Vienna - The UN nuclear agency has raised its long-term projections for nuclear power growth, as countries are seeking stable energy prices and energy security.

Global nuclear electricity production capacity will rise to between 473 and 748 gigawatts in 2030, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its latest annual outlook on nuclear power, which it released in Vienna on Thursday.

In 2007, 439 nuclear reactors operated worldwide, with a capacity of 372 gigawatts.

Compared to last year, the IAEA has increased its 2030 forecast by six per cent for the low projection, which is based on countries' current plans, and by 10 per cent for the high projection, which takes possible changes in energy policies into account.

As the cost of fuel for nuclear power plants was relatively stable, utilities were increasingly seeking nuclear energy to avoid the cost fluctuations of other forms of energy, said Hans-Holger Rogner, head of nuclear energy planning and economics at the IAEA.

"Energy security has come back on the agenda for a number of reasons, and governments want to ensure stable supplies to their economies," he added. Nuclear power was also seen as a way to counter climate change, he said.

According to the IAEA, the biggest growth in nuclear electricity production capacity will come from South-east Asia, a region which does not have nuclear power yet, but which is seen as adding at least 1.2 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2030.

The Middle East and South Asia are estimated to produce at least 16 nuclear gigawatts in the long term, a four-fold increase from the present capacity.

In Russia and Eastern European countries, nuclear power capacity is estimated to rise from 47.8 megawatts in 2007 at least 81 megawatts in 2030.

In Western Europe, the IAEA found a high uncertainty about the future of nuclear energy, Rogner said, as it is still unclear whether Germany and Sweden will really phase out their nuclear power sectors by 2030. (dpa)