Nuclear Power: Is the Renaissance Real or a Mirage?

摘要

In 2009, in the midst of the global financial and economic crises that began in 2008, and as the nuclear power industry posted its first two-year decline in installed capacity in history, the IAEA revised its projections for future nuclear power growth upwards. This paper summarizes the status of nuclear power in the world today and the status of all steps in the nuclear fuel cycle. It summarizes nuclear power's prospects and important trends in key factors. It explains the reasons for optimism and rising expectations about nuclear power's future, and it acknowledges that there is, nonetheless, much uncertainty.