Nuclear Power - Global Perspectives

In my last post I looked at the history of nuclear power in the UK and our reliance on it in the present day. Now we will take a look at the nuclear power globally and the impact it is having on the Earth.

Nuclear Power Today (adapted from World Nuclear Association)

• The first commercial power station opened in the 1950s 
• There are over 430 power stations in 31 different countries
• Nuclear power currently provides about 13% of the total energy demand
• There are around 240 research reactors operated by 56 different countries

This graph of energy supply shows the dramatic increase in nuclear power production from the 1970s to the present day. The debate around nuclear power is quite heated, in the next post I will look at both sides of it and put forward my own conclusions! 

Global energy supply - source IEA 2012 report