Filling Nuclear Power’s $5 Trillion Hole Is Beyond the Banks

  • European lenders say their focus will remain on wind, solar
  • Taxpayers are needed to foot the bill to achieve 2050 targets
A Nuclear power station Germany.Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

Nuclear-energy officials arrived in Brussels this week amid a growing wave of public support for atomic power. They left humbled by the tepid reaction of bankers assessing the price tag of their ambitions.

The International Atomic Energy Agency convened a summit to build momentum for a low-emissions technology that many expect will be critical for hitting climate targets. A group of mostly Western countries pledged to triple nuclear generation by 2050. But lenders balked at the eyewatering cost of doing so.