industry information

industry information

i n d u s t r y

i n f o r m a t i o n

World Energy Consumption (quadrillion Btu)		World Electricity Consumption (trillion KWh)

The world's increasing demand for energy is likely to continue.		The world's increasing demand for electricity provides a market for new reactors.

E l e c t r i c a l P o w e r P l a n t C o n s t r u c t i o n
		Capital Cost ($/KW)		Project Time (years)
Gas		500-700		3
Coal		900-1,300		5-7
Nuclear		2,000-2,500		8-9
Source: Prospects and Strategies for Nuclear Power

E l e c t r i c a l P o w e r P l a n t F u e l C o s t s
		Share of Unit Production Costs
Gas		70% to 80%
Fossil fuel		40% to 60%
Nuclear		15% to 25%
Source: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

E n e r g y S o u r c e A d v a n t a g e s a n d D i s a d v a n t a g e s
Commodity		Advantages		Disadvantages
Oil		easy to use and transport		creates environmental pollution

Coal		low generating costs plentiful supplies baseload coal plants can run around the clock		creates air pollution produces ash that must be disposed of

Hydropower		no pollution		can require modification or destruction of ecosystems virtually all potential hydro locations are already developed

Nuclear		does not produce air or water pollution low generating costs - comparable to coal baseload plants can run around the clock		produces radioactive waste requiring carefully controlled disposal

Natural Gas		currently inexpensive		supply and price can fluctuate produces air pollution, though less than some other sources

Solar		inexhaustible supply no pollution can be cost-effective way to heat individual buildings		large-scale projects require much land requires expensive photovoltaic cells too small-scale for urban areas

Wind		inexhaustible no pollution		wind doesn't always blow when electricity demands are high extremely noisy too small-scale for urban areas

Nuclear Capacity GWe		World Electricity Generation (1996)

Nuclear power is expected to increase by 8% over the next decade.		Nuclear energy accounts for 17% of the world's electricity demand.

N u c l e a r R e a c t o r s
		Reactors in operation¹			Reactors under construction¹			Nuclear electricity (%)²			Uranium requirements (000s lbs U₃0₈)³
Argentina		2			1			11.4			330
Armenia		1			0			36.7			148
Belgium		7			0			57.2			2,766
Brazil		1			1			0.7			187
Bulgaria		6			0			42.2			1,315
Canada		15			0			16.0			4,628
China		3			4			1.3			991
Czech Republic		4			2			20.0			2,423
Finland		4			0			28.1			1,300
France		58			1			77.4			31,005
Germany		19			0			30.3			9,614
Hungary		4			0			40.8			926
India		9			6			2.2			676
Japan		53			1			33.4			18,674
Kazakhstan		1			0			0.2			1
Korea (South)		12			6			36.3			5,876
Lithuania		2			0			83.4			1,004
Mexico		2			0			5.1			567
Netherlands		1			0			4.8			300
Pakistan		1			1			0.6			34
Romania		1			0			1.8			221
Russia		29			3			13.1			9,949
Slovakia		4			2			44.5			853
Slovenia		1			0			37.9			338
South Africa		2			0			6.3			775
Spain		9			0			32.0			3,637
Sweden		12			0			52.4			4,027
Switzerland		5			0			44.5			1,586
Taiwan		6			0			29.0			2,418
Ukraine		14			2			43.8			4,599
United Kingdom		35			0			26.0			6,497
United States		106			0			21.9			49,200

Total		429			30						166,863

Source: The Uranium Institute ¹ At December 31, 1997 ² 1996 ³ 1997