tion should follow to address its energy policy, as indi-
cated by the President’s urging for bipartisan support.
However, there is likely no scenario that achieves the
President’s goal which does not include a significant
role for nuclear energy.
The first commercial nuclear plant came online
at Shippingport, Pennsylvania in 1957 (EIA 2011a).
Today the United States has 104 nuclear reactors in
operation for electrical power generation, the largest
number of any country, with approximately 100 giga-
watts of total generating capacity (EIA 2011a). As of
2009, these commercial reactors met 20 percent of U.S.
electrical energy demand (EIA 2011a). In 2008 this
represented approximately 31 percent of the world-
wide nuclear generation capacity (EIA 2011a). As of
April 2011, the countries with the next highest number
of commercial nuclear reactors are France and Japan
with 58 and 51, respectively (WNA 2011a). The coun-
tries with the highest percentage of their electricity
needs supplied by nuclear energy are Lithuania with
76 percent, France with 75 percent, and Slovakia with
54 percent (WNA 2011a). At 20 percent, the United
States ranks 17th (out of 30), while China, at 2 percent,
ranks 30th (WNA 2011a). By one estimate, by 2035 the
U.S. electricity demand is projected to increase from
2008 levels by 30 percent (EIA 2010a), and worldwide
electricity generation capacity is projected to increase
by 87 percent (EIA 2010b).
Before 2009, ground hadn’t been broken for con-
struction of a new nuclear power plant in the United
Statesin more than three decades (Obama 2010a). The
last commercial reactor added in the United States
was in 1996 (TVA 2010), following 20-plus years of
schedule delays and cost overruns. As of April 2011,
there are 27 nuclear reactors under construction in
sharon
(sharon)
#1