World Nuclear Capacity Set to Grow by 45 Percent by 2035

Global nuclear power generation capacity could increase by more than 45 percent in the next 20 years but the pace of growth will still fall short of what is needed to curb climate change, an industry organization report showed on Thursday.

The World Nuclear Association Nuclear Fuel report forecasts global nuclear capacity will grow to 552 gigawatts equivalent (GWe) by 2035 from 379 GWe currently, as many countries build new plants as a lower-carbon option and for energy security.

The International Energy Agency has estimated that nuclear capacity needs to reach 660 GWe in 2030 and more than 900 GWe by 2050 to help keep a rise in global temperatures within 2 degrees Celsius this century, a threshold scientists say should avoid the worst effects of climate change.

However, this would require $81 billion a year investment in new nuclear plants from 2014 to 2040.

"Nuclear electricity output is set to increase at a faster rate over the next five years than we have seen for more than two decades," said Agneta Rising, director general of the World Nuclear Association.

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