The 8 countries that produce the most nuclear power in the world have navigated around the touchy subject that is the nuclear power and have used it for good. Nuclear power refers to using nuclear reactions which in turn lead to the release of nuclear energy which generates an extraordinary amount of heat, which is generally used in steam turbines in order to generate electricity for the area.
Nuclear power, though extremely efficient, is not widely used. In fact, it manages to produce less than 20% of the entire electricity generated in the world. Of course, it is easy to understand why. After the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents, the world decided that staying away from nuclear power might end up being a good thing and sought to curb the growth and production of nuclear energy on a global scale.
The generation of nuclear power fell even further back in 2011, due to the Fukushima disaster that occurred in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami that struck the region. In the wake of the fallout from the nuclear plant collapsing, all reactors in the entire country were shut down, for fear of the spreading of radiation. Of course, this was not a permanent move. In fact, dozens of the reactors are now in the process of being reopened, and one reactor was started in 2015.
Nuclear energy is renewable and falls in the company of other such renewable resources which include solar, wind, and geothermal energy. If you want to learn more about the other sources of energy available, you can visit 8 countries that produce the most solar energy in the world.
There is, unsurprisingly, a lot of debate regarding the use of nuclear power. Its proponents suggest that nuclear power can be safe if handled properly while it is also a good source of energy since it produces low carbon emissions. On the other hand, it can be significantly dangerous as evidenced by the Fukushima disaster, the Chernobyl disaster and several other such disasters, which can lead to a widespread devastation.
We sought to determine the countries that produce the most nuclear power in the world. In order to do this, we obtained data from the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding electricity production via nuclear power in 2015. We used the overall production of electricity through nuclear as one of our criteria while total net electrical capacity was our other criteria. We used the average of both the criteria to create our ranking.
7. Ukraine
Total net electrical capacity (in MW): 13,107
Ranking according to total net electrical capacity: 8
Total nuclear electricity supplied (in GW.h): 82,405
Ranking according to total nuclear electricity supplied: 8
Overall score: 2
7. Germany
Total net electrical capacity (in MW): 12,074
Ranking according to total net electrical capacity: 9
Total nuclear electricity supplied (in GW.h):: 86,810
Ranking according to total nuclear electricity supplied: 7
Overall score: 2
6. Canada
Total net electrical capacity (in MW): 13,524
Ranking according to total net electrical capacity: 7
Total nuclear electricity supplied (in GW.h):: 95,637
Ranking according to total nuclear electricity supplied: 6
Overall score: 4
5. The Republic of Korea
Total net electrical capacity (in MW): 21,733
Ranking according to total net electrical capacity: 6
Total nuclear electricity supplied (in GW.h):: 157,199
Ranking according to total nuclear electricity supplied: 5
Overall score: 5
3. China
Total net electrical capacity (in MW): 26,774
Ranking according to total net electrical capacity: 4
Total nuclear electricity supplied (in GW.h):: 161,202
Ranking according to total nuclear electricity supplied: 4
Overall score: 6
3. Russia
Total net electrical capacity (in MW): 25,443
Ranking according to total net electrical capacity: 5
Total nuclear electricity supplied (in GW.h):: 182,807
Ranking according to total nuclear electricity supplied: 3
Overall score: 6
2. France
Total net electrical capacity (in MW): 63,130
Ranking according to total net electrical capacity: 2
Total nuclear electricity supplied (in GW.h):: 419,022
Ranking according to total nuclear electricity supplied: 2
Overall score: 8
1. The United States of America
Total net electrical capacity (in MW): 99,185
Ranking according to total net electrical capacity: 1
Total nuclear electricity supplied (in GW.h):: 798,012
Ranking according to total nuclear electricity supplied: 1
Overall score: 9
The United States of America showed the world the terrifying power of nuclear energy when it dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, effectively ending World War II. It has since sought to ensure that other nations do not attempt what they did. However, they have continued investing in nuclear energy and now, without a doubt, are the largest producers of nuclear power globally, which is why they top the list of 8 countries that produce the most nuclear power in the world.
