Construction worldwide nuclear power reactors under

Worldwide Nuclear Power Reactors Under Construction and Proposed... 

A look at the use of different reactor types demonstrates the dominant role of the LWR line in commercial electricity production. From 428 nuclear power plants operating worldwide in 1996 to produce 363 GW(e) or 17 % of the international electricity supply -plus 62 units under construction to produce 55 more GW(e) - 342 plants are LWRs, 249 PWRs and 93 BWRs, for a total of 311 GW(e) [27]. And the trend to larger power units was observed. Not more than 5 GW(th) of global nuclear power are presently employed to supply hot water and steam, mostly in Canada, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine [25]. 

Worldwide, 430 nuclear plants generate about 17% of all electricity. In France, nuclear s share is 79% in Japan it is 28%. Whereas there has not been a new nuclear plant ordered in the United States since 1978, there were 24 nuclear power plants worldwide under construction in 2005 (ElA 2006c). Many countries have ambitious plans to build more plants. China, with just nine plants currently in operation, plans on building as many as 25 new plants by 2025. Given the potential size of the Chinese market, reactor vendors from several countries are actively pursuing Chinese contracts, with the hope that China will use their designs for future plants. 

Nuclear power investment on a worldwide basis has preferred large units due to the economy of scale, especially in the industrialized countries. This can be clearly seen from the number of nuclear power plants in operation today (Fig. 3.1.). The number of units currently under construction in the SMR range is in the same range as the big power plants. Moreover most of these reactors are being deployed in developing countries. 

Retrospectively, after the end of World War 11, efforts to develop and deploy nuclear power plants began worldwide. Thus far, most operating and currently under-construction power plants are with LWRs. PWRs lead the industry whereas BWRs are not far behind. This technological reahty of Generation I—III+ systems dates back to early decisions related to naval propulsion apphcations of nuclear energy as well as water s economical characteristics as the cheap and universally abundant reactor coolant (Weaver, 2005). 

Thirty countries around the world now obtain some of their electricity from nuclear energy (Figure 22.10). Lithuania leads with 78%, followed by a number of other European countries that have also made a substantial commitment to the technology. The United States has been more cautious, with only 20% of its power coming from nuclear plants. Worldwide, 439 nuclear plants were in operation in early 2002, with an additional 32 under construction, most of them in Asia. Approximately 21% of the world s electrical power is generated by nuclear reactors. 

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