Group Projects 100-GW Rise in Global Nuclear Power Capacity Across Next Decade

Power Magazine ^ | April 21, 2025 | Darrell Proctor

[ProtectOurFreedom]

A new report from GlobalData, a data and analytics group, projects global nuclear power capacity will hit 494 GW by 2035. The group’s “Nuclear Power Market, Update 2025–Market Size, Segmentation, Major Trends, and Key Country Analysis to 2035” said capacity gains will be tied to advancements in deployments of small modular reactors (SMRs), along with the continuing worldwide shift to cleaner forms of energy.

The report released April 21 said recent gains in nuclear power have been driven by moves toward more low-carbon baseload power. Measures promoting energy security, in addition to interest in decarbonization of industrial sectors, also is supporting increased use of nuclear power, according to GlobalData.

The group said the increase in capacity to 494 GW over the next 10 years is about a 100-GW increase from the 2024 level of 395 GW. GlobalData said power generation from nuclear will rise from 2,616 TWh in 2024 to 3,410 TWh in 2035, a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 2%. The group said nuclear power at present accounts for about 9% of the world’s electricity production. The report also notes that countries with older reactors are still pursuing extensions to those units’ operating licenses, and some countries—notably China and other Asian nations—are expanding their nuclear power fleets.

“The growing focus on energy security due to geopolitical tensions, increasing demand for low-carbon dispatchable power, government support through regulations and incentives such as grants, loan guarantees, production and investment tax credits (PTCs and ITCs), and market-based mechanisms like Contracts for Difference (CfDs), advancements in SMRs and next-gen technologies, and a surge in electricity demand from data centers are the major reasons behind the increasing adoption of nuclear energy worldwide,” said Mohammed Ziauddin, a power analyst at GlobalData, in comments about the report.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

This is good news for those of us who want reliable power for our industrial economy...at least until the Democrats deep-six nuclear post-Trump.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Almost enough!

[lurk]

This is good for city use. We don’t have the heavy lines for transporting that much juice over distances.

[Repeal The 17th]

[Governor Dinwiddie]

We wanted to do this in the 70s and 80s, but all the leftists and communists went on a decades long rampage: "no nukes, no nukes, no nukes!"—the Sally Fields, the Jane Fondas, the Hollywood glitterati. Projects were scrapped. New designs were canceled. Research ground to a halt.

But now here we are! We don't have those nuclear reactors now that we need them.

[Blue Highway]

It’s a fine time to bring nuclear back to the forefront the US