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