Prospects of Nuclear Power in a Sustainable Energy Transition

Abstract

The availability of refined and efficient energy resources has played a decisive role in the advancement of societies, especially since the Industrial Revolution of the mid eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. In the twentieth century, the international energy scenario is experiencing a profound transition in terms of energy resources and their utilization. The energy transition is in response to the challenges the global energy landscape faces such as rapidly growing demand, depleting fossil fuel reserves, surging energy prices, risks associated with the security of supplies, and above all climate change. Nuclear power is an important form of energy making a significant contribution to the electricity mix around the world, especially in developed countries. One of the major advantages of nuclear power is its minimal greenhouse gas emissions as compared to fossil fuels. The paper examines the prospects of nuclear power in the energy transition considering both the trend of phase-out that the technology has experienced primarily in several European countries since the 1980s, as well as the growing interest it has received more recently as a low carbon energy solution toward addressing climate change. It also examines the significance of nuclear power toward energy transition with the help of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) based on expert opinion from developed as well as developing countries.