US influence on the wane

摘要

The shifting outlook for nuclear power development globally could lead to a major change in the international 'balance of power' in nuclear energy and technology. Whereas the United States currently has about 25 percent of the world's nuclear-generating capacity, by 2030 this number could drop nearly in half, to 14 percent. China could displace the United States as the world's largest producer of nuclear energy by that date, and the four nations of China, India, South Korea, and Russia could account for nearly half of total global capacity. Looking further ahead to 2050, the shift could be even more dramatic. Without a marked change in the economics of nuclear power in the United States, domestic nuclear generating capacity could fall to less than 10 GWe. Assuming China, India, Russia, and South Korea, along with several new entrants, continue to construct and operate new plants, the United States could account for just a few percent of the world's installed commercial nuclear power capacity by mid-century.