Energy security

Nuclear industry’s response to Covid-19 outbreak

The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis has led to a slowdown of the economic growth of countries across the world. The global pandemic has called for considerable measures to be taken in every aspect of life worldwide. The coronavirus spread has affected numerous industries and the global economy. One such industry is the power sector, which has witnessed a visible impact in the last two months. The electricity demand curve has taken a new shape in the affected regions.

During this ongoing Covid-19 crisis, apart from fossil fuel and renewable power technologies, nuclear reactors are also playing a crucial role in a number of countries in maintaining electricity supplies. Nuclear technology is a major baseload power-generating source and accounted for 10.3% of global power generation in 2019. The nuclear power sector is growing in many countries as demand for electricity increases. Some 31 countries are currently operating nuclear reactors for their electricity generation. Countries with significant nuclear power capacity are: the US, France, Japan, China, Russian Federation, Republic of Korea, Canada, and Ukraine, with more than 10 gigawatts (GW) of cumulative installed capacity each. Germany, the UK, Sweden, Spain, India, and Belgium have 5GW-10GW cumulative installed nuclear power capacity each.