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atw - International Journal for Nuclear Power | 04.2019

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<strong>atw</strong> Vol. 64 (2019) | Issue 4 ı April<br />

inspections and retrofits with the result that no nuclearenergy-based<br />

electricity generation took place there<br />

between September 2013 and August 2015. In 2018,<br />

additional five nuclear power plants in Japan that had<br />

been shut down after the Fukushima reactor accident were<br />

restarted. This means that nine nuclear power plants with<br />

a capacity of 8.7 GW are now in operation again. [2] After<br />

the Fukushima reactor accident, the seven oldest nuclear<br />

power plant units and the Krümmel nuclear power plant in<br />

Germany were deprived of further operating permits.<br />

Accordingly, the commercial operation of these eight<br />

facilities came to an end at the beginning of August 2011.<br />

For the remaining nine German nuclear power plants, a<br />

staggered exit plan was envisaged, which had been<br />

implemented in a legally binding manner by the Thirteenth<br />

Law amending the Atomic Energy Act of 31 July 2011. Two<br />

of the nine plants mentioned are now decommissioned.<br />

The remaining seven nuclear power plant units will<br />

gradually be shut down <strong>for</strong> good by the end of 2022. [3]<br />

With a share of 38 %, coal is still the world’s most<br />

important source of energy <strong>for</strong> power generation. The<br />

share of coal in power generation in countries that have<br />

economically recoverable deposits is disproportionately<br />

high. This applies, among others, to South Africa (88 %),<br />

Poland (78 %), India (76 %), China (67 %) and Australia<br />

(62 %). But even in Germany (38 %) and in the USA<br />

(31 %), coal was significantly involved in power generation<br />

in 2017. For economic reasons, the share of coal in<br />

power generation has fallen in the USA in recent years.<br />

This is explained by the increased use of shale gas. In 2017,<br />

natural gas accounted <strong>for</strong> 31 % of power generation in the<br />

USA, the same share as coal. The situation in Germany is<br />

different. Despite the economic viability of coal (lignite<br />

and imported hard coal), a politically imposed complete<br />

phase-out of coal-fired power generation is envisaged by<br />

2038 at the latest in order to help meet the national greenhouse<br />

gas reduction targets. [4]<br />

With a share of 23 %, natural gas was the second-most<br />

important energy source <strong>for</strong> power generation in 2017.<br />

In this case as well, a disproportionately high share of this<br />

energy source is characteristic of power generation in<br />

countries that have large natural gas reserves. This applies<br />

especially to the Gulf States. The share of natural gas in<br />

power generation in Iran was 81 % in 2017, and even more<br />

in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain at<br />

95 %. In Saudi Arabia it was still 59 % in 2017. In the<br />

Caspian countries, such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and<br />

Azerbaijan, natural gas accounts <strong>for</strong> a share of 75 % and<br />

more. Shares of more than 60 % and sometimes significantly<br />

higher are identified <strong>for</strong> Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and<br />

Nigeria. In South America, Bolivia is the country with the<br />

largest share of natural gas in power generation (around<br />

75 %). Around half of power generation in Argentina is<br />

based on the use of natural gas. But even in some European<br />

countries with larger natural gas reserves, such as Russia,<br />

the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, in 2017 the share<br />

of natural gas in power generation was disproportionately<br />

high at 49 % (Russia), 48 % (Netherlands) and 40 %<br />

( United Kingdom). In Japan, a country that has practically<br />

no fossil fuel resources of its own, the share of natural gas<br />

(imported LNG) in power generation increased to 39 % in<br />

2017 due to the nuclear power situation. In the USA, due to<br />

the shale gas boom, natural gas is on a par with coal,<br />

accounting <strong>for</strong> 31 % of power generation.<br />

On average, oil now accounts <strong>for</strong> only 4 % of power<br />

generation worldwide. However, in the Gulf States oil is<br />

one of the most important generation sources. This applies<br />

to Saudi Arabia (41 %) and even more so to Kuwait and<br />

Iraq with oil shares of around two thirds. In Libya, around<br />

a third of power generation is still oil based.<br />

Prospects <strong>for</strong> power generation<br />

by energy sources<br />

Unlike in previous decades, the renewable energies will<br />

cover much of the expected further growth in electricity<br />

demand. This cannot be explained by any limitations in<br />

reserves and resources of fossil fuels. Reserves and especially<br />

resources are abundant. This applies above all to coal, but<br />

also to natural gas and oil (Figures 4 to 9). Improved<br />

extraction technologies and higher prices on global markets<br />

have even increased the static range of reserves, defined as<br />

reserves in relation to the current global annual production<br />

| | Fig. 4.<br />

Reserves and resources of non-renewable energy sources.<br />

| | Fig. 5.<br />

Worldwide supply of non-renewable energy sources in billion (10 9 ) tce.<br />

| | Fig. 6.<br />

Reserves and resources of non-renewable energy sources in billion (10 9 ) tce.<br />

FEATURE | MAJOR TRENDS IN ENERGY POLICY AND NUCLEAR POWER 193<br />

Feature<br />

The Role of Resources and Reserves <strong>for</strong> the Global Energy Supply ı Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer

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