KEY POINTS
- The Iran war is pushing Asia and Africa to fast-track nuclear power development plans.
- South Korea is ramping up output while Japan signed a $40 billion reactor deal.
- More than 20 African countries now have long-term atomic energy plans already in motion.
The war in Iran has rattled global oil and gas markets. Asia and Africa, the main buyers of Middle Eastern crude, were hit first. Both regions are now rewriting their energy plans around nuclear power.
Countries running reactors are squeezing more out of them. Countries that never built one are fast-tracking long-term atomic plans. Joshua Kurlantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations said commitments made now will likely lock nuclear power into national strategies for decades.
Asia races to restart reactors
South Korea is ramping up generation at existing plants. Five offline reactors are being brought back online, with restarts planned in May. Taiwan is debating reviving two mothballed reactors, a years-long process that requires deep safety reviews.
Japan has moved fastest in the region. Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae has signed a $40 billion reactor deal with the US. She has also struck a nuclear fuel recycling pact with France and promised cooperation with Indonesia. Japan restarted Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world’s largest nuclear plant, in January.
Bangladesh is rushing to bring new Rosatom-built reactors online by summer. The government wants them feeding 300 megawatts into the grid to ease gas shortages. Vietnam signed a March deal with Moscow for two Russian-designed reactors. The Philippines is considering reviving a plant built after the 1973 oil crisis that was never switched on. “I hope we learned our lesson,” said Alvie Asuncion-Astronomo of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute.
Africa writes nuclear into its future
More than 20 of Africa’s 54 countries have atomic energy plans in motion. Small modular reactors, cheaper and faster to build than conventional plants, are the technology of choice. Kenya plans to bring its first SMR online in 2034.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame told an IAEA summit in March that Africa will be one of the most important global markets for smaller reactors. South Africa, the continent’s only existing nuclear operator, wants nuclear to rise from about 5 percent of its energy mix to 16 percent by 2040.
Russia’s Rosatom is building Egypt’s first reactor. The state-owned firm has cooperation deals with Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania and Niger. The US is playing catch-up. Kenya and Ghana have joined a Washington-led modular reactor initiative. Ghana aims to break ground in 2027.
Nuclear carries real risks, from waste to the weapons path. But Rachel Bronson of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said the Iran war has pushed a global nuclear renaissance forward faster than policymakers expected.
