CanaryMedia: “Nuclear power’s loud-but-quiet year.” In terms of press releases, huge American governmental support, + pledges to build new nuclear power—2025 was a gangbusters year. In terms of adding more reactors to the U.S. grid—nothing to hear but crickets. “In fact, around the world, more gigawatts’ [GW] worth of nuclear reactors were retired than turned on this year, according to new data from the consultancy BloombergNEF.” In the first 11 months of this year only 2 new reactors came on line, totaling 1.8 GW. Meanwhile, seven reactors totaling 2.8 GW of capacity were permanently shuttered.
“Overall, the world had 417 reactors in operation churning out 337 GW of power as of the start of this month.” In spite of legislators in Belgium “voting in May to repeal a 2003 law that required the country to phase out nuclear power entirely,” they mothballed 2 reactors this year. “Taiwan also contributed to the decline when it closed the last reactor at its Maanshan plant on the island’s southern tip, completing the country’s long-awaited exit from atomic energy…Russia will round out the closures by decommissioning three 12-megawatt units at a plant in the Arctic by the end of this month. But these shutdowns may mark a turning point from a global retreat from nuclear. “Around the world, new technologies are racing toward maturity, shuttered reactors are being revived, and dealmakers are seeking to shore up the future supply of clean electricity by investing in new nuclear power.” Looking ahead, “next year is the first time in at least 15 years that zero reactors worldwide are slated to shut down.” Though closures will pick up again in 2027, “new capacity is projected to dramatically outpace shutdowns through 2029.” On top of that, according to Chris Gadomski, the lead nuclear analyst at BloombergNEF, “there’s a lot of hesitation among countries in the world to do business with the Chinese, ”who are currently building reactors at a far faster rate than any other country.”
I look forward to following all these stories of industrial or ‘socialism nested within’ capitalism next yr.
