{"id":54647,"date":"2025-01-20T09:32:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T09:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=54647"},"modified":"2025-01-20T09:32:15","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T09:32:15","slug":"the-economic-impacts-of-investing-in-nuclear-energy-infrastructure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/the-economic-impacts-of-investing-in-nuclear-energy-infrastructure\/54647\/","title":{"rendered":"The economic impacts of investing in nuclear energy infrastructure"},"content":{"rendered":"
Jack Shaw, writer and editor at Modded, explores the upsides and downsides of investing in nuclear energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The clean electricity market is largely an economic boon, not just an environmental one. As these markets mature, private investors and large organisations should consider what niches deserve special attention. Nuclear energy is a potential option.<\/p>\n
Nuclear power often takes a backseat to renewables in sustainable energy conversations. Still, it creates no operational greenhouse gas emissions and is not intermittent like wind and solar. Consequently, it could be a promising investment in sustainability and economics. Before making a decision, though, stakeholders should consider the entire picture.<\/p>\n
Like many alternative power sources, investing in nuclear energy infrastructure can produce many positive economic effects. Here are some prominent ones to be aware of.<\/p>\n
Funding nuclear power would diversify the industry, and diverse markets typically foster strong long-term performance. Low-carbon energy is already a strong market, generating \u00a369.4bn in 2022<\/a> alone \u2014 a 28% growth over the prior year.<\/p>\n Electrical generation is both the fastest-growing and largest portion of this segment. Fostering diversity within that niche could drive even bigger economic growth. This diversification is particularly impactful because nuclear has unique selling points compared to renewables.<\/p>\n Nuclear facilities can produce electricity around the clock and without geographic limitations. As a result, it fills performance gaps that wind and solar naturally create. Investing in this solution could lead to a more robust, healthier clean power market as a result.<\/p>\n The nuclear sector is also a key source of funding for the national government. Electrical generation carries a considerable tax levy, so an expanding industry means additional earnings to back various public projects. Despite not being as prominent an energy source as renewables, nuclear already generates significant tax revenue.<\/p>\n A 2023 study found the nuclear industry contributes roughly \u00a37.1bn in taxes<\/a> for the UK, primarily in the northwest. Expanding the sector could lead to even higher government funding, both from levies on electrical generation and income taxes from the resulting jobs.<\/p>\n These taxes, in turn, could promote economic growth in other sectors or provide needed support to lower and middle-class families. In that way, investing in nuclear energy funds a healthier economy as a whole.<\/p>\n Another benefit of backing nuclear power is that it creates jobs. Specialised nuclear energy infrastructure must grow to increase the fuel\u2019s electrical generation capacity. Expansion within the industry could create employment in both running these facilities and constructing them.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s current target of generating 24GWs of nuclear power by 2050 would create an estimated 80,000 additional jobs<\/a> across the UK. Many of these roles are also skilled positions. Working at a nuclear power plant requires specialist training, so positions often pay a considerable wage compared to other energy sector employment.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth considering that rural regions are often most impacted by this growth. Job growth and wages are often lower in such places, but introducing additional nuclear infrastructure could provide needed employment opportunities and salary increases.<\/p>\n There is also potential to derive value from niche markets within the nuclear energy industry. Atomic power is a unique electricity source thanks to how long it can produce energy from a limited amount of fuel. As a result, it can support several applications that alternatives don\u2019t fit well, which can be profitable investments.<\/p>\n Military use cases are a prime example. Some naval ships use miniature nuclear reactors to provide electricity over long voyages, and such potential is useful in many other similar applications. Considering the military power supply market is already on track to be worth $20 billion by 2032<\/a>, this segment could prove a valuable long-term investment.<\/p>\n Remote projects and heavy industrial use cases could also gain much from increased funding in nuclear energy. Early participants in these niche markets may see impressive returns in the future.<\/p>\n While nuclear energy infrastructure has many positive economic implications, it introduces some challenges, too. Organisations and individuals should be aware of these downsides before funding this market.<\/p>\n As profitable as nuclear power may be in the long term, it carries imposing upfront expenses. Constructing the necessary infrastructure requires significant funding, which may slow economic growth compared to other investment targets.<\/p>\n Building a nuclear power plant<\/a> is a long, challenging process, with common lead time delays and budget issues. In fact, reactors have the most frequent and severe cost overruns<\/a> of any electrical infrastructure. A troubling 97% of studied nuclear projects encountered such problems.<\/p>\n Once finished, reactors have relatively low fuel costs, so they break even and produce profits eventually. However, the initial spending it takes to reach that point may discourage some investors, especially if the money could instead go to projects with faster turnaround times.<\/p>\n While atomic fuel expenses are low, this is just a portion of the operational spending necessary to run a reactor. Nuclear energy infrastructure is also expensive to maintain. Even when it becomes profitable, the margins are not as high as some alternatives.<\/p>\nHigh tax revenue<\/h4>\n
Job creation<\/h4>\n
Developing niche applications<\/h4>\n
Negative economic impacts of nuclear energy<\/h3>\n
High capital costs<\/h4>\n
High operating costs<\/h4>\n