Sama Bilbao y León says that the implementation of forecasts for the phasing out of fossil fuels and transition to clean energy by 2050 will require about 40 gigawatts (GW) of new nuclear capacities, half of which will be large NPPs and half small nuclear reactors, to be put into operation annually.
Achieving these goals will require the synchronisation and development of regulatory and licensing regimes in the nuclear industry. “Currently, licensing processes take quite long, especially in the countries where this is being done for the first time. We are working with regulators and organisations to optimise this process because licensing needs to get faster and more efficient. And we are working on that,” noted Sama Bilbao y León.
In addition, the development of the global nuclear industry requires uniform policy principles for nuclear energy-producing countries at the national level.
Another important challenge is to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity in developing countries, which “will require us to review [electricity] supply chains and improve their efficiency.”
“We have a very short window of opportunity to meet rapidly growing needs and tackle the challenges facing the energy sector,” she added.