In the first eBook of a four-part series, Black & Veatch explores the necessity of Gen IV nuclear technology to support global decarbonization efforts

While November’s COP26 conference further defined the importance of investments in clean energy to achieve critical decarbonization priorities, the event understated the unique challenges facing electric grid operators around the world as they balance the competing priorities brought on by a shift from fossil fuels and the ongoing need for reliable power provision. Navigating the uncertainty of the current decarbonization market will require ingenuity—today’s grid needs to handle multiplying sources of power generation and increased demand due to electrification efforts. Black & Veatch offers additional clarity on these circumstances in its new eBook, Clean Energy: Nuclear Energy and Decarbonization.

The first eBook in a free, four-part series, Clean Energy: Nuclear Energy and Decarbonization takes a hard look at nuclear energy’s potential to accelerate the global journey to net zero. The remaining three eBooks will build upon the foundation laid in Clean Energy to delve into current renewable generation capacity, energy storage technology, the realities of today’s electricity market and the economics of renewable energy production.

The push for decarbonization faces two equally challenging revolutions: propelling monumental change across the power sector while also turning current energy systems on their heads. But as Black & Veatch’s experts assert, other solutions are needed; renewable energy currently provides only 12 percent of total energy supply, one-third of which may not be compatible with a zero-carbon economy. With the ability to scale its carbon-free generation with ever increasing demand for electricity, nuclear energy is perfectly poised to be a key contributor that balances the equation for a zero-carbon economy.

“Though wind and solar are clearly an important part of the mix of the clean energy transition, we must reconcile the fact that intermittency and current limitations of storage do have an impact on supply and demand cycles,” said Jason Rowell, associate vice president and global decarbonization solutions manager with Black & Veatch’s power business. “As the full eBook series highlights, nuclear power offers a solution with reliable, dispatchable, carbon-free generation capacity. Given these characteristics, nuclear energy will be a key player in the clean energy transition.”

As Clean Energy: Nuclear Energy and Decarbonization points out, nuclear energy already constitutes the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the United States. As states, utilities and corporations drive toward a net-zero carbon future, existing nuclear plants will play a key role, along with upcoming plants designed to be smaller, safer, and less expensive to manufacture and install.

Editor’s Notes:

• Download a free copy of Clean Energy: Nuclear Energy and Decarbonization
• Sign up to receive the remaining three eBooks in the series, which discuss current renewable generation capacity, energy storage technology, and the realities of today’s electricity market and the economics of renewable energy production.
• Learn more about Black & Veatch’s experience with nuclear power systems

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2020 exceeded US$3.0 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

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