Nuclear Power Recovers Slightly

Global nuclear generation capacity increased by 4.2 gigawatts (GW), or 1.1 percent, to 373.1 GW in 2012.

The number of operational reactors also increased in 2012 by two units, or 0.46 percent, to a total of 437 nuclear reactors worldwide.

The increases are net figures: three reactors with a total capacity of 1.3 GW were shut down in Canada and the United Kingdom, while three new plants in China and South Korea with a total capacity of just under 3 GW came online.

In addition, two Canadian reactors (with 772 megawatts (MW) each) returned to service after 15 years off-line.

Since 1987, expansion of the world