Tony Blair's think tank says global carbon emissions would have been 6% lower than they are today without the “inaccurate rhetoric” about nuclear power that has caused “unfounded public concerns” since the Chernobyl disaster.
According to a report by the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), if the nuclear industry continued to grow at the same pace as before the 1986 nuclear disaster, it would reduce carbon dioxide by as much as Canada, South Korea, Australia and Mexico combined.
A report released Monday says global emissions are higher than expected because the number of nuclear reactors operating has declined sharply since the 1980s. They found that more than 400 nuclear reactors were commissioned in the 30 years before the Chernobyl disaster, but fewer than 200 were commissioned in the nearly 30 years that followed.
“As a result, nuclear power has not become the ubiquitous power source that many expected, and countries are turning instead to alternative energies such as coal and gas,” the report says. .
The think tank predicts a “new nuclear age” will be ushered in over the next few years, driven by a surge in demand for low-carbon electricity from power-hungry data centers needed to power artificial intelligence.
However, the report found that public perceptions of the risks of nuclear power are “out of proportion to the actual risks” and that world leaders have been caught up in the “false alarms and false alarms” that have slowed progress in nuclear power in recent decades. He warned of the need to overcome “ideology.”
“In the entire history of nuclear power, there have only been two major accidents, the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents. [in Japan in 2011] And while these impacts are severe, they are significantly overestimated,” the report states.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced plans to help restart Pennsylvania's infamous Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, site of the most severe nuclear meltdown and radiation leak in U.S. history, to power AI operations. Ta.
A few weeks later, Google signed a “world-first” deal to buy energy from California's Kairos Power from six to seven small nuclear reactors to generate the electricity it needs to power its increased use of AI. Amazon and software company Oracle have also signed a deal to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) to power their data centers.
The new dawn of nuclear energy represents a “significant opportunity” for the UK, according to the TBI's second report. The report called on the government to develop a “bold new strategy” for nuclear technology, including creating “AI growth zones” across the country. Nuclear projects aimed at powering data centers will face simplified planning rules.
Tone Langengen, senior policy advisor at TBI and lead author of the report, said: “A new nuclear age is dawning, but whether it lasts depends entirely on whether our leaders are willing to look beyond misinformation and ideology and base their decisions on fact-based risk assessments. Masu.”
Earlier this year, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee warned that Conservative Party opposition to the development of factory-produced small modular nuclear power plants remained strong even after the government set up the company Great British Nuclear, which will deliver the new plants. He said the government's approach “lacks clarity”. , including a fleet of SMRs.
The previous government spent £215 million developing SMR designs; A competition was held for companies to bid on the contract..
The UK has not completed a nuclear power station since Sizewell B was completed in 1995. In 2006, as prime minister, Blair announced that the UK would build a new generation of nuclear power stations, but plans were delayed. legal challenge.
