Key Facts about Civil Nuclear

  • Currently 441 reactors operating in 29 countries (plus Taiwan).
  • Nuclear reactors provided 376 GW of electricity, or 14% of global electrical generation, in 2009.
  • 285 new 1000 MW reactors needed by 2030 in response to electricity demand projections, in order to maintain current nuclear share of global generation.
  • 61% increase in global construction of nuclear reactors since 2008.
  • 58 reactors currently under construction (23 in China);
  • 148 reactors planned in 27 countries over next 8-10 years, worth as much as $740 billion;
  • 331 reactors proposed in 37 countries over next 15 years, worth as much as $1.6 trillion.

Based on World Nuclear Association projection and presumed retirement rate of 3 reactors per year.

  • Nine reactors under construction (16%) are current U.S. or U.S.-Japan designs.
  • China (four) – Westinghouse
  • Japan (two) – GE-Hitachi
  • Taiwan (two) – GE-Hitachi
  • U.S. (one) – Westinghouse
  • Estimated global market size over next decade: $500 to $740 billion.
  • Rough rule of thumb: a nuclear plant costs $5 billion to construct.
  • Typical project by U.S. vendor = 10-25% U.S. content, worth approximately $1-2 billion.
  • In 2009, U.S. exports able to be tracked by HTS codes were $2.32 billion.
  • Uranium and fabricated fuel exports were valued at $2.23 billion.
  • Nuclear reactor component exports were valued at $87.78 million.
  • Export data does not account for many other nuclear subsectors in which U.S. firms are globally competitive.
  • U.S. civil nuclear firms are competitive in subsectors including: nuclear fuel cycle; multi-use component manufacturing; engineering; construction; plant operations; professional services (including consulting); transportation; and waste management and disposal.


Last Updated: 4/28/11 1:28 PM