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Report: China Tops the World in Nuclear Reactor Startups

The World Nuclear Industry Status Report is an annual report that explores the global challenges facing the nuclear power industry. Mycle Schneider, an independent energy expert, produces it; he provides a detailed overview of the global nuclear industry and a special analysis of key events and trends. The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2018 was released on September 4.

The report highlighted the following information with regard to China:
– Nuclear power generation in the world increased by 1 percent due to an 18 percent increase in China.
– Global nuclear power generation, excluding China, declined for the third year in a row.
– Out of four reactors that started up in 2017, three were in China and one was in Pakistan (built by a Chinese company).
– Five units started up in the first half of 2018, of which three were in China—including the world’s first EPR and AP1000—and two were in Russia.
– Of five construction startups in the world in 2017, one was a demonstration fast reactor project in China.
– There has been no startup of the construction of any commercial reactor in China since December 2016.
– The number of units under construction globally declined for the fifth year in a row, from 68 reactors at the end of 2013 to 50 by mid-2018, of which 16 were in China.
– China spent a record US$126 billion on renewables in 2017.

Source: World Nuclear Industry Status Report.
https://www.worldnuclearreport.org/