Energy Ministry: IAEA notes growing demand for nuclear energy worldwide

MINSK, 12 October (BelTA) - More and more countries are turning to nuclear power as a clean and reliable source of energy to solve the problems of energy security and climate change, said IAEA Deputy Director General Mikhail Chudakov, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Energy Ministry.

According to the IAEA's recently published forecast on the future of the nuclear industry, the world's nuclear power plant capacity will grow more than 2.5 times by 2050: from just over 300 to 890 GW. “This is quite an ambitious goal, which envisages the annual commissioning of 20 NPP units,” Mikhail Chudakov said.

According to him, a number of countries that previously announced the decommissioning of their NPPs have reconsidered their decisions. Among them are Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland and others. “They have changed their approaches in time - they are modernizing existing nuclear power plants and intend to build new ones,” he added.

At a time when developed countries can ensure the realization of such large-scale projects as the construction of nuclear power plants, developing countries often lack the infrastructure necessary to do so. “That is why they are thinking about developing small modular reactors. This is also true about African countries,” Mikhail Chudakov said.