Browse by: "N"

Realising the contribution of nuclear energy to achieving net zero carbon emission in 2050 will require raising significant amounts of capital at competitive rates. On the basis of work under the aegis of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) – International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) Initiative on Nuclear Financing, this report explores a new framework for analysing the cost of capital for nuclear new build projects. Its key insight is that capital costs can be substantially lowered if the different risks pertaining to such projects such as construction risk, price risk or political risk are properly understood, optimally managed and fairly allocated. In a carbon-constrained world, the true capital costs of nuclear energy and other low-carbon generators will also be lower than customarily assumed due to their ability to offset systemic financial risk. The findings of this report apply equally to private and public investments. Governments nevertheless have important roles to play in ensuring credible net zero commitments, implementing frameworks for optimal risk management and by becoming involved as project participants, in cases where they judge that private actors do not realise the full value of a nuclear power project.

This report is the first in the collection New perspectives on financing nuclear new build, highlighting complementary aspects of financing nuclear new build. Other volumes in the series address the financing frameworks and risk allocation strategies proposed or adopted for recent or ongoing nuclear new build projects, environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and the electricity market design, project management and incentive structures necessary for nuclear new build projects to succeed.

Amid the ongoing global energy crisis, Never Too Early to Prepare for Next Winter: Europe’s Gas Balance for 2023-2024 examines the latest developments in European natural gas and electricity markets, and in global LNG markets – assessing their implications for Europe’s gas balance in 2023 and 2024.

Based on detailed analysis of global data and market trends, this new IEA report cautions that the process of filling European gas storage sites in 2022 benefitted from key factors – including Russian pipeline flows during the summer and lower LNG imports by China – that may well not be repeated in 2023. This raises the risk of a supply-demand gap of as much as 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) during the key summer period for refilling gas storage in 2023.

Nuclear Power and Secure Energy Transitions: From Today’s Challenges to Tomorrow’s Clean Energy Systems is a new report by the International Energy Agency that looks at how nuclear energy could help address two major crises – energy and climate – facing the world today. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the disruptions in global energy supplies that it has fuelled have made governments rethink their energy security strategies, putting a stronger focus on developing more diverse and domestically based supplies. For multiple governments, nuclear energy is among the options for achieving this. At the same time, many governments have in recent years stepped up their ambitions and commitments to reach net zero emissions. Nuclear Power and Secure Energy Transitions expands upon the IEA’s landmark 2021 report, Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector. It does so by exploring in depth nuclear power’s potential role as a source of low emissions electricity that is available on demand to complement the leading role of renewables such as wind and solar in the transition to electricity systems with net zero emissions.

In this context, the report examines the difficulties facing nuclear investment, particularly in advanced economies, in the areas of cost, performance, safety and waste management. It considers the additional challenge of meeting net zero targets with less nuclear power than envisioned in the IEA Net Zero Roadmap, as well as what kind of cost targets could enable nuclear power to play a larger role in energy transitions. For countries where nuclear power is considered an acceptable part of the future energy mix, the new report identifies the potential policy, regulatory and market changes that could be implemented in order to create new investment opportunities. It also looks at the role of new technologies, particularly small modular reactors, and their potential development and deployment.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) regularly conducts in-depth peer reviews of the energy policies of its member countries. This process supports energy policy development and encourages the exchange of international best practices and experiences.

Since the last IEA review in 2017, Norway has remained a global pillar of energy security, providing the world with stable supplies of oil and gas produced in an environmentally conscious manner. Norway has updated its already ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with plans to achieve 90-95% reductions (excluding sinks) from 1990 levels by 2050.

Norway has considerable work ahead to meet these ambitious targets. Since its electricity generation produces nearly zero emissions already and the country has substantially electrified its energy demand, many of the easy wins for reducing emissions have already been achieved. The remaining reductions will be more complex, challenging and costly, notably in transport and industry.

Norway has many natural advantages to facilitate a successful energy and climate transition. In particular, it can be well-positioned to lead the world on new technologies for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, such as electric vehicles, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen, if the right policies and incentives are put in place.

In this report, the IEA provides energy policy recommendations to help Norway effectively manage the transformation of its energy sector in line with its goals.

Nuclear Energy Data is the Nuclear Energy Agency’s annual compilation of statistics and country reports documenting nuclear power status in NEA member countries and in the OECD area. Information provided by governments includes statistics on total electricity produced by all sources and by nuclear power, fuel cycle capacities and requirements, and projections to 2040, where available. Country reports summarise energy policies, updates of the status in nuclear energy programmes and fuel cycle developments.

In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of electricity security in modern societies. Although the long-term implications for electricity generation are difficult to assess, during the crisis nuclear power continued to support the security of supply and has been, together with renewables, one of the most resilient low-carbon electricity sources. Governments committed to having nuclear power in the energy mix advanced plans for developing or increasing nuclear generating capacity, including plans for small modular reactor and advanced reactors. Further details on these and other developments are provided in the publication’s numerous tables, graphs and country reports.

This publication contains “StatLinks”. For each StatLink, the reader will find a URL which leads to the corresponding spreadsheet. These links work in the same way as an Internet link.

This profile provides a concise and policy-relevant overview of health and the health system in Norway as part of the broader series of the State of Health in the EU country profiles. It provides a short synthesis of: the health status in the country; the determinants of health, focussing on behavioural risk factors; the organisation of the health system; and the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of the health system. This edition has a special focus on the impact of COVID‑19.

This profile is the joint work of the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in co-operation with the European Commission.

This profile provides a concise and policy-relevant overview of health and the health system in the Netherlands as part of the broader series of the State of Health in the EU country profiles. It provides a short synthesis of: the health status in the country; the determinants of health, focussing on behavioural risk factors; the organisation of the health system; and the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of the health system. This edition has a special focus on the impact of COVID‑19.

This profile is the joint work of the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in co-operation with the European Commission.

This report highlights the potential role of nuclear in contributing to the circular carbon economy as a low-carbon source of electricity, but also as a source of heat and system integration services. It further highlights the essential role played by the existing nuclear reactor fleet in supporting the resilience of the electricity system through the COVID-19 crisis, and the significant role that the nuclear sector can play in post-COVID-19 recovery efforts.

As with all low-carbon technologies, a number of enabling policies are needed for nuclear power to play its full role in the circular carbon economy. They are outlined in the last section of this report. Building on these conclusions, G20 countries could take specific action in a number of areas, both individually and collectively.

The number of countries announcing pledges to achieve net-zero emissions over the coming decades continues to grow. But the pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C.

This special report is the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth. It sets out a cost-effective and economically productive pathway, resulting in a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables like solar and wind instead of fossil fuels. The report also examines key uncertainties, such as the roles of bioenergy, carbon capture and behavioural changes in reaching net zero.