Demand for nuclear power surging

Nuclear Power's New Dawn

Once synonymous with cash pits, bureaucratic incompetence and environmental disasters, nuclear energy is now experiencing a resurgence in popularity around the world, sending demand for uranium sky-high.

That's big news for uranium-rich countries like Canada, which produces 28 percent of the world's uranium supply. But the heightened demand for uranium has also stirred up controversies in Canada, where some are still jittery about the environmental and political implications.

In total 13 countries are in the process of building new nuclear reactors. According to the World Nuclear Association, more than 34 reactors are currently under construction, 81 are planned, and over 223 more are being proposed.

For the first time since 1978, the American Nuclear Regulatory Commission is receiving applications for new plants, and a flood of them, at that.The commission expects to receive five applications in 2007, and 14 more in 2008....

[ Read on ]