Based on data reported to the IAEA by 31 December 2019, 450 nuclear power reactors were in operation worldwide, totalling 398.9 GW(e) in net installed capacity, an increase of 2.5 GW(e) since the end of 2018. Nuclear power generated around 10% of the world’s electricity in 2019, or almost one third of all low carbon electricity, and was set to remain the second largest source of low carbon electricity after hydro power.
n 2019, 30 countries generated nuclear power and 28 were considering, planning, or actively working to include it in their energy mix. Four of these countries, Bangladesh, Belarus, Turkey and United Arab Emirates, were building their first nuclear plants, with the plants in Belarus and the UAE nearing completion.
The IAEA’s projections for global nuclear power capacity in the decades to come, depend in part on whether significant new capacity can offset potential reactor retirements.
In the low projections to 2030, net installed nuclear capacity gradually decreases and then rebounds to 371 GW(e) by 2050, a 6% decline from today’s level. In the high projections, capacity increases by 25% over current levels to 496 GW(e) by 2030, and by 80% to 715 GW(e) by 2050. The share of nuclear electricity generating capacity in the world total electrical capacity will be about 3% in the low case and about 5% in the high case by the middle of the century, compared with 5.5% today.
New nuclear power reactor connections to the electricity grid in 2019
- 22 April SHIN-KORI-4 (1340 MW(e), PWR, South Korea)
- 1 May NOVOVORONEZH 2-2 (1114 MW(e), PWR, Russia)
- 23 June TAISHAN-2 (1660 MW(e), PWR, China)
- 29 June YANGJIANG-6 (1000 MW(e), PWR, China)
- 19 December AK. LOMONOSOV-2 (32 MW(e), PWR, Russia)
Construction starts in 2019
- 15 April KURSK 2-2 (1115 MW(e), PWR, Russia)
- 27 September BUSHEHR-2 (915 MW(e), PWR, Iran)
- 16 October ZHANGZHOU-1 (1126 MW(e), PWR, China)
Permanent shutdowns of nuclear power reactors in 2019
- 14 January BILIBINO-1 (11 MW(e), LWGR, Russia)
- 9 April GENKAI-2 (529 MW(e), PWR, Japan)
- 31 May PILGRIM-1 (677 MW(e), BWR, United States)
- 16 July CHINSHAN-2 (604 MW(e), BWR, Taiwan, China)
- 20 September 3 MILE ISLAND-1 (819 MW(e), PWR, United States)
IAEA PRIS
With over 150 000 visitors each year, the IAEA’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) is one of the Agency’s most consulted resources. Statistical reports available through PRIS help users understand nuclear power development and evaluate nuclear power performance. PRIS data can also be used for comprehensive trend analyses and benchmarking against best performers and industrial standards.
The data in this article reflects submission to the PRIS database by IAEA Member States as of 31 December 2019.
Source: IAEA
