The Expectant Global Nuclear Energy Renaissance: Movers, Shakers and Spoilers

Abstract

The global nuclear energy sector is at crossroads. Driven by the global campaign on climate change, nuclear energy was seen as the hope of a clean alternative to fossil fuels, which raised hopes of a rejuvenation and revival of the global nuclear industry. The expectant turnaround, often termed as a nuclear energy renaissance, has though not yet come about, largely owing to public perception about the safety of nuclear plants. While it was events such as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island that created the slowdown in the first place, incidents like Fukushima drove public apprehension and popular protests against upcoming nuclear power projects. On the one hand, such apprehensions have prodded many advanced industrial nations to announce phasing out of nuclear power and shift to renewable energy resources, and on the other hand, emerging economies such as China and India are heavily investing on nuclear energy as a source to power their economic growth. The dichotomy exists in the fact that advanced societies continue to rely on nuclear power amid falling gas prices and grid demands even as emerging economies are facing issues of restrictions on access to nuclear resources and technological limitations, along with public resistance, in their quest for uninhibited exploitation of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Will the massive expansion of nuclear energy sector, especially in the Asian region, drive a global renaissance in the nuclear energy sector? Will the emerging economies overcome the inherent challenges and harness opportunities for the renaissance to take shape? Who will be the key players driving this growth, revival and rejuvenation story, and what are drivers and impediments to its fulfilment? This paper undertakes a reality check of this burgeoning ecosystem and examines whether a nuclear energy renaissance is actually in the offing.