(Source SeeNews 16th July 15)
The World Nuclear Industry Report 2015 has stated that Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, China, the Netherlands, Brazil and Spain (representing 45% of global population) already produce more power from renewables (not including hydro), than from nuclear power plants.
The report goes on to suggest that the rapid growth of global power generation from renewable sources, is affecting the economic and operational efficiency of nuclear power plants. “The development of renewables, as the system is currently configured, tends to be to the detriment of nuclear power and other base-load generators, which are said to be uncompetitive and ‘structurally disadvantaged’,”
The below graph, taken from the status report, shows that the world has installed 180 GW of solar, and 355 GW of wind since 2000, and only 20 GW of nuclear power capacity. The deployment of renewables at scale leads to an increased requirement for very flexible complementary sources, all the while transforming base-load generators into “the dinosaur of the future energy system”, as defined by Swiss bank UPS.
Wind, Solar and Nuclear, Capacity Increases in the World 2000–2014. Source: The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2015.