Blog 4 Techies Table of Contents
Nuclear: Disappearance or Rebirth
What is the impending nuclear energy in the world? In Germany, for example, the last reactors will be closed in 2022, although the search for a definitive deposit remains unresolved. A panorama.
In 32 of the 195 countries, 413 nuclear reactors are currently in operation. Affording to the annual State of the World Nuclear Industry Report (WNISR), atomic power covered about 10% of global electricity demand in 2019. In 1996, the highest percentage was 17.5%.
Most of the reactors remained built between 1968 and 1986, mainly in Europe, the United States, the former Soviet Union, and Japan. The global average age of devices is 31 years.
USA: The Future Of Nuclear Power Is Uncertain
There are currently 94 nuclear reactors in operation in the United States, more than in any other country in the world. In 2019, they covered 20% of the country’s energy needs.
Most of the reactors entered service in 1985 and only one in the past 20 years. The construction of two reactors began in 2013. They should come into service in the coming years. The United States consumes the oldest reactors in the world, with an average age of 40 years.
Nuclear Power
The yet to come of nuclear power in the United States is uncertain. It remains not known whether new reactors will remain built to generate electricity. Although there remain concepts for a new age group of reactors, it is questionable whether they could ever produce electricity cheaply as with renewables.
There is no final repository for highly radioactive waste in the United States. It remains stored in the same field of power plants.
Russia Wants To Export Nuclear Power Plants
In Russia, 38 nuclear reactors currently produce electricity. In 2019, they covered around 20% of the country’s electricity needs.
Over the past ten years, ten new reactors have remained connected to the grid. Two reactors have remained built since 2010, and more will follow in the years to come. The average age of the reactors is 28 years.
Nuclear Power Plants
Russia no lengthier wants to subsidize the construction of nuclear power plants in its own country. Therefore, the start of new construction projects in the country is uncertain. The state consortium Rosatom wants to make money mainly by building reactors abroad and offering reactors with funding. According to the WNISR, ten Russian reactors are currently under construction abroad: two in Bangladesh, India, Turkey, and Slovakia, and one in Iran and Belarus.
Russia does not have a facility for the disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste. Critics complain about the lack of transparency in the treatment of nuclear waste.
India: Nuclear Is Too Expensive
Firstly, India currently has 21 reactors that generate electricity. In 2019, nuclear represented 3% of the network. But, Three reactors have entered service in the past decade, and six more are under construction. The ordinary age of the reactors is 23 years. However, the expansion of nuclear power has been delayed for a long time, making it more expensive. Electricity from new reactors thus becomes the most expensive energy.
Likewise, In 2012, the Planning Commission of India predicted that the total capacity of all reactors would increase to just under five gigawatts (GW) at that time and up to 30 GW in 2027. As the time of construction of reactors in India in With more than ten years, in 2027, there will be a maximum of eleven GW in the network, i.e., almost three times less than expected.
India does not have a nuclear waste disposal facility.