Financing new nuclear energy projects

If global nuclear energy capacity is to at least triple by 2050 it is going to need huge, huge investment - estimates suggest $250billion a year for 25 years. So how will it be financed and what are the opportunities and challenges for financiers wanting to get involved? 

To find out more, host Alex Hunt is joined by World Nuclear Association's Lola Infante, Senior Programme Lead Economics and Finance, and David Stearns, nuclear finance advisor and consultant.

They consider why nuclear projects have generally been state-financed in the past, and what the industry needs to do to ensure that it attracts private finance for future schemes, including "financing by design" where, as David puts it, "you embed and you write the financial coding at the same time that you're doing your site assessment, at the same time that you're checking your early stage regulatory approvals".

There is discussion of the growing appetite by global investment banks and multilateral banks to invest in new nuclear and the challenges of structuring financing to ensure it is attractive despite the long timescales involved in planning, building and then operating a new nuclear power plant.

They also provide insights into what has been learned so far from the Financing Nuclear Briefing series, which brings the nuclear industry and financiers together to discuss financing issues under Chatham House rules.

Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
Investment decisions needed to avoid fuel cycle supply gaps
'Difficult to overstate demand from institutional investors' for nuclear

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Episode credit:  Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production