Nuclear growth is set for further decay
The speed at which solar and wind projects can be completed means they will soon exceed nuclear plants in the global power mix
Bill Gates is back in the news with a new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, and a publicity tour that gives the software billionaire and philanthropist a chance to promote one of his favourite energy sources: nuclear power. Gates is well known for his view that wind, solar and other renewables cannot get the decarbonisation job done by themselves, and he has maintained that position for much of the last decade. In recent interviews Gates has explained, with some justification, that wind and solar—which he now acknowledges have enjoyed steep cost declines due to the learning rate—will not be much help in industrial processes such as steelmaking and cement. To back his view that we need a

Also in this section
3 July 2025
European Commission introduces new flexibilities for member states to ease compliance with headline goal
1 July 2025
Supportive government policy, deforestation threat and economic opportunity drive forward the region’s monetisation of forest carbon
27 June 2025
TotalEnergies’ delayed FID for its Venus project will likely set back first oil, but Windhoek has other irons in the fire
26 June 2025
Last year was one of records for renewables but also for oil, gas and coal, as the energy transition progresses in an increasingly uneven way, according to the Energy Institute’s latest annual report