INTRODUCTION | REVIEW OF 2023 2023 in review
A GLOBAL SENSE OF RENEWED ENTHUSIASM for nuclear power generation saw 2023 culminate with more than 20 nations committing to triple nuclear generation by 2050. Taking place at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the move marked the clearest sign yet that perception of nuclear power had turned a long-awaited corner. In another significant development at COP28, all 198 signatory nations to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) also called for accelerated deployment of low-emission generation technologies including nuclear. For the third consecutive year, 2023 saw the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revise its projections for growth in nuclear power capacity upwards. Even in its low scenario forecasts nuclear capacity will reach 458 GW in 2050. This is 55 GW more than the similar low case projections from two years previously, illustrating the strength of drivers like climate change and security of energy supply in reinvigorating the prospects for new nuclear. More remarkable is the Agency’s high case projection, which sees nuclear capacity reaching up to 890 GW in 2050. This represents a 175 GW increase when compared with their 2020 projection. Putting these figures into perspective, at the end of 2023 the total global operational nuclear power capacity was 371.5 GW, coming from 437 operable reactors across 31 nations. This includes some 21 GW from 25
Table 1: 2023 construction starts Country
Name
Below, Figure 1: Number of reactor construction starts and grid connections by year
China China Egypt China China China
Design
Sanmen 4 CAP1000 Haiyang 4
Capacity (MWe)
CAP1000
Date of first
concrete
1163 22 Mar 1161
22 Apr
El Dabaa 3 VVER-1200 1100 3 May Lufeng 6 Hualong One 1116 26 Aug Lianjiang 1
CAP1000 Xudabao 1 CAP1000 1000 3 Nov
reactors which are licenced and operable but remained in suspended operations throughout the year. Nuclear generation itself rose by 2.6% in 2023. Most of this rise was achieved through the return to service of large chunks of the French fleet. Although closures and new connections meant the net number of operable reactors worldwide didn’t change between 2022 and 2023, new grid connections saw nuclear plant added across a diverse spread of nations, with Belarus, China, the Republic of Korea, Slovakia and the USA all adding nuclear capacity. During the year 5 GW of new nuclear power capacity was added along with a further 1 .6 GW of capacity coming from two units – Japan’s Takahama 1 and 2 – that had been suspended and were restored to operations during 2023. With these additions, the global nuclear power fleet generated approximately 2515.2 TWh over the year. During 2023 five reactors and a total of 6 GW of nuclear capacity were permanently shut down, including the last of Germany’s nuclear fleet. According to IAEA figures, nuclear power continues to
1224 27 Sept
generate almost 10% of the world’s electricity and, crucially, contributes around a quarter of all low-carbon electricity, coming second only to hydropower in terms of the clean energy contribution. The USA remained the world’s top producer of nuclear electricity, followed by China and France. However, China continued to lead in new builds, beginning construction on five reactors as well as commissioning a new plant. Meanwhile, nuclear newcomer Egypt started building its second reactor during 2023. At the end of 2023, a total capacity north of 61 GW was under construction worldwide, with 59 reactors in 17 countries being built. In addition, some 50 countries had expressed an interest in adding nuclear to their generation mix, around half of which are in the midst of initiating a national nuclear power programme. In terms of new build, China is still the fastest expanding nuclear producer, with 27 reactors under construction, five of which began during 2023 alone. ■
50 40 30 20 10 0 00
Construction starts Grid connections
4 | World Nuclear Industry Handbook 2024 |
www.neimagazine.com
Number of reactors
1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
2022 2023
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