IAEA, Vienna, 2008, 158 p. IAEA-TECDOC-1584
ISBN 978–92–0–105808–9, ISSN 1011–4289
By August 2007, there were 438 nuclear power plants (NPPs) in operation worldwide, with a total capacity of 371.7 GW(e). Further, 31 units, totaling 24.1 GW(e), were under construction. During 2006 nuclear power produced 2659.7 billion kWh of electricity, which was 15.2% of the world’s total.
The vast majority of these plants use water-cooled reactors. Based on information provided by its Member States, the IAEA projects that nuclear power will grow significantly, producing between 2760 and 2810 billion kWh annually by 2010, between 3120 and 3840 billion kWh annually by 2020, and between 3325 and 5040 billion kWh annually by 2030.
There are several reasons for these rising expectations for nuclear power:
Nuclear power’s lengthening experience and good performance: The industry now has more
than 12 000 reactor years of experience, and the global average nuclear plant availability during
2006 reached 83%;
Growing energy needs: All forecasts project increases in world energy demand, especially as population and economic productivity grow. The strategies are country dependent, but usually
involve a mix of energy sources;
Interest in advanced applications of nuclear energy, such as seawater desalination, steam for heavy oil recovery and heat and electricity for hydrogen production;
Environmental concerns and constraints: The Kyoto Protocol has been in force since February 2005, and for many countries (most OECD countries, the Russian Federation, the Baltics and some countries of the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe) greenhouse gas emission limits
are imposed;
Security of energy supply is a national priority in essentially every country; and Nuclear power is economically competitive and provides stability of electricity price.
In the near term most new nuclear plants will be evolutionary water cooled reactors (Light Water Reactors (LWRs) and Heavy Water Reactors (HWRs), often pursuing economies of scale. In the longer term, innovative designs that promise shorter construction times and lower capital costs could help to promote a new era of nuclear power.
About one-fifth of the world’s energy consumption is used for electricity generation. Most of the
world’s energy consumption is for heat and transportation. Nuclear energy has considerable potential to penetrate these energy sectors now served by fossil fuels that are characterized by price volatility and finite supply. Advanced applications of nuclear energy include seawater desalination, district heating, heat for industrial processes, and electricity and heat for hydrogen production. In addition, since nuclear electricity is generally produced in a base load mode at stable prices, there is considerable near-term potential for nuclear power to contribute to the transportation sector as a carbon-free source of electricity for charging electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
This collaborative assessment was recommended by the IAEA Nuclear Energy Department’s Technical Working Groups on Advanced Technologies for LWRs and HWRs (the TWG-LWR and
TWG-HWR). The objective has been to identify opportunities and challenges for water cooled
reactors to capture a substantial share of the above mentioned advanced applications. For each
application, the opportunities, market context, challenges and potential solutions are addressed.
