IEA assessment of nuclear ‘impractical’, says World Nuclear Association

The International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario puts too much faith in technologies that are “uncertain, untested or unreliable” and fails to reflect both the size and scope of the contribution that nuclear technologies could make, World Nuclear Association said today. “Given that more than 60% of the world’s electricity is currently generated …

Poland plans next stage of HTR development

Poland’s Ministry of Education and Science and the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) have signed an agreement for the next round of high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) design work. The agreement was signed yesterday in Otwock-Spruce, at a ceremony attended by Minister of Climate and Environment Michał Kurtyka, Minister of Education and Science Przemysław …

US may consider nuclear subsidies

The White House has indicated privately to lawmakers and stakeholders that it supports taxpayer subsidies to keep nuclear facilities from closing, Reuters reported on 5 May, citing “three sources familiar with the discussions”. New subsidies, in the form of “production tax credits,” could be included in President Joe Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar legislative effort to invest in …

Nuclear “worth looking at” for African countries

Nuclear can help Africa generate the energy its people need for economic prosperity, while helping to meet the dual challenge of rapidly growing energy demand and concerns for the environment, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has said this week. Governments across Africa are devising policies to become middle-income countries in …

When shutting down the world isn’t enough to fight climate change: Why nuclear? Why now?

This is the third in a series of blogs from the Global Public Affairs webinar Nuclear Power: Part of Canada’s Energy Transition. If you want to learn more from some of Canada’s top nuclear experts, don’t miss the previous blog in this series: What are SMRs? And what is their role in decarbonization and electrification? …

Nuclear power will ‘absolutely’ be politically acceptable again — it’s safer than oil, coal, natural gas

Nuclear energy will “absolutely” be politically palatable, billionaire philanthropist, technologist and climate change evangelist Bill Gates recently told Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Nuclear power has to overcome a baneful reputation garnered by association with the atomic bomb and radioactive disasters, but it’s a necessary, worthy and surmountable challenge to correct the naysayers, …