World Nuclear Industry Status Report facts for kids

The World Nuclear Industry Status Report is a yearly report about the global challenges facing the nuclear power industry. The reports show that the share of nuclear-generated electricity in the overall global energy production has decreased in the 2000s. Nuclear power now accounts for about 13 percent of the world’s electricity generation and 5.5 percent of primary energy.

2010-11 report

The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2010-2011 is authored by Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt, and Steve Thomas and published by the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute. The foreword is written by Amory Lovins.

According to the report, the international nuclear power industry has been unable to stop the slow decline of nuclear energy. The world’s reactor fleet is aging quickly and not enough new units are coming online. As of April 1, 2011, there were 437 nuclear reactors operating in the world, which was seven fewer than in 2002. The Olkiluoto plant has had particular problems:

The flagship EPR project at Olkiluoto in Finland, managed by the largest nuclear builder in the world, AREVA NP, has turned into a financial fiasco. The project is four years behind schedule and at least 90 percent over budget, reaching a total cost estimate of €5.7 billion ($8.3 billion) or close to €3,500 ($5,000) per kilowatt.

The report says that the Fukushima I nuclear accidents have made things more difficult for nuclear energy. There is "no obvious sign that the international nuclear industry could eventually turn empirically evident downward trend into a promising future", and the Fukushima nuclear disaster is likely to accelerate the decline. With long lead times of 10 years and more, it will be difficult to maintain, let alone increase, the number of operating nuclear power plants over the next 20 years. Moreover, says the report, it is clear that nuclear power development cannot keep up with the pace of renewable energy commercialization.

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