FoE(Grassroots)Nuclear Network

4) NUCLEAR POWER GLOBALLY 2021

End-of-the-year summary of the global situation with regard to nuclear power, country-by-country, in downward order of number of commercial nuclear power stations operating. 

USA :- 93 reactors in operation, a third of all operating reactors in the world, with a capacity of 95.5 GW of electricity. 2 more in construction and 9 more planned. This represents a recent reduction in reliance on nuclear power. More than 100 orders for nuclear reactors were cancelled in the 70s and 80s after the 1979 Three Mile Island reactor disaster. In 1997, there had been 104 reactors operating.
France : 54 operating, with the two oldest closed in 2020, with approx. 50 GW of capacity and producing approx 70% of France’s electricity, the largest proportion of any country. In 2015 a law was introduced that the proportion of France’s electricity produced by nuclear power should be reduced to 50% by 2025, later amended to 2035 and the target seems to now have been dropped. One reactor is STILL in construction, Flamanville, a “European Pressurised Water Reactor” (EPR), begun Dec’07, then planned to begin operating commercially in 2012 but latest predicted start-up date is now 2024. All this represents a considerable reduction in France’s earlier ambitious nuclear plans. In 1974, France announced it planned to build 80 nuclear plants by 1985 and 170 by 2000.
China : 51 reactors operating, with a capacity of 49.6 GW of electricity. Also 16 under construction with 45 more planned, by far the most ambitious nuclear programme globally.
Russia: 37 reactors operating, 3 of which opened in 2021. Producing 31.3 GW (December 2018 figure). 3 more in construction and 27 more planned.
India : 23 reactors in operation, producing 6.8 GW. 7 in construction and 11 more planned.
South Korea: 23 operating, with a capacity of 20.5 GW, providing 29% of the country’s electricity. In 2012 South Korea planned to increase nuclear’s share of power generation to 60% by 2035, with 11 more reactors coming online by 2021. This was reduced to an increase of 29% by 2035. In 2017, the government decided to phase out nuclear power. 3 reactors in construction would be completed but all reactors would be phased out after 40 years operation.
Canada: 19 operating reactors, with 13.5 MW of capacity, producing 16.6% of Canada’s electricity in 2015. Plans made after 2000 for many new nuclear power stations have all been shelved, mostly after Fukushima and no new nuclear reactors are currently in construction or planned.
Ukraine:15 operating reactors, with over 13MW of capacity, supplying about half of its electricity. 5 reactors at Chernobyl were either destroyed or abandoned after the melt-down there in 1987 and construction was frozen subsequently at 7 reactors then in construction with plans for others shelved.
UK: Details here https://www.risingtide.org.uk/node/581 . 13 reactors operating, producing about 16% of UK’s electricity, after the closure of 4 were announced in 2021. Half of UK’s existing nuclear reactors are planned to close down by 2025 and all but one by 2030. One new power station, Hinkley Point C, started building Oct’16 and is now planned to open in 2026. Another planned at Sizewell C, with a start date given as “before 2024” and the period of construction given as 9-12 years. The UK government announced Nov’21 that they were investing £210m in Rolls Royce to develop small modular reactors, which according to the government could be in use in the early 2030s.
Japan: 9 currently operating reactors, producing about 7.5% of Japanese electricity. Before Fukishima the number was 54. Of these 3 were destroyed in the disaster and the rest “temporarily” closed down. 21 of these have now been decommissioned and the 9 have been re-opened. 1 under construction at Oma, started in 2010 but suspended after Fukushima, resumed in Oct’13 and its completion date is now 2026. 
Spain: 7 reactors currently operating with a capacity of 7.1 GW, producing 22.2% of its electricity in 2020. Between 1983 and 1987 the government policy was to phase out nuclear power in favour of renewable energy but this was then dropped, though no new reactors have been built in Spain subsequently and 2 have been shut down.
Belgium: 7 reactors, with a capacity of 5.8 GW, producing about 40% of its electricity. Parliament voted “to aim” to phase out nuclear power generation by 2025.
Czech Republic: 2 nuclear power stations with 6 reactors between them, generating about a third of electricity. Government energy policy is pro-nuclear calling for a substantial increase in nuclear capacity by 2040. However there are no nuclear reactors currently under construction.
Germany: phasing out nuclear power entirely. Currently 6 reactors still in operation but all are to be permanently shut down by the end of 2022. Another 29 have already been taken out of service and are now are being decommissioned or been fully dismantled.
Pakistan:  2 nuclear power stations with 5 reactors between them, with 2.2 GW capacity, producing 7.5% of electricity in 2018. Another reactor is in construction.
Switzerland: 4 nuclear reactors generating up to 40% of its electricity. 2 more planned but in Jun’11 parliament resolved not to replace any reactors and hence to phase out nuclear power gradually. This was confirmed in a 2017 referendum.
Finland: 4 reactors providing about 30% of its electricity. A fifth, Olkiluoto 3, a French EPR, started up December 21st and another planned, to take the nuclear contribution to about 60% and replace coal. However Olkiluoto 3 began construction in 2006 with a planned completion date of 2009, so it has come into operation 12 years late and vastly over budget.
Hungary: 4 reactors with a capacity of 2 GW producing about half of its electricity. 2 more planned.
Slovakia: 4 reactors in operation with a total capacity of 2 GW and producing 58% of electricity. 2 more about to complete construction
Argentina: 3 reactors in operation, with total capacity of 1.6 GW and producing 6% of electricity. 2 more planned and one small modular reactor is in construction.
Other countries: South Africa, Mexico, Bulgaria, Romania and Brazil each have 2 operating reactors currently; and Slovenia, Netherlands, Armenia and Iran each have 1; making 31 countries (out of 195) having nuclear power reactors.
Italy:- closed all its nuclear power stations in 1990; a decision confirmed in a 2011 referendum with 94% agreeing.

Lithuania:- closed down the last of its 2 reactors in 2009; however plans to build another.  Austria:- completed a nuclear reactor in 1978 but after a poll came out against its opening, parliament voted to mothball it and it remains closed after a 1997 vote in parliament reaffirmed Austria as a nuclear-free country.