Nuclear power remains irrelevant in international market: report

China added only a gigawatt of nuclear capacity in 2023.

Nuclear power remains irrelevant in the international energy landscape as countries prioritise solar coupled with storage solutions in making their energy goals and policies a reality.

"Contrary to widespread perception, nuclear power remains irrelevant in the international market for electricity generating technologies. Solar plus storage might be the game changer for the adaptation of policy decisions to current industrial realities," the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2024 read.

Total investment in non-hydro renewable electricity capacity reached $623b last year. This was 27 times the reported global investment decisions for the construction of nuclear power plants.

Solar and wind power capacities alone grew by 73% and 51%, respectively, resulting in 460 gigawatts (GW) of combined new capacity versus the 1 GW decline in nuclear. Global wind and solar facilities also generated 50% more electricity than nuclear plants.

In China, a major energy market, over 200 GW of solar capacity was added compared to 1 GW of additional nuclear capacity. Furthermore, solar produced a total of 578 terrawatt-hours, overtaking nuclear power by 40%.

Adding wind and other non-hydro renewables like biomass, net total generation was four times more than nuclear output in China, the report said.

Overall, nuclear energy’s share of global commercial gross electricity generation declined slightly to 9.15% in 2023 from 9.18% in 2022, down from the peak of 17.5% in 1996.

Fewer countries are also building new nuclear facilities with 13, three less than in mid-2023, are hosting 59 reactor construction projects. At least 23 are delayed, with at least 10 have reported increased delays.

As of mid-2024, China had the most reactors under construction (27) but none abroad.

In terms of cost, solar plus storage is already “significantly lower than nuclear power in most markets today,” as well as “highly competitive with other low-emissions sources of electricity that are commercially available today,” the report read.