HOLLYWOOD, Ala. – The aftershocks from the March earthquake that crippled Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant are still rumbling across the global nuclear power industry, cutting in half the number of new reactors one of the world’s biggest nuclear power companies expects will be built in the next two decades.
Luic Oursel, chief executive of the French nuclear giant Areva, said Thursday he expects a 50 percent increase in nuclear power generation around the globe by 2030.
But two years ago, Areva expected the number of reactors to double by 2030.
“It is clear that the accident at Fukushima has had a strong impact on the nuclear industry,” Oursel said during a visit to TVA’s Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant that Areva will help complete. “But we consider that all of parameters which have driven this nuclear renaissance remain the same. The need for competitive and predictable power, the need to fight climate change and the need for greater energy dependence continues to grow around the world.”
Except for Germany, most countries have confirmed their commitment to maintain and build more nuclear power even after the unexpected radiation leaks at the Fukushima plant following an earthquake and tsunami in Japan six months ago, Oursel said.