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There are about 30 countries in the world that have nuclear power plants. Being more than 400 nuclear reactors that supply approximately 11% of the electricity consumed on the planet. Energy is an essential factor for the well-being of the human being and sustainable economic development, that is why nuclear energy is committed to because it is cleaner than others, however, it also has its great disadvantages.
If you want to know how many nuclear plants are there in the worldContinue reading this interesting Green Ecologist article in which exactly what nuclear power plants are and more details will be explained.
What are nuclear power plants
Nuclear power plants or plants are industrial facilities in which generates electrical energy from thermal energy that has been produced thanks to nuclear fission reactions that occur in a nuclear reactor. The nuclear reactor It is the main component of a power plant, since that is where the nuclear fuel is deposited and, in addition, it has systems that make it possible to start, maintain and stop, in a controlled way, the nuclear fission reactions that release a large amount of thermal energy.
The thermal energy that is released is used to heat water until it is converted into steam at high temperature and pressure. The steam feeds a turbine, making it rotate and this is connected to a generator that transforms the mechanical energy produced by the rotation of the turbine into electrical energy.
In this other article you can learn much more about what nuclear energy is and how it works and in this other article and in the video below you will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy.
How many nuclear power plants are there around the world
Have you ever wondered Which are the countries with the largest number of nuclear power plants? Rather than asking ourselves the number of nuclear power plants and which are the countries with the greatest number of power plants, it would be more appropriate to ask about the number of nuclear reactors, since the same nuclear power plant can have more than one reactor. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) it is estimated that there are more than 400 operational nuclear reactors.
Is U.S who tops the list with 96 nuclear reactors France follows with 58, and there are also 48 nuclear reactors in China, ranking third among the countries with the largest nuclear reactors in the world. If we follow the list there are 38 nuclear reactors in Russia, 36 nuclear reactors in Japan, 24 nuclear reactors in Korea and 22 nuclear reactors in India. The rest of the countries have less than 20 reactors and many of them, such as Slovenia or Iran, among others, only have one. It should be added that, in addition to operating reactors, many countries are building new reactors.
Image: AFP
What is the largest nuclear power plant in the world
The largest nuclear power plant in the world is the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant located in Japan, in Niigata prefecture, exactly in the city of Kashiwazaki. It has 420 hectares, has 7 reactors, 2 of the ABWR type and 5 of the BWR type, generating approximately 8,0000 net MW. This amount of energy supplies more than 15 million people. However, this plant was closed in 2011 and is currently still inactive, despite wanting to be reactivated.
How many nuclear power plants are there in Europe
In Europe, 14 of the 27 countries that make up the Member States have nuclear power plants. In total it has 182 active nuclear reactors, which supply approximately 26% of the total electrical energy consumed throughout the European Union per year. In addition, four other reactors are under construction in countries such as France, Finland and Slovakia.
France is the country in Europe with the highest number of nuclear reactors, producing 78% of its electricity, followed by Slovakia producing 55% of electricity of nuclear origin, with 50% Belgium and Hungary and with 40% Sweden.
How many nuclear power plants are there in Spain
In Spain there are 5 nuclear power plants in operation and these are located in 5 different locations. Two of the nuclear power plants have two reactors, so Spain has a total of 7 nuclear reactors. The nuclear power plants that have two reactors are the Almaraz nuclear power plant, in Cáceres, and the Ascó nuclear power plant, in Tarragona, which you can see in this image.
How many nuclear power plants are there in France
France is the European country with the greatest dependence on nuclear energy and has 58 active nuclear reactors distributed among their 19 nuclear power plantsTogether, they supply approximately 78% of the electricity, but not only meet the country's electricity needs. In the image below you can see the Chooz nuclear power plant.
France, within the European countries, is the main nuclear energy exporter. One of the reasons why France invests in nuclear energy is due to the shortage of other energy resources such as gas, coal or oil.
If you want to learn more about nuclear energy, we recommend you read our other articles such as:
- 10 examples of nuclear energy.
- Is nuclear energy renewable?
- What is a nuclear graveyard.
- How nuclear energy affects the environment and humans.
If you want to read more articles similar to How many nuclear plants are there in the world, we recommend that you enter our category of non-renewable energies.
Bibliography- CSN (Nuclear Safety Council). The operation of nuclear power plants: https://www.csn.es/documents/10182/914805/El+funcionamiento+de+las+centrales+nuclear
- Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. Nuclear Power Plants in the world: https://energia.gob.es/nuclear/Centrales/Mundo/Paginas/centrales_mundo.aspx
