40 Years After the Chernobyl Disaster, More Countries Are Turning To Nuclear Power
(Sunday April 26, 2026 @03:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the going-nuclear dept.)
- Reference: 0182833556
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/04/25/0928252/40-years-after-the-chernobyl-disaster-more-countries-are-turning-to-nuclear-power
- Source link:
An anonymous reader shared [1]this report from the Associated Press :
> The 1986 [2]Chernobyl disaster fueled global fears about nuclear power and slowed its development in Europe and elsewhere. Four decades later, however, there's a revival around the world, a trend that has been [3]given a big boost by war in the Middle East. Over 400 nuclear reactors are operational in 31 countries, while about 70 more are under construction. Nuclear power accounts for producing about 10% of the world's electricity, equivalent to about a quarter of all sources of low-carbon power.
>
> Nuclear reactors have seen steady improvements, adding more safety features and making them cheaper to build and operate. While Chernobyl and the [4]2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan diminished the appetite for such power sources, it was clear years ago that there probably would be a revival, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. With the war in the Middle East, "I am 100% sure nuclear is coming back," he added...
>
> The United States is the world's largest producer of nuclear power, with 94 operational reactors accounting for about 30% of global generation of nuclear electricity. And it is increasing efforts to develop nuclear energy capacity with a goal to [5]quadruple it by 2050... China operates 61 nuclear reactors and is leading the world in building new units, with nearly 40 under construction with a goal to surpass the U.S. and become the global leader in nuclear capacity. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has acknowledged that it was Europe's "strategic mistake" to cut nuclear energy and outlined new initiatives to encourage building power plants. [In 1990, nuclear energy accounted for roughly a third of Europe's electricity, the article points out, but it's now only about 15%.] Russia, meanwhile, has taken a strong lead in exporting its nuclear know-how, building 20 reactors worldwide...
>
> Japan has restarted 15 reactors after reviewing the lessons of the earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima plant, and 10 more are in the process of getting approval to restart. South Africa has the only nuclear power plant on the African continent, although Russia is building one in Egypt, and several other African nations are exploring the technology... With 57 reactors at 19 plants, France relies on nuclear power for nearly 70% of its electricity.
The article includes an interactive graphic that shows the growth in the world's nuclear capacity slowing down soon after the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown — with that capacity broken down by country. But it's still increased by roughly 50%.
Even Ukraine — the site of the accident — now "still relies heavily on nuclear plants to generate about half of its electricity," the article points out. But Germany "switched off its last three nuclear reactors in 2023."
[1] https://apnews.com/article/chernobyl-nuclear-power-iran-russia-3f5003ca20dfb4e2380c1c18aa6613b4
[2] https://apnews.com/general-news-aa798c34d432495e868005ba083d9f07
[3] https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-wars-nuclear-energy-asia-africa-ab082ccbbc1fca8ab7eb6871040bf4a3
[4] https://apnews.com/article/japan-earthquake-tsunami-nuclear-disaster-fukushima-9727fc1f169a199246cc0932719eae68
[5] https://apnews.com/article/new-nuclear-reactors-trump-e7394fe688d2132a73f67f59bdbe792a
> The 1986 [2]Chernobyl disaster fueled global fears about nuclear power and slowed its development in Europe and elsewhere. Four decades later, however, there's a revival around the world, a trend that has been [3]given a big boost by war in the Middle East. Over 400 nuclear reactors are operational in 31 countries, while about 70 more are under construction. Nuclear power accounts for producing about 10% of the world's electricity, equivalent to about a quarter of all sources of low-carbon power.
>
> Nuclear reactors have seen steady improvements, adding more safety features and making them cheaper to build and operate. While Chernobyl and the [4]2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan diminished the appetite for such power sources, it was clear years ago that there probably would be a revival, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. With the war in the Middle East, "I am 100% sure nuclear is coming back," he added...
