World Energy Outlook 2006

Nuclear Power Today
Nuclear power plants supplied 15% of the world’s electricity in 2005,
producing 2 742 TWh. A total of 31 countries around the world operated 443
nuclear reactors, with an installed capacity of 368 GW in 2005. 2 Four new
reactors were connected to the grid in 2005 and one reactor in Canada, which
had been refurbished after being shut down, was re-started. Two reactors were
shut down: one in Germany and another in Sweden.
Most nuclear power plants are located in OECD countries, accounting for
84% of world total nuclear output and 308 GW of installed capacity (Table
13.1). Three OECD countries, the United States, France and Japan, operate
over two-thirds of total OECD nuclear generating capacity and 57% of world
nuclear capacity. The transition economies had 40 GW of installed capacity in
2005 and developing countries 19 GW.
Of the 31 countries in the world operating commercial nuclear power plants
today, 17 are members of the OECD, seven are economies in transition and
seven are in the developing world. Nuclear power is the largest source of
electricity in eight countries: Lithuania, France, the Slovak Republic,
Belgium, Sweden, Ukraine, Slovenia and Armenia. In four countries –
Lithuania, France, the Slovak Republic and Belgium – more than half of all the
electricity generated is nuclear. However, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic
have agreements with the European Union to shut down nuclear plants. 3
Belgium plans to phase out nuclear power.
Worldwide, there were 86 companies operating nuclear power plants in 2005.
In the OECD, they are mostly privately owned. Depending on the country,
there may be one or more operators. In France, EDF – the world’s largest
nuclear operator – owns and operates 58 out of a total of 59 reactors
(Table 13.2). The United States has the largest number of operators, 26 in
total, despite significant industry consolidation in recent years. Operators are
state-controlled in the transition economies and the developing countries. In
most of these countries there is only one operator.
2. The reactor data used in this chapter are from the IAEA’s Power Reactor Information System
(PRIS) database.
3. The agreement concerns two out of six reactors in the Slovak Republic. In Lithuania, one reactor
was shut down in 2004 as a result of this agreement, with the second unit expected to be shut down
by 2009.
346 World Energy Outlook 2006 - FOCUS ON KEY TOPICS
© OECD/IEA, 2007