The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy by the International Energy Agency (IEA), looks at the opportunities for nuclear energy to address energy security and climate concerns – and the critical elements needed to pursue these opportunities, including policies, innovation and financing. Nuclear energy is a well-established technology that has provided electricity and heat to consumers for well over 50 years and is gaining strength in recognition, with rising investment, new technology advances, and supportive policies in over 40 countries. The electricity demand, projected to grow strongly over the next decades, further underpins the importance of having sufficient new sources of stable low-emissions electricity.
This report reviews the status of nuclear energy and explores risks related to policies, construction and financing. It provides the long-term outlook for nuclear power, quantifying nuclear power capacity and the related investment over the period to 2050. With continued innovation, sufficient government support and new business models, small modular reactors can play a pivotal role in enabling a new era for nuclear energy. It highlights potential mechanisms to unlock financing while also emphasizing the critical importance of adequate planning for the required workforce and supply chains.
Terra Praxis directs a significant amount of its time and energy on highly-strategic meetings with the highest levels of government and global organizations like the IEA. On September 13, 2024, Terra Praxis, as the only non-profit organization invited, was honored to participate and contribute to the invitation only IEA conference ''Enabling Nuclear Power in Secure and Affordable Energy Transitions'', where the current impediments and potential solutions to enable nuclear power as part of the clean energy transition were discussed. The discussions served as a key input for this report.
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