In brief :
1. Fourteen countries are currently building nuclear power plants and as of July 2013, 66 reactors are under construction.Two-thirds (44) of the units under construction are located in three countries: China, India and Russia.
2. China, Germany and Japan, three of the world's four largest economies, as well as India, now generate more power from renewables than from nuclear power.For the first time in 2012 China and India generated more power from wind than from nuclear plants.
3. Four reactors have been listed as "under-construction" for over 10 years. These are two Taiwanese units at Lungmen for about 14 years and two Indian units at Kudankulam for around 10 years
Nuclear Reactors "Under Construction" (as of 1 July 2013)
Country | Units | MWe (net) | Construction Start | Grid Connection |
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China | 28 | 27,790 | 2008-2013 | 2013-2017 |
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Russia | 9 | 7,273 | 1983-2019 | 2014-2019 |
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India | 7 | 4,824 | 2002-2011 | 2013-2016 |
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South Korea | 5 | 6,320 | 2008-2013 | 2013-2017 |
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USA | 3 | 3,399 | 1972-2013 | 2015-2017 |
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Pakistan | 2 | 630 | 2011 | 2016-2017 |
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Slovakia | 2 | 880 | 1985 | 2014-2015 |
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Taiwan | 2 | 2,600 | 1999 | 2014-2015 |
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UAE | 2 | 2,690 | 2012-2013 | 2017-2018 |
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Ukraine | 2 | 1,900 | 1986-1987 | 2015-2016 |
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Argentina | 1 | 692 | 1981 | 2013 |
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Brazil | 1 | 1,245 | 2010 | 2016 |
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Finland | 1 | 1,600 | 2005 | 2016 |
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France | 1 | 1,600 | 2007 | 2016 |
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Total | 66 | 63,443 | 1972-2013 | 2013-2019 |
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Source : IAEA-PRIS, MSC, 2013
4. All 34 reactors that started up over the past decade are located in Asia (China, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea), Eastern Europe (Romania, Russia, Ukraine) or the Middle East (Iran). Not a single unit was started up in the Western world during that period. With 11 units China, started up the largest fleet, followed by India (6), and South Korea (5).
5. China has been by far the largest investor in renewable energies in 2012 with over $65 billion. Some big players reduced expenditures significantly over the previous year, including the U.S., Germany, Italy and India. On the other hand, some countries had very large growth rates. South Africa boosted spendings by a factor of two hundred to $5.5 billion, while Japan increased investements by three quarters
Renewable Energy Investment in Top 10 Countries 2011-2012 (in billion US$)
Country | 2012 | 2011 |
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China | 65.1 | 54.1 |
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United States | 35.6 | 56.8 |
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Germany | 22.8 | 31.3 |
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Rest of EU* | 16.3 | 17.7 |
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Japan | 16.3 | 9.3 |
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Italy | 14.7 | 30.1 |
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U.K. | 8.3 | 10.0 |
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India | 6.9 | 10.2 |
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South Africa | 5.5 | 0.03 |
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Brazil | 5.3 | 7.8 |
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Note: *Rest of EU is including all of the EU countries besides Germany, Italy and the U.K.
6. In India, too, modern renewable energy sources (wind, solar, biomass) generated 51.2 TWh during the fiscal year 2011-2012 , about 5.5% of the total electricity generated in the country, as compared to nuclear power that generated 3.5% of the total. Preliminary estimates for 2012-13 are 6.4% of the total from renewable energy and 3.7% from nuclear energy.
7. India operates 20 nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 4.4 GW; the majority of these have a capacity of 220 MW per unit. In 2012, nuclear power provided a record 29.6 TWh that covered just 3.6 percent of India's electricity, slightly below the record level of 3.7 percent already achieved in 2001/02 when nuclear generation was only around 17 TWh.
8. India lists seven units as under construction with a total of 4.8 GW. Most currently operating reactors experienced construction delays, and operational targets have rarely been achieved. India's lifetime nuclear load factor is only 59.3 percent as of the end of 2012, the lowest of any country operating more than two units.
9. India's 1974 nuclear weapons test triggered the end of most official foreign nuclear cooperation, including invaluable Canadian assistance. The nuclear weapons tests in 1998 came as a shock to the international community and triggered a new phase of instability in the region, including a subsequent nuclear test series by Pakistan. Various (and different) international sanctions were imposed on the two countries.
This state of affairs started to change under U.S. Bush administration's announcement in 2005 of what became known as the U.S.-India deal. Following intense lobbying by the United States, supported by France and Russia, the IAEA approved a "safeguards agreement" with India in August 2008, and on 6 September 2008 the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a 45-country group regulating international commerce to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, granted an exception to its own rules. Thus, although India is a non-signatory of the NPT, has developed and maintains a nuclear weapons program, and refuses full-scope safeguards,
[433] it is still permitted to receive nuclear assistance and to carry out nuclear commerce with other nations. The reasons for this deviation from the previous nonproliferation consensus appear to be geopolitical and commercial. France has abstained from any criticism of India's nuclear weapons program and has strongly encouraged the NSG to grant India access to international cooperation.
Nuclear Power in India: Planning, Projection or Fantasy?
Indian Forecasting | Capacity "planned" | Capacity installed | Share realized |
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in 1984 for 2000 | 10 GW | 2.7 GW in ca. 15 years | 27% |
in 2005 for 2012 | 11 GW | 4.8 GW in ca. 30 years | 43% |
in 2012 for 2017 | 10 GW | 10 GW max in ca. 35 years | ? |
in 2012 for 2023 | 27 GW | +12.7 GW in ca. 10 years? | ? |
in 2012 for 2032 | 63 GW | +58 GW in ca. 20 years? | ? |
in 2009 for 2050 | 470 GW | x 100 in 40 years? | ? |
© Mycle Schneider Consulting
Sources: various, assembled by MSC
10. India added 2.3 GW of wind turbines in 2012 (the fourth largest addition in the world) and now has an installed capacity of wind power of 18.4 GW, compared to 4.8 GW of nuclear capacity with the contribution of the wind sector to electricity supply having overtaken that of nuclear power in 2012.