Uranium Investing News

By Melissa Pistilli-Exclusive to Uranium Investing News

While the current global economic recession may have soured investor enthusiasm for the commodities sector, there are signs pointing toward a strong recovery in the uranium mining industry.

With the growth in populations and economies around the world comes an ever-increasing demand for electricity; yet, many are also extremely concerned about climate change. The need for greener and cheaper energy sources is driving many governments around the world to ramp up or re-evaluate their nuclear energy options, which Raymond James analyst Bart Jaworski says points toward recovery in the uranium mining sector.

 ”Nuclear will come back,” said Roland Schenkel, Director-General of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, “and will play its role in the energy mix of the key industrial countries.”

Several European countries like France, which utilizes nuclear power for nearly 80 per cent of its energy production, are already pro-nuclear.  But now, countries like Sweden, Germany, Italy and Hungary are looking toward nuclear power to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels and meet their energy demands.

Sweden

Earlier this month, the Swedish government announced it will revoke the nation’s 1980 ban on the construction of new nuclear plants. Originally, the country planned on phasing out its ten reactors, which produce approximately half of Sweden’s electricity.  Now, Sweden’s leaders are in favour of building new plants to replace old ones as part of their plan to reduce greenhouse emissions 40 per cent by 2020.

Despite long-held fears about the potential dangers of nuclear power plants, the majority of Swedes support their governments plan. Last week, a poll conducted by Synovate and published in the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, revealed that 62 per cent of respondents where in favour of the new energy policy.

Germany

Currently, Germany plans to phase out its nuclear power plants by 2020. However, some government officials are pushing for more nuclear dependency. Werner Marnette, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic Party, is also the economy minister for the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, which has three of the country’s 17 nuclear plants. Marnette has called for his state to reconsider its energy options and extend the use of its nuclear power plants. “It’s essential that we allow our three nuclear plants to keep running or we won’t have enough energy,” he said.

Italy

The Italian government has created a new department responsible for nuclear energy, renewables and energy efficiency, a sign the European nation is set on reviving its nuclear power industry. Currently, Italians obtain 85 per cent of their energy from oil and gas and suffer some of the highest prices in all of Europe. In a bid to meet its environmental goals and reduce energy costs, the government is planning to reduce energy production from oil and gas to 50 per cent by 2030. The remaining half will come from 25 per cent nuclear energy and 25 per cent renewables.

Hungary

On Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany announced the nation will soon formally propose doubling its nuclear power generating capacity. Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant currently produces about 2000 megawatts (MW) of electricity and provides the population with 32 per cent of its energy needs.

China

China is also planning to double its nuclear power capacity, according to the country’s National Energy Administration (NEA). The government will “start building eight more nuclear power plants in the next three years, with 16 reactors whose total installed capacity will surpass 10 gigawatts”, said NEA sources.

India

In 2008, India signed a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that gave the nation access to nuclear fuel and technology for the first time in thirty years. Presently, India’s nuclear power capacity is about 4,000 MW. The Indian government plans to generate 20,000 MW from nuclear power by 2020 to meet its growing energy needs.  Recently, NTPC Ltd and Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd, both state-run firms, entered into a joint venture agreement to construct a 2,000 MW nuclear power plant.

Latin America

Much of Latin America depends upon hydroelectric and natural gas to meet its energy needs. However, many nations are looking for alternatives to often unreliable hydroelectric and increasingly expensive and unavailable natural gas. For now, there are only six nuclear power plants in this region of the world; Argentina, Brazil and Mexico each have two.

Mexico

Demand for electricity is expected to increase by 6 per cent each year in Mexico. This is a considerable figure compared to the global average of 2.6 per cent.  Currently, its two nuclear power plants supply 4 per cent of Mexico’s electricity production. Another eight reactors may be in production by 2025.

Argentina

Already dealing with high electricity demand, Argentina is expecting a supply shortage in 2010. To meet demand, the South American nation is hoping to double or triple its current nuclear capacity. Presently, nuclear power provides 7 per cent of the country’s electricity generation. Argentina is planning to spend $3.5 billion to renovate the largest of its two reactors and finish building a third reactor by 2010. The government also plans to build five more reactors by 2023.

Brazil

Brazil, which acquires 4 per cent of its electricity production from nuclear power, is also seeking to substantially increase its nuclear capacity. Francisco Rondinelli, President of the Brazilian nuclear power association Aben, has said that the nation’s new national energy plan calls for diversifying at least 30 per cent of electricity generation equally into nuclear energy, natural gas and biomass. The plan also involves adding four more nuclear power plants by 2025.

Besides those already discussed, many more nations around the world are displaying an enthusiasm for nuclear energy and have already announced if not plans, at least the desire, to initiate new nuclear power plant construction, including: Chile, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.