2011-2012 world nuclear industry status report

The market niche that nuclear power once held is disappearing. The key nuclear indicators-including the number of operating reactors, installed capacity, power generation, and share of total electricity generation-all show that the global nuclear industry is in decline. In 2012, nuclear power's competitors-most notably, wind and solar generation-are rapidly gaining market share as long lead times, construction delays, cost overruns, and safety concerns have combined to make nuclear power a risky investment that the markets are increasingly unwilling to make. To renew the aging world nuclear fleet, nuclear utilities would need to surmount a number of major problems, including a short-term manufacturing bottleneck, a shortage of skilled workers, regulatory uncertainty, a skeptical financial sector, and negative public opinion. The aftermath of the Fukushima disaster and the world economic crisis have only exacerbated these problems. The authors write that a realistic scenario that leads to an increase in nuclear's share of the world's electricity is hard to imagine.