Central and Eastern Asia nuclear capacity could hit 407GW by 2060

Global nuclear capacity could reach 1,284 GW(e) in the high case.

Central and Eastern Asia’s nuclear capacity could rise to 407 gigawatts electric (GW(e)) by 2060 from 114 GW(e) in 2025, accounting for the largest share of future nuclear additions globally, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

Nuclear electricity generation in the region is also projected to increase almost fivefold from the 2025 level.

The projection comes as the IAEA expects global nuclear capacity to more than triple by 2060, marking the sixth consecutive year it has raised its forecast.

The agency said 413 nuclear power reactors were operating worldwide, providing 377.1 GW(e) of global nuclear generating capacity by the end of 2025.

The high case projects global nuclear capacity to reach 1,045 GW(e) by 2050, up from 992 GW(e) projected last year, before increasing to 1,284 GW(e) by 2060, approximately 3.4 times the 2025 level.

The low case projects capacity to reach 696 GW(e), nearly double the 2025 level.

“The IAEA projections show the increasing role of nuclear power in meeting the world’s growing electricity needs. To realise this potential, investment in new nuclear capacity and reactor lifetime extensions will be essential,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

Despite a 1.1% increase in generation in 2025 to 2,689.1 terawatt-hours, nuclear’s share of global electricity generation fell to 8.4% as global electricity generation grew faster.

Increasing small modular reactor (SMR) uptake

SMR uptake is also set to increase, with SMRs accounting for 28% of new capacity added by 2060 in the high case and 23% in the low case, compared with 24% and 5%, respectively, in the previous edition of RDS-1, the IAEA said.

North America could see about 60% of new nuclear capacity coming from SMRs, whilst the share is 40% in both cases for South-Eastern Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ageing nuclear fleet

The IAEA said two out of every three nuclear power reactors have been in operation for more than 30 years, whilst 45% have been in operation for more than 40 years.

In the high case projection, about one-third of 2025 capacity would retire by 2060 and almost two-thirds in the low case.

Whilst seven reactors with a total capacity of 2.8 GW(e) were retired in 2025, three new nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 3.0 GW(e) were connected to the grid and construction began on 12 new reactors that are expected to add a total capacity of 14.3 GW(e).