The ‘nuclear renaissance’ just isn’t happening

“No one has ever built a nuclear plant in a liberalised electricity market,”….Mr Roderick of GE Hitachi observes that in the past five years, only a fraction of the proposed reactor projects went ahead, and he expects the same to be true in the next five years…….

Nuclear: New dawn now seems limited to the east, FT.com, By Ed Crooks: September 12 2010 The renaissance of nuclear power is a much fabled beast that is often talked about but rarely seen.A new wave of construction of nuclear power stations, bringing to an end the lull in the industry since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, has been widely predicted for much of the past decade…….
many of the hopes and claims made for the nuclear renaissance have been excessive. Industry executives and analysts suggest most of those new reactors are unlikely to be built on their proposed schedules, if at all.

The pace of development of reactor projects is slow in Europe, and even slower in the US. Any upturn in construction is happening in emerging economies, above all in China…..

The global financial crisis that began in the summer of 2007, has curbed investors’ appetite for risky commitments, including large nuclear plants costing €5bn-plus ($6.3bn-plus) that face unpredictable risks in terms of energy markets, technology, regulation and political support.

Second, the recession has caused a fall in power demand, which has made energy companies think again about the need for further investment in generation capacity…….

public attitudes towards nuclear power remain ambiguous in many developed countries, with significant opposition even when majority opinion is in favour.

“No one has ever built a nuclear plant in a liberalised electricity market,” says Omar Abbosh, the managing director for natural resources in the UK for Accenture, the consultancy……

The concerns in Britain created by the arrival of the anti-nuclear Liberal Democrats as part of the governing coalition are a prime example of the uncertainties facing the industry in democratic countries……..

Finally, there have been clear signs that the nuclear industry itself is not ready to accelerate construction. The delays and cost overruns suffered by the EPR reactors from Areva, the French nuclear group, being built at Olkiluoto in Finland and Flamanville in France point to a lack of clear regulation, the difficulties in building “first of a kind” projects, and insufficient skills and capacity in the supply chain.

Put together, these factors are likely to continue to delay nuclear investment in developed countries for years to come.

Mr Roderick of GE Hitachi observes that in the past five years, only a fraction of the proposed reactor projects went ahead, and he expects the same to be true in the next five years…….