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Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

The comeback of nuclear power in many countries is expected to drive a record-high electricity generation from nuclear in 2025, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.  

By next year, global nuclear generation is forecast to exceed its previous record set in 2021, the IEA said in its Electricity 2024 report published today.

Even as some countries phase out nuclear power or retire plants early, global nuclear generation is expected to rise by nearly 3% per year on average through 2026. The key drivers of growth will be the completion of maintenance works in France, restart of some nuclear power plants in Japan, and new reactors coming online in China, India, South Korea, and Europe, among others, according to the IEA.  

After the energy crisis of 2022, many governments – with the notable exception of Germany – have opted to boost its nuclear power generation to ensure energy security and reduce emissions from electricity generation as they aim to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The UK, France, Sweden, and Switzerland are some of the European countries that are betting on domestic nuclear power generation and extension of power plant lifetimes as a way to boost energy security and reduce carbon emissions.

Soaring renewable capacity additions and the global nuclear renaissance are on track to enable low-emissions power generation to outpace robust electricity demand growth over the next three years, according to the IEA.