INTRODUCTION | REVIEW OF 2024 2024 in review
SINCE THE PLEDGE TO TRIPLE global nuclear energy capacity by 2050 was first launched in 2023 some 33 nations have signed up, together with well over a dozen financial institutions. However, according to the World Nuclear Outlook Report 2025 from the World Nuclear Association (WNA), global nuclear capacity could reach 1428 GWe by 2050, exceeding even the tripling target of 1200 GWe. This forecast comes not only as nuclear is enjoying new recognition for its contributions, both current and potential, but is also breaking records for generation. WNA figures show a record total production from nuclear of 2667 TWh, the highest annual generation ever. This 66 TWh increase on the previous year came largely as a result of the restart of multiple French reactors following repairs but nuclear generation is also set to be bolstered by both new builds and reactor restarts in Japan following shutdowns in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Onagawa 2 and Shimane 2 were connected to the grid towards the end of 2024. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as of 1 January 2025, global operational nuclear power capacity was 377 GWe which was provided by 417 reactors across 31 nations. The six units at Zaporizhia in Ukraine
Table 1: 2024 construction starts Country
Name
China China China China China China Egypt
Pakistan Russia
Lianjiang 2 Ningde 5
with a combined capacity of nearly 6 GWe did not produce any electricity and a further 23 operable reactors with a combined capacity of nearly 20 GWe were in suspended operation, including four units in India and 19 in Japan. The top three nuclear generating nations were the USA,
China, and France, with the USA accounting for 30% (781.9 TWh) of total reported production, China 16% (417.5 TWh), and France 14% (364.4 TWh). During the course of the year, seven new reactors
were commissioned. They included six Pressurised Water Reactors (PWRs), and one pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR). Single units were connected in four different nations. They are the Barakah 4 APR-1400 PWR rated at 1337 MWe in the UAE, the 1620 MWe Flamanville 3 EPR in France, the Vogtle 4 AP1000 reactor rated at 1117 MWe in the USA, and Kakrapar Unit 4, based on domestic PHWR technology and rated at 630 MWe in India. A further three PWRs were commissioned in China. The 1000 MW Fangchenggang 4 and the 1126 MWe Zhangzhou 1 are both Chinese-designed Hualong One HPR1000 PWR units. In addition, Shidaowan Guohe One 1, a CAP1400 PWR rated at 1400 MWe, was also commissioned. Four reactors were also decommissioned. They are the
Design CAP1000 PWR Hualong One PWR
Shidaowan 1 Hualong One PWR Xudabao 2
CAP1000 PWR
Zhangzhou 3 Hualong One PWR Zhangzhou 4 Hualong One PWR El Dabaa 4 VVER-1200/V-529 PWR Chashma 5
Leningrad II-3
Hualong One PWR VVER V-491 PWR
Capacity (MWe)
1161 1116 1134 1000 1126 1129 1100 1100 1101
Date of first concrete
26 April 28 July 28 July 17 July
22 February 27 September 23 January
31 December 14 March
Kursk 1, unit 2, an RBMK-1000 in the Russian Federation, the Maanshan 1 936 MWe PWR in Taiwan and Pickering units 1 & 4, both of which are 515 MWe PHWRs in Canada. At the beginning of 2025 some 62 reactors with a
combined capacity of 64.5 GWe were under construction across 15 countries, of which nine PWRs with a total capacity of 10.2 GWe began construction during 2024. These units are located in Egypt (El Dabaa 4 a VVER), Pakistan (Chasnupp 5 a Hualong One) and the Russian Federation (Leningrad 2 unit 3, a VVER). China began work on six new units during the course of the year including four HPR1000 reactors: Ningde 5, Shidaowan 1, and Zhangzhou 3 & 4, as well as two CAP1000 units, Lianjiang 2 and Xudapu 2. Taking the lead in construction yet again, China alone accounts for nearly half of all nuclear power development worldwide. ■
50 40 30 20 10 0 00
Construction starts Grid connections
Above, Figure 1: Number of reactor construction starts and grid connections by year 4 | World Nuclear Industry Handbook 2026 |
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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
2024
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