>
> The United States is the world's largest producer of nuclear power, with 94 operational reactors accounting for about 30% of global generation of nuclear electricity. And it is increasing efforts to develop nuclear energy capacity with a goal to [5]quadruple it by 2050... China operates 61 nuclear reactors and is leading the world in building new units, with nearly 40 under construction with a goal to surpass the U.S. and become the global leader in nuclear capacity. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has acknowledged that it was Europe's "strategic mistake" to cut nuclear energy and outlined new initiatives to encourage building power plants. [In 1990, nuclear energy accounted for roughly a third of Europe's electricity, the article points out, but it's now only about 15%.] Russia, meanwhile, has taken a strong lead in exporting its nuclear know-how, building 20 reactors worldwide...
>
> Japan has restarted 15 reactors after reviewing the lessons of the earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima plant, and 10 more are in the process of getting approval to restart. South Africa has the only nuclear power plant on the African continent, although Russia is building one in Egypt, and several other African nations are exploring the technology... With 57 reactors at 19 plants, France relies on nuclear power for nearly 70% of its electricity.
The article includes an interactive graphic that shows the growth in the world's nuclear capacity slowing down soon after the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown — with that capacity broken down by country. But it's still increased by roughly 50%.
Even Ukraine — the site of the accident — now "still relies heavily on nuclear plants to generate about half of its electricity," the article points out. But Germany "switched off its last three nuclear reactors in 2023."
[1] https://apnews.com/article/chernobyl-nuclear-power-iran-russia-3f5003ca20dfb4e2380c1c18aa6613b4
[2] https://apnews.com/general-news-aa798c34d432495e868005ba083d9f07
[3] https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-wars-nuclear-energy-asia-africa-ab082ccbbc1fca8ab7eb6871040bf4a3
[4] https://apnews.com/article/japan-earthquake-tsunami-nuclear-disaster-fukushima-9727fc1f169a199246cc0932719eae68
[5] https://apnews.com/article/new-nuclear-reactors-trump-e7394fe688d2132a73f67f59bdbe792a
Only China has lowered the cost of nuclear reactor (Score:2)
by Constantin ( 765902 )
In every western nation, the cost and complexity of nukes has only gone up. See Vogtle in USA or the various incarnations of EPR in France.
Only China seems to be currently showing the benefits of a learning curve where each reactor becomes less expensive to build on a $/W capacity basis.
Thats the main reason nukes were an endangered species in the USA, as renewable power (despite not being âoedispatchableâ) cost less to set up and operate.
The current Long Island Power Authority (as set up by Cuomo
Only because of one idiot-in-chief (Score:2)
by evanh ( 627108 )
Those that are predicting WW3 are the ones driving it forward. If that's what you want you'll likely achieve it.
Nuclear reactor technology (Score:3, Interesting)
Conflating modern reactors with Chernobyl is like saying there is no difference between a stationary diesel and a Mazda Wankel engine, or a turbocharged four. I also find it interesting that they wave Chernobyl and Fukushima and don't mention Three Mile Island, which was probably more pertinent to current technologies than either of those other examples. The anti-nuclear bias in the report is pretty mild compared to what has been printed in the past, but seems still to be there. FUD has always been a viable tool for those who would protect their own entrenched interests.
Re: (Score:3)
If people treated airplanes the same way, they'd say: some planes have crashed before, so we must never fly again.
Re: (Score:2)
If we treated everything like that, lawn mowers would be banned because some guy back in the early '90s thought it would be smart to pick up a running mower and use it to trim the hedge.
Re: (Score:2)
And yet, old ones are not only still running but are even being restarted. By your reasoning, all existing reactors should be decommissioned with urgency.
Re: (Score:2)
> The anti-nuclear bias in the report is pretty mild compared to what has been printed in the past, but seems still to be there
I didn't really see anti-nuclear bias. Rather, the piece seems to be pro-nuclear shilling. That makes sense considering the source, which is the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Especially funded by various defense contractors and notably General Atomics. Also notably home of the Project on Nuclear Issues which "...seeks to 'build and sustain a networked community of young nuclear experts from the military, the national laboratories, industry, academia, and the policy community.' Second, '[wo