Nuclear power, hydropower and wind energy have the lowest life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among all the power generation sources, according to The Nuclear Technology Review 2014, published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in July. Consequently, these technologies will become even more important as new carbon constraints are expected to be adopted during the UN Climate Conference in France in 2015.
The report recalled the conclusions of the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century held in June 2013, which stated that "nuclear power remains an important option for many countries to improve energy security, reduce the impact of volatile fossil fuels prices and mitigate the effects of climate change".
Notable developments in the global nuclear power sector were highlighted in the report, covering a wide range of areas including fusion, accelerator and research reactor applications and greenhouse gas emission reduction. The report noted in particular that continued enhancements and research in advanced fission reactors, such as water cooled reactors, fast reactors and gas cooled reactors, are expected to contribute towards more efficient use of nuclear fuel and reduce radioactive waste volumes.
Furthermore, according to the report, there is growing interest in small and medium sized reactors and in the use of nuclear power plants for non-electric applications such as desalination, process heat, district heating and hydrogen production.
In 2013, the IAEA forecasted that nuclear power would grow by between 17% as the low projection and 94% as the high projection by 2030. These figures are slightly lower than the 2012 ones, as a result of the continued impact of the Fukushima Daiichi accident, low natural gas prices and the increasing use of renewable energy. The number of reactors under construction reached 72 in December 2013, the highest number since 1989, thanks mainly to nuclear new build in Asia, particularly in China.
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