An article in Forbes on April 23 spells out the truth of global nuclear power’s future in the stark terms of a business publication. In “China Will Lead the World in Nuclear Energy, Along with All Other Energy Sources, Sooner Than You Think,” author James Conca ignores the “to green or not to green” question and gets down to the facts: The United States may be ahead in the nuclear game right now, but the trends would have you put your money on China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2021/04/23/china-will-lead-the-world-in-nuclear-energy-along-with-all-other-energy-sources-sooner-than-you-think/?sh=29d3a35c778c
With a colorful schematic diagram of China’s home-grown (and built) third-generation Hualong One reactor heading the piece, Conca (who, as an environmental scientist specializing in “geologic disposal of nuclear waste” straddles both ends of the scientific world) shows that, while the static numbers might show America in the lead — 94 reactors for 96.5GW to 49 reactors for 47.5GW — the trend is with China. Not only does China have 17 reactors currently under construction, to America’s 2, but the United States has also shut down 39 reactors, “many for no particularly good reason.”