EIA charts nuclear power growth to 2040

• 8 years ago (2016-10-04)
• David Flin

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According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), in its Annual Energy Outlook 2016 report, electricity generated by nuclear power plants worldwide will jump from the current 2.6 trillion kWh to 4.5 trillion kWh in 2040.

The report predicts a 73 per cent increase in nuclear energy generation within the next 25 years, with most of the growth expected in China, which currently has 34 operating nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 27 GW. China is already leading the world in nuclear power growth, having added 10 reactors from 2010 to 2014, adding 18 GW of additional capacity.

While China’s nuclear power growth has been widely reported, the EIA report said that 86 per cent of new nuclear capacity expected by 2040 will come from countries that are not part of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the economic umbrella organisation that includes many of the most sophisticated economies in the world, but does not include China, India, or Russia.

Between 2010 and 2014, China alone accounted for 79 per cent of the world’s nuclear power growth in non-OECD countries. In addition, according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), it is expected that China will green-light six to eight new nuclear reactors in each of the next three years, as it aims to increase capacity by 90 GW by 2025.

It is expected that China will produce more electricity through nuclear power by 2032 than any other country, as it takes over the No. 1 position in that year, surpassing the USA.