Downsized nuclear power reactors vie for share in energy mix

Nuclear power seemed destined for a life on the sidelines. Its share in the world’s electricity production was already on a steady decline when disaster struck at the Fukushima plant in Japan over a decade ago, prompting countries all over the world to phase out their nuclear power plants. Construction of new facilities often faces hefty delays and massive budget overruns. For example, the Olkiluoto-3 reactor in Finland, scheduled to come online later this year, is twelve years late and 8 billion euros over the original budget of 3 billion, according to the 2019 World Nuclear Industry Report.

Few countries, most prominently China and Russia, are prepared to keep putting up the hefty subsidies needed to continue building new plants. As a result, the 11 percent share of nuclear power in global electricity production in 2020 has been predicted to remain steady at best, or drop to 6 percent in a low-case scenario, according to data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). For a low-carbon energy source during a transition away from fossil-based energy sources, that’s not a lot of love.