World’s Operating Nuclear Fleet At 30 Year Low As New Plants Stall – Report

Some 408 nuclear reactors were in operation in 31 countries as of July 2020, a decline of 9 units from mid-2019 and 30 fewer than the 2002 peak of 438, the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR) showed.

The slow pace of new projects coming on stream also increased the overall age of the global fleet to around 31 years old.

Of the 52 new plants being built globally at least 33 are behind schedule, while not a single new project came online in the first half of 2020, the report said.

New projects were struggling to secure finance amid competition from renewables with reported investment decisions for the construction of new nuclear plants at around $31 billion in 2019, around 1 tenth that of wind and solar, the report said.