-- Reuters will issue a series of features this week on the rise of atomic energy two decades after the world's worst nuclear accident, and the related standing of alternative energy sources in a power-hungry world grappling with global warming.
Nuclear power appears to have defied those who predicted the 1986 Chernobyl disaster would sound the industry's death knell.
Although attitudes vary widely across the world, several nations are looking to increase capacity or build their first nuclear plants as governments seek "clean" energy to cut reliance on costly oil and fight global warming.
The nuclear industry boasts it has zero carbon emissions but opponents say it is costly and dangerous, arguing that renewable energy sources are safer and more efficient.
In this series of in depth reports from correspondents across the world, we look at why nuclear power's star is rising, why this worries some people, what the most popular alternative energy sources are, and where they are being used.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
