Nuclear power could more than triple by 2060, UN agency says

News

Nuclear power could more than triple by 2060, UN agency says

2026-10-24 06:21 Last Updated At：06:40

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of the U.N. nuclear agency said Friday that he expects the use of nuclear power could more than triple by 2060.

Rafael Grossi said in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s annual report to the U.N. General Assembly that this will be driven by electrification, data centers powered by artificial intelligence and "technology companies’ appetite for reliable, carbon-free power.”

Nuclear energy is seen by a growing number of countries as key to improving their energy security, he said, stressing that it is on par with solar energy and "safer than every other option.”

“In 2025, more than 400 operating reactors in more than 30 countries produced 10% of global electricity and a quarter of its low-carbon electricity,” the IAEA director-general said. “More than 60 new reactors are under construction and the projections for future nuclear capacity have shifted dramatically upward.”

In addition to the growing use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Grossi spoke about the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, the “unprecedented threats to nuclear safety” from the war in Ukraine, and worrying reports that other countries he didn’t name are talking about acquiring nuclear weapons.

On Iran, whose nuclear sites were struck by the U.S. last year before the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28, Grossi told U.N. member nations that the necessary technical work for a diplomatic agreement has been done.

“I call on the parties to redouble their efforts towards agreeing a diplomatic solution that includes the IAEA's indispensable verification role, without which no agreement can be sustainable,” he said. “IAEA inspectors must be able to return to Iran expeditiously. That requires a return to the negotiating table.”

In North Korea, where leader Kim Jong Un has a growing nuclear program without any IAEA oversight, Grossi warned that it “stands as a stark reminder of the consequences when red lines are crossed” in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning nuclear weapons production.

In Ukraine, he singled out the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, saying it remains “in a precarious position” with frequent power losses, limited back-up diesel supplies “and military activity threatening the plant and the people who work there.”

On a positive note, Grossi said the IAEA has made “significant progress” in clarifying and resolving outstanding questions regarding Syria's nuclear activities after nearly two decades of uncertainty. That's as a result of engaging with the government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, he said.

He reported in September that the Bashar Assad-era government — which was ousted in December 2024 by opposition forces led by al-Sharaa — was constructing a nuclear reactor that was configured to produce fissile material for possible use in nuclear weapons.

Rooftop rescues and evacuations as severe flooding soaks Four Corners region

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Severe flooding in the Four Corners region Friday led to rescues — some from rooftops — and impassable roads, with some residents told to evacuate low-lying areas of Colorado and New Mexico and others urged to stay where they are until water levels drop.

The flooding followed two months of heavy rains that ended a summer drought in the region where the boundaries of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. Since Wednesday, a total of 4 inches (10 centimeters) had fallen in the already saturated area, with even more rain forecast for the weekend.

Hundreds of people along the San Juan River in the biggest city in the area, Farmington, New Mexico, were told to evacuate. Downstream, residents of the vast Navajo Nation braced for floodwaters not expected to peak until late Friday or early Saturday.

“Do not wait to make your evacuations. Make your preparations for yourselves, your families, as well as your animals,” Navajo Nation Deputy Police Chief Donnie Kee urged during a news conference.

The crisis capped a week of severe weather in which rain swamped dozens of homes in Utah and tornadoes blew off roofs, knocked trees onto houses and downed power lines in Arizona.

Rescuers used New Mexico National Guard boats, helicopters and amphibious vehicles Thursday night and into Friday to try to reach stranded residents, San Juan County spokesperson Devin Neeley said.

“We’re picking people off of roofs and pulling people out of houses that have 3 or 4 feet (1-1.5 meters) of water in them, and there’s more water coming,” Neeley said.

Rains stopped — at least temporarily — but rivers were still rising.

“This is serious. We’re still sending deputies as I speak to get people out of their homes right now. In fact, our sheriff is damn near going to lose his home today,” Neeley said.

Some 600 Farmington households were told to evacuate, city spokesperson Gina Intoppa said.

Still higher water was on the way via the Animas River, a San Juan tributary that also flows south from rain-soaked Colorado, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in the news conference.

“People are not believing that it’s going to be as bad as it is. But you can see the water flow coming, you can see the surge coming,” Hebbe said, calling it a “once in a generation” event.

In southern Colorado, flooding was even worse than forecast and a full 3 feet (1 meter) higher than a 100-year flood on the San Juan River only a year ago. Rainfall topped 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) in the Pagosa Springs area of south-central Colorado, according to Frank Pereira, a National Weather Service forecaster in College Park, Maryland.

Colorado National Guard rescuers succeeded Friday in using a helicopter to hoist two people and their three dogs to safety from a partially submerged recreational vehicle. They had driven onto a flooded road while trying to escape the high water and got washed into a river, Archuleta County sheriff's officials said.

Authorities were assessing who else needed help, including many whose homes weren’t flooded but were cut off by floodwaters.

Sheriff Mike Le Roux said the amount of water was “unprecedented” and had caused a lot of damage, but he was not aware of any deaths or serious injuries.

Evacuees included the wife and three children of Tyler Scartaccini, who stayed behind to keep an eye on their property as water reached their porch and into their garages.

“I felt like we were in a very safe place and now I don’t feel that so much,” Scartaccini said.

In nearby Rio Grande County, trailers at a campground were surrounded by water. Trucks were partially submerged in other areas.

Colorado roads closed due to runoff damage included U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, a scenic, high-elevation route known as the “Million Dollar Highway.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis had declared a disaster emergency in 11 counties.

In the city of Hurricane in far southwestern Utah, a shipping container drifting down a street gave way Friday to a mess of mud and debris to be cleaned up as people who had evacuated earlier in the week returned home.

The risk shifted to Utah's southeast, where streams ran fast and high. Flood watches were in effect into the weekend, said Alex DeSmet, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Salt Lake City.

Still, the Four Corners region could get more heavy rain this weekend, with up to half an inch (1 centimeter) forecast to fall in northwestern New Mexico.

While parts of the Southwest are rocky with little vegetation and are naturally prone to flash flooding, the recent rains had saturated the ground and made widespread flooding more likely. The moisture was from the remnants of Pacific tropical systems that had come ashore, forecasters said.

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, and Wufei Yu and Josh Kelety in Phoenix contributed to this story.