this uptick could require approximately 50 GW per year of new nuclear capacity (Exhibit 3). 15
required skills in the labor force, for example. Our experience shows that the challenges in building new nuclear plants include but are not limited to: — Complexity and variation in reactor designs, such that every plant is a “first of its kind,” with little repetition of standard designs to capture project-over-project improvements. — Limited industrial base for materials, systems, and components, as well as a need for specialized manufacturing processes and rare materials.
To scale nuclear power’s capacity, numerous challenges must be addressed.
Building nuclear power plants comes with a complex set of challenges During the past 20 years, construction of new nuclear power plants has presented an array of challenges. These hurdles have been particularly acute in Western countries but are not necessarily unique to the nuclear industry, as other sectors face complex regulatory requirements or a scarcity of
— Scarcity of both skilled-craft and salaried workers who have the required expertise,
Web <2023> <RapidNuclear> Exhibit <3> of <3>
Exhibit 3 The greatest amount of nuclear capacity added globally in a single year since 2000 was 11 gigawatts, a lower peak compared with other sources of energy.
Global capacity additions by energy source, gigawatts (GW)
350
Solar added 183 GW of capacity in 2021 alone, suggesting global acceptance could provide necessary momentum Since 2000, ~11 GW is the greatest amount of nuclear capacity additions in a single year Since 2000, ~93 GW is the most single-year global capacity additions in fossil fuels (coal in 2006) with average additions of >80 GWs from 2006–16
Solar¹ Wind Hydro Nuclear Gas Coal Other²
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
1 Data for solar capacity additions begin in 2007. ²Includes biomass, waste, oil, geothermal, and hydrogen. Source: BloombergNEF; Global Wind Energy Council; International Atomic Energy Agency
McKinsey & Company
15 Excludes nontraditional off-takers (for example hydrogen generation, industrial heat, and desalination).
Accelerating the journey to net zero
102
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