Nuclear Technology Review 2011 - IAEA

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, caused by the
extraordinary natural disasters of the earthquake and tsunamis that struck Japan
on 11 March 2011, continues to be assessed. As this report focuses on
developments in 2010, the accident and its implications are not addressed here,
but will be addressed in future reports of the Agency.
In 2010, construction started on sixteen new nuclear power reactors, the
largest number since 1985. With five new reactors connected to the grid and only
one reactor retired during the year, total nuclear power capacity around the world
increased to 375 GW(e). Revised projections in 2010 of future nuclear power
growth still indicated high expectations for nuclear power expansion.
Expansion and near and long term growth prospects remained centred in
Asia. Two thirds of the reactors currently under construction are in Asia, as were
thirteen of the sixteen construction starts. Of these, ten construction starts were in
China alone. Trends of uprates and renewed or extended licences for operating
reactors continued in 2010, particularly in some European countries where the
trend towards reconsidering policies that restricted the future use of nuclear
power continued. Interest in starting new nuclear power programmes remained
high, with over 60 Member States having indicated to the Agency their interest in
considering the introduction of nuclear power.
In the 2010 edition of the OECD/NEA–IAEA ‘Red Book’, estimates of
identified conventional uranium resources at less than $130/kg U decreased
slightly compared to the previous edition, but uranium production worldwide
significantly increased due largely to increased production in Kazakhstan.
Uranium spot prices, which declined in 2009, reached at the end of 2010 their
highest levels in over two years topping $160/kg U, despite early and mid-year
prices fluctuating between $105/kg U and $115/kg U.
The Board of Governors, in December 2010, approved the establishment of
an IAEA low enriched uranium (LEU) bank, which will be owned and managed
by the IAEA, as a supply of last resort, for power generation. Also in December,
an LEU reserve under the aegis of the Agency was opened in Angarsk, Russian
Federation, comprising 120 tonnes of LEU, which is sufficient for two full cores
of fuel for a 1000 MW(e) power reactor.
More than 50 Member States are considering alternatives or have begun
developing disposal options appropriate for their waste inventories. In January
2010, a decree came into force in Slovenia confirming the site for its low and
intermediate level waste repository.
In November 2010, the European Commission issued a proposal for a
Council Directive on the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste that
included asking EU Member States to present national programmes, indicating
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