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