Emerging Markets Driving Nuclear Growth

According to a report by the New York Times China is “preparing to build three times as many nuclear power plants in the coming decade as the rest of the world combined.” There are currently fifty reactors under construction in the world today, with twenty of them in China. Beijing has proposed another 125 or so to begin construction over the next decade. Industry group, The World Nuclear Organization calculates that the total number of nuclear reactors will double by 2030. The group predicts that the most growth will come from China, India and Russia. Investors wanting to play the expansion of nuclear as a power source have a few options. Exchange traded funds such as the Market Vectors Nuclear Energy ETF NLR, iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index NUCL and PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy PKN are great broad-based ways to play the sector. In addition, miners Cameco CCJ and Uranium Energy UEC make good plays on the increasing amount of uranium needed to power all these reactors.