World Nuclear 2009

The IEA nations currently generate about 80% of the worlds nuclear power and for the first nine months of the year are down -1.2% from 2008.

The OECD total for Jan-Sep,2009 is 1602.9 TWHe. For 2008 the OECD total was 2171 TWHe. The world total was 2601 TWhe in 2008.

This is an update of a November, 2009 report

Japan generated 22.41 GWH in November, 2009 and 21.78 GWH in Oct, 2009.

Hokkaido Electric Power Co (9509.T) started generating power to sell from a new nuclear reactor on Tuesday, the first new unit in over three years in Japan, and a move that will limit fuel purchases for the firm. Commercial operations at the 912-megawatt No.3 nuclear generator at its Tomari plant on Japan’s northernmost island started in the late afternoon.

China’s electricity output surged 26.9% year on year to 323.4 billion kWh in November, 2009 Nuclear power output increased 2.7% year on year to 5.51 billion kWh.

China’s newly-installed power capacity totaled 69 million kWh in the first 11 months, of which hydropower capacity growth accounted for 21.8 percent.

China plans to achieve the goal of 20 billion kWh of installed solar power capacity in 2020

China would establish 7 wind power bases which would have over 10 billion kWh of power capacity each. By 2020, China’s wind power capacity will reach 150 billion kWh. By 2020, these two sectors are expected to have capacity of 300 billion kWh hydropower and 30 billion kWh of biomass energy. Nuclear power will “see considerable growth.”

China’s electricity generation capacity will increase to 860 billion kW at the end of this year, the second largest after the United States.

Through November, 2009 in the USA year-to-date nuclear generation was 727.6 billion kilowatt-hours compared to 733.3 bkWh for the same period in 2008 and 734.5 bkWh in 2007 (the record year for nuclear generation).