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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
IAEA again raises global nuclear power projections
Noting recent momentum behind nuclear power, the International Atomic Energy Agency has revised up its projections for the expansion of nuclear power, estimating that global nuclear operational capacity will more than double by 2050—reaching 2.6 times the 2024 level—with small modular reactors expected to play a pivotal role in this high-case scenario.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi announced the new projections, contained in the annual report Energy, Electricity, and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050 at the 69th IAEA General Conference in Vienna.
In the report’s high-case scenario, nuclear electrical generating capacity is projected to increase to from 377 GW at the end of 2024 to 992 GW by 2050. In a low-case scenario, capacity rises 50 percent, compared with 2024, to 561 GW. SMRs are projected to account for 24 percent of the new capacity added in the high case and for 5 percent in the low case.
Kenneth Petersen is an executive consultant to the nuclear power industry, providing strategy, management, and technical consulting related to nuclear fuel and special nuclear material. Prior to his retirement in November 2021, Petersen was Exelon Generation Company’s (EGC’s) vice president for nuclear fuels. In this role, he provided governance and oversight for all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle for Exelon’s fleet of 21 operational reactors and three retired reactors. He led Exelon’s fuel purchasing, nuclear core design and related safety analyses, and spent fuel management.
Petersen has nearly three decades of experience purchasing nuclear fuel, and during his 12 years as ECG’s vice president for nuclear fuels, he oversaw the company’s $1 billion annual budget for nuclear fuel procurement and managed a nuclear fuel contract portfolio valued at over $5 billion. His fuel supply responsibilities included the development of risk management metrics and strategic decisions related to fuel, inventory levels, and pricing mechanisms. In addition, he developed nuclear core design and safety analysis skills. He played a key role in the technical aspects of utilizing fuel in the reactors and was a major industry advocate for accident tolerant fuel designs, including coated fuel rods, high burnup, and high enrichment.
Petersen’s long history with spent fuel and special nuclear material includes his involvement with executing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Standard Contract and, subsequently, EGC’s litigation and eventual settlement with the DOE. He also had governance and oversight over the installation of EGC-constructed independent spent fuel storage facilities. Petersen earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin and began his career Commonwealth Edison upon graduation in 1988.
Read Nuclear News from June 2023 for more on Ken Petersen.
