safety and performed stress tests on their existing nuclear reactors to ensure safe operations.”

Despite this more cautious global approach, this report states that the emerging nuclear countries in the APAC region are building more than 20 nuclear reactors and are planning to add 13.8 GW of nuclear power by 2030, led by 6.8 GW of additions in Vietnam.

Srivastava explains: “High electricity demand is a key driver for nuclear power development in Vietnam. The country plans to construct 10 new reactors by 2030 and has signed a number of co-operative governmental agreements regarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy with Russia, China, India, South Korea and Argentina.

“Russia received a construction deal to build the first two reactors in 2009, while Japan won the deal for the third and fourth reactors the following year.”

The report states that despite anti-nuclear public opinion and safety concerns, there are a number of factors boosting demand for nuclear power.

The analyst concludes: “Nuclear power has the capacity to produce large amounts of electricity and therefore meet the growing demand for power. It is also seen as a way of counteracting concerns over volatile fossil fuel prices, oil reserve shortages and rising carbon emissions.”