Outlook: IEA Says Nuclear Is Set for a 'Comeback'

Nuclear power is "set to make a comeback," International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said this week, as his agency released a long-awaited report on nuclear power's role in the global energy transition. If the transition proceeds with a precipitous decline in nuclear power generation, from 10% of global output to 3% by 2050, the energy transition will be more challenging, more risky and $500 billion more expensive, the report argues. But the IEA also warned that any true nuclear buildout needs industry to lower reactor construction costs by 40%, and governments to develop frameworks that "facilitate investment" in nuclear.