Nuclear power viable energy choice for the future

Global energy use will most likely increase to more than double by 2050, which is e. g. the medium value of the projection in the Intergovernmentals Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). How to reconcile the projections with the current nuclear status? In its first fifty years, nuclear power has grown from 5 MWe of power production to an installed worldwide capacity of 360 GWe in 30 countries. Nuclear power provides about 16 % of the total electricity in the world and is contributing to the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases from the power sector. The SIZES scenarios identify a gap between the current electricity generation capacity and the capacity requirements in 2050 of 360 GWe and 1 500 GWe. Three key factors will determine the future contibution of nuclear power: - improved economics, national energy choice and supporting infrastructure as well as institutional arrangement, and - the degree to which advances are implemented in evolutionary and innovative reactor and fuel cycle technologies, to address safety, waste and proliferation concerns, as well as economic competitiveness. The economics of nuclear power are one main topic in industiral countries. A Japanese case study on energy security credit shows that nuclear power will eventually be a winner in the long term perspective due to amortisation and stable fuel prices. Nuclear power is also a part of nuclear technologies to address daunting challenges in the developing countries - hunger, disease, poverty, and shortage of drinking water and electricity.