In this article, we discuss the 5 countries that produce the most nuclear energy. If you want to see more of the countries that produce the most nuclear energy, go directly to 18 Countries That Produce the Most Nuclear Energy.
#5 South Korea
2021 Nuclear Production, TWh: 150.46
South Korea is an industrialized nation that generated 150.46 TWh of nuclear power in 2021, which is around one third of the total electricity generated for the year. Given it doesn’t have many fossil fuel resources, the country is a major importer of energy with about 98% of fossil fuels consumed being imported. To reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and to also lower its carbon emissions, South Korea has increased its nuclear power capacity substantially in the past few decades.
#4 Russia
2021 Nuclear Production, TWh: 208.44
Russia is one of the leaders in nuclear energy given its nuclear production of 208.44 TWh in 2021. Given its substantial nuclear energy industry, Russia is a leading exporter of nuclear power plants with the country’s companies helping build 15 reactors abroad since 2012. The country is also a leading uranium exporter given its substantial uranium resources.
#3 France
2021 Nuclear Production, TWh: 363.39
France is a leader in nuclear energy given it gets around 70% of its total electricity generated from 56 reactors in the country. Thanks to nuclear, over 92% of the country’s electricity comes from low carbon sources, which ranks France as one of the leaders in sustainable energy. In 2021, the country generated over 363 TWh of nuclear production.
#2 China
2021 Nuclear Production, TWh: 383.21
China is the world’s second largest producer of nuclear power with nuclear production of 383.21 TWh in 2021. Given the country’s substantial economic growth in recent decades, the country has built a number of nuclear reactors since 2000 and the country plans on building many new ones in the future. According to Bloomberg, China plans to build at minimum 150 new reactors over the next 15 years, or more than the rest of the world combined has built over the last 35 years.
#1 United States
2021 Nuclear Production, TWh: 771.64
The United States ranks #1 on our list of 18 Countries That Produce the Most Nuclear Energy given its nuclear production of 771.64 TWh in 2021 which is around 20% of the total electricity generated in the country for the year. In terms of generation, the United States produces its nuclear power from 92 nuclear reactors across 53 power plants.
Although the United States has many nuclear reactors, the country isn’t building many new ones given that nuclear reactors can cost $5 billion to $10 billion to build versus wind and solar which is far cheaper and more competitive than grid energy in many places.
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