Countries like Uganda that have been long-term financing for nuclear power plant will now have to borrow from the World Ban when it resumes lending to nuclear or atomic energy power plants.
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Countries like Uganda which have stepped
up efforts to include in nuclear energy in their renewable energy mix can now
get funding from the World Bank.
Uganda is pushing ahead with its plan to put up
a 2000 MW nuclear reactor plant to be commissioned by 2031.
The
ministry of energy last month signed a contract with Korean firm, Korea Hydro &
Nuclear Power Co. Ltd (KHNP) to evaluate the site where the first 8,400 MW nuclear
reactor plant could be located in Buyende.
The nuclear plants could cost the country up to
nine billion dollars. The biggest challenge for the Ministry of Energy has
been how to secure cheaper and long-term financing.
The government had hoped that such projects
could be funded by proceeds from crude oil from the Tilenga and Kingfisher
projects in the Albertine.
Fortunately, the World Bank’s board decided to support
lift its long-standing ban on financing nuclear energy projects.
World Bank President Ajay Banga announced that
the development bank’s board has lifted its longstanding ban on funding
nuclear energy projects.
Supporters of nuclear power plants says the
decision could surge funding for the emissions-free power plants in
developing countries, and it comes amid a broader shift in attitudes toward
atomic energy around the world.
The World Nuclear Association in a
statement on Thursday welcomed the decision saying the global development
bank, which lends at favourable rates to help countries build infrastructure,
has shifted its energy policy to help meet rising demand for clean energy and
advance sustainable development goals.
World Nuclear Association has
participated in knowledge exchanges to World Banks and member states,
providing expert guidance and resources on nuclear energy.
Director
General of World Nuclear Association, Sama Bilbao y León described the World Bank’s decision as“a momentous shift for international energy
policy that comes after years of engagement with World Bank on the
sustainability of nuclear energy.
She said access
to finance is critical for extending the benefits of clean and reliable
nuclear energy to all.
“World
Nuclear Association is ready for further collaboration with World Bank and
other multilateral development banks to support them in capacity building for
decision making on nuclear financing.” she added.
The
World Bank last financed a
nuclear project in 1959. Over the six decades since, the nuclear
energy sector has grown substantially, with reactors across the world
providing thousands of round-the-clock terawatt-hours of reliable,
emissions-free energy.
Deputy
director of the Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative,
Lauren Hughes
in a statement said “This is not
the bank’s first foray into nuclear power as a means of promoting sustainable
economic growth and shared prosperity,”
In 1959,
the bank issued a
forty-million-dollar loan to help finance construction of
Italy’s first nuclear reactor.
The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi
accident contributed to the World Bank enacting a de facto ban on
funding for nuclear power.
This ban was then reiterated in 2013,
when the bank
said that “safety of nuclear facilities and
non-proliferation are not in the areas of
expertise.”
World
Nuclear Association said the World Bank’s shift in policy is further validation of
nuclear energy as part essential part of global sustainable energy future.
The Association has been leading a campaign
aimed tripling nuclear energy by 2050.
In December 2024, it mobilized coalition of
31 countries that endorsed
a Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy. Alongside financial institutions and
energy users had called on shareholders of the World Bank to encourage the
inclusion of nuclear energy in their organizations’ energy lending policies.
This year World Nuclear Association
will host its
50th World Nuclear
Symposium in London, 3-5 September. As part of the programme,
there will be two strategic summits on finance and energy users, bringing all
key stakeholders together to find viable pathways to unlock the investment
needed to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050.Facts & figures about nuclear* ·
Global nuclear electricity generation rose
to 2602 TWh in 2023, up from 2544 TWh in 2022, providing 9% of the world’s
electricity—second only to hydropower among clean energy sources.
·
In 2023, nuclear reactors helped avoid 2.1
billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from equivalent coal generation—
that’s more than the annual emissions of every individual country, with only
China, the US and India having higher national CO2 emissions.
·
64 reactors in 15 countries are currently
under construction, while over 20 new entrant countries, such as Ghana, Poland,
and the Philippines, are at various stages of developing policies to enable
construction of their first nuclear plants.
