Nuclear Energy

� At the end of 2009, there were 438 nuclear reactors operating in the world, six less than in
2002. cclxxix 2008 was the first year in the history of commercial nuclear power that no new
nuclear plant came online (although 2 were connected to the grid in 2009). cclxxx
� Even though the total number of reactors has declined, the total installed capacity has
increased slightly in previous years mainly because of technical alterations at existing
plants, a process known as “uprating”. The capacity of the global fleet increased between
the years 2000 and 2004 by about three gigawatt per year, and then by two gigawatts per
year between 2004 and 2007. However, in 2008, uprates were offset by plant closures,
resulting in a slight decline in world nuclear capacity by about 0.6 gigawatts over the 2007
level. At the end of 2009, the total installed capacity of the 438 operating nuclear reactors
was 371.9 gigawatts. cclxxxi
� As compared to the global electricity generation capacity, the global nuclear power capacity
has consistently declined, from 8.7% in 2006 to 7.6% in 2009. cclxxxii
2. Current Global Trend in Construction of New Reactors
Graph 4: Number of units and total nominal capacity in MW under construction 1951 – 2008 cclxxxiii
As of August 1, 2009, the IAEA lists 52 reactors with a total capacity of about 46 GW as
"under construction". While this represents a slight upswing over the previous five years (since
2004), on the whole, it represents a huge decline from the peak reached in 1979 when there were
233 reactors of total capacity of over 200 GW being built concurrently. Even at the end of 1987,
there were still 120 reactors under construction. cclxxxiv
A comparison of the total capacity of the nuclear reactors under construction with the global
power capacity under construction (from all sources) is also revealing. The total electricity
generating capacity under construction (from all sources) in 2007 has been estimated at over 600
gigawatts. Of this, the vast majority was from coal, hydro and natural gas plants; the nuclear share
was roughly 4.4%. cclxxxv
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