Editor's Note: With so much market volatility, stay on top of daily news! Get caught up in minutes with our speedy summary of today's must-read news and expert opinions. Sign up here! In an interview with Kitco News, John Ciampaglias, chief executive officer at Sprott Asset Management, said that an unprecedented energy crisis will continue to push the demand for nuclear power higher.
"We have added a lot of intermittent power to the grid over the year, but people are starting to realize the need for a stable power source. There are only three options to offset intermittency: burn coal, burn natural gas, or run a nuclear power plant. Nuclear remains the cleanest and safest option. Now politicians are realizing that their decisions to phase out nuclear power might not have been well thought out.
However, if nuclear power is going to play a more significant role in global energy, Ciampaglias said that uranium prices have to go up. While there is plenty of uranium in the world, the market needs to see higher prices to bring that supply online. Looking at just Japan's announcement, Ciampaglias said that nuclear power plants will use about 5,000 pounds of uranium each year. With Japan restarting 17 plants, the nation will need more than eight million pounds of the metal annually.
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