Part 1 of 2 Parts
      The World Nuclear Association (WNA) is an international organization that represents the global nuclear industry. They just published their sixth World Nuclear Performance Report covering global nuclear activities in 2018. In 2018, there were four hundred and forty-nine commercial nuclear power reactors in operation. They produced a total of three hundred and ninety-seven gigawatts which represents more than ten percent of global electricity production. The global nuclear reactor fleet operated at an average capacity of eighty percent.
     In 2018, nine new reactors were put into operation world-wide with a total capacity of ten and a half gigawatts. Seven of these new reactors were located in China. These included new reactors types such as AP1000s, EPRs and ACPR-1000.
      Seven reactors were permanently closed with a combined capacity of five and a half gigawatts. Four of the reactors that were retired were in Japan and had not generated any power since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Another in Taiwan had not been operational since 2015. Exelon shut down the oldest operating reactor in the U.S, their Oyster Creek nuclear power plant. In Russia, the Leningrad One reactor was shut down.
    Construction on nine new reactors began in 2018. These new projects include the Akkuyu 1 in Turkey, Hinkley Point C-1 in the UK, Kursk II-1 in Russia, Rooppur 2 in Bangladesh, and Shin Kori 6 in South Korea.
    In 2018, global average capacity declined a little. From eighty-one and one tenths in 2017 to seventy-nine and eight tenths in 2018. There is an increasing trend for some reactors to load-follow demand. This accounts for some of the reduction.
   The WNA reported that there was not “significant age-related trend” in 2018, despite the fact that the world fleet is getting older. The average age of the reactors in the commercial power fleet about thirty years. As mentioned above, five reactors have been operating for fifty years. These include Beznau 1 in Switzerland, Nine Mile Point 1 and R.E. Ginna in the U.S, and Tarapur 1 and 2 in India.
    The average construction time for reactors increased in 2018. The WNA attributed this to the fact that four of nine new reactors put into service were new types of reactors. IN 2017, the average construction time for a new reactor was between five and six years. In 2018, that grew to eight and a half years.
    The WNA report pointed out that current circumstances “are creating profound challenges for nuclear power in some of its most mature markets.” More than half of the world’s four hundred and forty-nine power reactors are in the U.S. and Europe. The report said that, “despite the vital importance of nuclear to achieving sustainable energy goals, reactor retirements continue to outpace capacity additions.” The WNA report lists some developments that suggest a long-term slowdown for the nuclear sector in developing countries. Between 1970 and 1990, the majority of new reactors were built in West and Central Europe and in North America. After that, the majority of new reactor projects have been in Asia, Eastern Europe and Russia.
Please read Part 2