Nuclear Power Is Just So Passé

In a bit of welcome news, it appears nuclear energy based electricity generation has been flat and will likely reduce in the years ahead.

According to the Earth Policy Institute, nuclear electricity-generating capacity has actually fallen 5 percent between 2006 - 2011 and is likely to drop off further as nuclear power plants are decommissioned faster than new ones are built.

After the Fukushima disaster in Japan, a number of nuclear reactors have been permanently taken offline in that country, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In 2011, only seven new reactors commenced operations globally. The net result was a two percent reduction in world nuclear capacity by the end of 2011.

While 2012 saw an added net 3,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity and 64 nuclear reactors are listed by the International Atomic Energy Agency as being under construction, less than 25% of those have a projected finish date and some reactors have been listed as “under construction” for over twenty years.

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