Nuclear power generation to jump in China, but U.S. will remain on top, report says
China’s nuclear power output will soar before the end of the decade, but will still fall behind steady growth in the U.S., according to a new report from GlobalData.
The report said China will expand its generated nuclear capacity from 87 TWh in 2011 to 470 TWh by 2020 due to a need to meet power demands. The increase will see China make up approximately half of the Asia-Pacific region’s cumulative output and overtake more nuclear dependent countries such as France. Currently, there are 15 nuclear reactors in operation in China with another 27 under construction and more than 160 in the planning and proposal stages.
However, the U.S. will remain the world’s No. 1 nuclear energy generator by some margin, the report said. The U.S. is currently producing 790 TWh from its 104 operational reactors, but with the addition of six currently being built, and more than 30 potentially on the way, this figure is expected to touch 988 TWh by the end of the decade.
By region, GlobalData expects Europe to continue to lead in terms of nuclear power generation (despite the commitment of several member states to phase-out the power source) with an estimated output of 1,277 TWh in 2020. North America is expected to be second, producing 1,088 TWh, followed by Asia-Pacific with 941 TWh.
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