The amount of electricity produced by nuclear power plants in the EU increased by 3% last year, according to figures released by the IAEA.
The comparative annual figures show that nuclear power plants in the EU produced a total of 846TWh in 2001, compared to 821.1TWh in 2000. Eight of the 15 EU states have nuclear power programmes, with over 140 operating reactors.
Total indigenous EU electricity production rose from 2422.6TWh in 2000 to 2490.7TWh in 2001, a rise of 2.8%. The nuclear share in total indigenous electricity production rose slightly, from 33.9% in 2000 to 34% in 2001.
The IAEA said that nuclear power plants increased both their total production and their share in overall electricity production in each of the three main economic zones that are covered by the report – OECD Europe (comprising the 15 EU states plus the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Turkey), OECD North America (comprising the USA, Canada and Mexico), and OECD Pacific (comprising Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).
