Russian Views of Current Types of Nuclear Power Plants in the World

Nuclear Power Industry

Kosyakova Galina reported in 2013 that nuclear power plants are an important source of electrical energy. At the moment there are more than 400 nuclear power plants (NPP) all over the world, which produce about 17% of the world's electricity. The share can range from just few percent in some countries up and to 75 % as in France. The Krško Nuclear Power Plant produces almost 40% of the electrical energy in Slovenia. The development of nuclear technology had a promising beginning in the 50s. As years went by the enthusiasm started to diminish. After the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents it even turned into rejection. But nevertheless the percentage of nuclear energy production is constantly increasing. It is very likely that in the next few years some new nuclear power plants will be constructed which means that the curve will continue growing even after the year 2015. Nuclear power is a mature, proven technology which is strongly regulated and controlled, making it among the safest available. It is also the lowest cost while its fuel supply is abundant, sustainable, secure, clean and reliable. The existing reactor designs have been improved so they now offer even better performance. Many of the reactors built in the 1970s have proven so reliable they have had their license to operate extended to 60 years.

This topic is very relevant. Over the past three decades, thousands of reactor-years of operating experience have been accumulated with current economic and reliable nuclear energy systems. New generations of nuclear power plants have been, or are being, developed, building upon this background of success and applying lessons learned from the experience of operating plants; hence, the new, advanced designs are anticipated to become even more safe, economic and reliable than their predecessors. I also chose this topic because there is a well-known fact that if you want to improve something you should know the background of the problem and the core. That`s why the author concludes that it`s important to know about current types of the reactors.