World nuclear energy use to grow over next 20 years, requiring increased uranium mining

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) has forecast that worldwide nuclear energy generation capacity will grow by 2.6% a year over the next 20 years. The prediction is contained in the WNA publication The Nuclear Fuel Report: Global Scenarios for Demand and Supply Availability 2021-2040, which was launched on Thursday. Currently, nuclear energy produces some 10% of global electricity, but the role of nuclear is expected to grow, because it is a near-zero carbon emissions technology. In capacity terms, as of the middle of this year, nuclear provided 394 GWe, generated by 442 reactors. Another 60 GWe of capacity, or 57 reactors, was currently under construction.