Welcome address to the participants of the International Public Dialogue-Forum and Exhibition AtomEco 2017

Globally, nuclear energy is growing. In 2016 nearly 10 GW of new nuclear capacity started supplying electricity, that’s more than double the average capacity connected each year in the previous two decades.

But the need for access to affordable and reliable electricity supplies is growing even faster, as the global population increases and countries seek to develop their economies and improve the living standards of their citizens.

This growing need for electricity needs to be met with environmentally responsible electricity production. Nuclear energy, as the only clean, reliable, 24/7 source of electricity needs to play a much greater role in the world’s energy mix.

The global  nuclear industry has adopted its own vision for the future of electricity, Harmony. Harmony envisages meeting the world’s growing demand for electricity with a diverse mix of low carbon generating technologies deployed so that the benefits of each are maximised while the negative impacts are minimised.

The Harmony target for nuclear energy is to provide 25% of electricity in 2050, requiring roughly 1000 GWe of new nuclear capacity to be constructed - depending on other factors like reactor retirements and electricity demand growth.

Achieving 1000 GWe of new build by 2050 will require a cooperative effort by many industry players in many fields of activity. We will also need to work with policy makers and regulators to remove unnecessary barriers to growth.

The global nuclear industry - and all its surrounding stakeholders - should seek to realise a level playing field where nuclear generators can participate in markets that value all low-carbon technologies, incorporating not only levelized costs, but also system reliability and environmental benefits.

We should work towards harmonised regulatory processes, to provide a more internationally consistent, efficient and predictable nuclear licensing regime, to facilitate significant growth of nuclear capacity, without compromising safety and security.

And we need to develop an effective safety paradigm where the health, environmental and safety benefits of nuclear are valued when compared with other energy source, by focusing on increasing genuine public well-being whilst ensuring high safety standards are met.

At AtomEco we will discuss radioactive waste, used nuclear fuel management, decommissioning and environmental remediation. But we must ensure that we look beyond our own industry to the broader challenge of meeting the world’s environmental and development goals. The whole nuclear community – research, government, regulation, design, operation, decommissioning and waste management – must play their part in working towards a common goal to ensure that nuclear can contribute to a generation mix that is clean, reliable and affordable, supplying electricity 24/7.


Agneta Rising
Director General of WNA