WHAT NATIONS ARE BUILDING NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS AND WHY?

Global nuclear build today

Four countries make up 75% of global new nuclear build today; China, Russia, South Korea and India.

The United Arab Emirates will shortly become the fifth major nuclear constructor, overtaking India. Fifty three nuclear reactors are presently under construction in 13 countries world-wide, which will produce 51 GWe of new nuclear power.

China has the fastest growing nuclear programme constructing 20 new nuclear power stations, which will produce 21.9 GWe or 43% of global new nuclear build. The other nations with significant new nuclear build are Russia (14%), South Korea (13%) and India (5%).

Nine countries in the rest of the world make up the remaining 25%, but these are mostly single or twin reactor build projects in individual countries. The average size of a new nuclear reactor is 1GWe but single unit projects tend to be larger up to 1.6 GWe.

How many nations have nuclear power?

Forty-four countries will have future civil nuclear energy programmes. Nuclear reactors already operate or are under construction in 32 countries (see table).

Who are the most developed nuclear nations?

Thirty two countries operate a total global nuclear fleet of 436 reactors generating 373 GWe world-wide.  The United States, France and Japan have the largest fleets of operating nuclear power stations.

The United States has the largest nuclear fleet with 104 operating reactors generating 101 GWe or 27% of global nuclear power capacity.  The other nations with major nuclear fleets are France (17%), Japan (13%), Russia (6%), Germany (5%), South Korea (5%), Ukraine (4%), Canada (3%) and Britain (3%).

However China has the largest nuclear build programme and is set to leapfrog America to become the world's biggest nuclear power producer. China aims to produce 129 GWe of nuclear power by 2030, while the United States is aiming to produce 126 GWe.