IAEA examines economic challenges facing nuclear power industry

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s new Technical Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Operations convened last week to discuss the economic challenges facing the nuclear energy industry.

While 55 nuclear power reactors are currently under construction around the world, and 30 more are in the planning stages, a significant number of plans have shut down in recent years. And many of these closures occurred before their licenses to operate expired. Economic factors are the primary culture for many of these premature shutdowns.

“As the world’s leading nuclear operator, EDF sees a great interest in this new Technical Working Group,” Dominique Minière, group senior executive and vice president of nuclear and thermal operations at EDF, said. “This working group provides us with a good opportunity to develop common strategies to tackle the similar challenges utilities across the world are facing and to get full IAEA support in this regard.”

The working group was created to provide a platform to foster peer-to-peer networking and collaboration among leaders in the industry. The group will make recommendations on optimizing impact and value for industry and society and establishing a vision for sustainability. It will also highlight national, regional, and global energy and electricity policies to align and prioritize IAEA activities.

This type of collaboration is essential to sustain nuclear energy as an important source of energy.

“Let me paraphrase what Director General Yukiya Amano said at the Board of Governors this Monday: without using the full potential of nuclear power, it will be difficult for the world to achieve sustainable development and mitigate climate change,” Mikhail Chudakov, IAEA deputy director general and head of the Department of Nuclear Energy, said at the meeting last week.