Euro area | Electricity production from nuclear sources (% of total)
Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Nuclear power refers to electricity produced by nuclear power plants. Development relevance: The generation of electricity using nuclear energy was first demonstrated in the 1950s, and the first commercial nuclear power plants entered operation in the early 1960s. Nuclear capacity grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s as countries sought to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, especially after the oil crises of the 1970s. There was a renewed interest in nuclear energy from 2000, and 60 new countries expressed interest in launching a nuclear program to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, after the earthquake and tsunami devastation of the Pacific coast of northern Japan, most nuclear countries announced safety reviews of their nuclear reactors (stress tests) and the revision/improvement of their plans to address similar emergency situations; countries such as Germany and Italy decided to eventually phase out nuclear power or to abandon their nuclear plant projects. Use of energy is important in improving people's standard of living. But electricity generation also can damage the environment. Whether such damage occurs depends largely on how electricity is generated. For example, burning coal releases twice as much carbon dioxide - a major contributor to global warming - as does burning an equivalent amount of natural gas. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions result primarily from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing. In combustion different fossil fuels release different amounts of carbon dioxide for the same level of energy use: oil releases about 50 percent more carbon dioxide than natural gas, and coal releases about twice as much. Nuclear energy does not generate carbon dioxide emissions, but it produces other dangerous waste products. Limitations and exceptions: IEA occasionally revises its time series to reflect political changes. For example, the IEA has constructed historical energy statistics for countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition, energy statistics for other countries have undergone continuous changes in coverage or methodology in recent years as more detailed energy accounts have become available. Breaks in series are therefore unavoidable. Statistical concept and methodology: Electricity production from nuclear sources (% of total) is the share of electricity produced by nuclear power plants in total electricity production which is the total number of GWh generated by power plants separated into electricity plants and CHP plants. The International Energy Agency (IEA) compiles data on energy inputs used to generate electricity. IEA data for countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are based on national energy data adjusted to conform to annual questionnaires completed by OECD member governments. In addition, estimates are sometimes made to complete major aggregates from which key data are missing, and adjustments are made to compensate for differences in definitions. The IEA makes these estimates in consultation with national statistical offices, oil companies, electric utilities, and national energy experts.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Euro area
Records
63
Source
Euro area | Electricity production from nuclear sources (% of total)
0.0416543 1960
0.07823104 1961
0.1409722 1962
0.20168996 1963
0.66559831 1964
0.9093685 1965
1.04491797 1966
1.27475857 1967
1.27852407 1968
1.83691355 1969
2.04732814 1970
2.51759583 1971
3.50942436 1972
3.75376929 1973
4.16033252 1974
6.1483661 1975
6.21386467 1976
7.46787593 1977
8.56983713 1978
9.5954484 1979
11.4084032 1980
16.2633426 1981
17.76611182 1982
20.89910025 1983
26.26125805 1984
30.51759713 1985
32.3303559 1986
32.41781158 1987
33.59243009 1988
34.73560653 1989
35.4995608 1990
35.47745588 1991
36.34200805 1992
37.69817371 1993
36.11514275 1994
36.41334423 1995
36.93655195 1996
37.06847371 1997
35.73814759 1998
35.88857815 1999
35.85755309 2000
35.58923537 2001
35.66450283 2002
34.73379984 2003
34.30730284 2004
33.78918698 2005
33.27461803 2006
31.36909847 2007
31.56990287 2008
31.06791269 2009
30.66085386 2010
30.53137035 2011
29.21658411 2012
29.05278782 2013
30.09943985 2014
29.04817842 2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Euro area | Electricity production from nuclear sources (% of total)
Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Nuclear power refers to electricity produced by nuclear power plants. Development relevance: The generation of electricity using nuclear energy was first demonstrated in the 1950s, and the first commercial nuclear power plants entered operation in the early 1960s. Nuclear capacity grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s as countries sought to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, especially after the oil crises of the 1970s. There was a renewed interest in nuclear energy from 2000, and 60 new countries expressed interest in launching a nuclear program to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, after the earthquake and tsunami devastation of the Pacific coast of northern Japan, most nuclear countries announced safety reviews of their nuclear reactors (stress tests) and the revision/improvement of their plans to address similar emergency situations; countries such as Germany and Italy decided to eventually phase out nuclear power or to abandon their nuclear plant projects. Use of energy is important in improving people's standard of living. But electricity generation also can damage the environment. Whether such damage occurs depends largely on how electricity is generated. For example, burning coal releases twice as much carbon dioxide - a major contributor to global warming - as does burning an equivalent amount of natural gas. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions result primarily from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing. In combustion different fossil fuels release different amounts of carbon dioxide for the same level of energy use: oil releases about 50 percent more carbon dioxide than natural gas, and coal releases about twice as much. Nuclear energy does not generate carbon dioxide emissions, but it produces other dangerous waste products. Limitations and exceptions: IEA occasionally revises its time series to reflect political changes. For example, the IEA has constructed historical energy statistics for countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition, energy statistics for other countries have undergone continuous changes in coverage or methodology in recent years as more detailed energy accounts have become available. Breaks in series are therefore unavoidable. Statistical concept and methodology: Electricity production from nuclear sources (% of total) is the share of electricity produced by nuclear power plants in total electricity production which is the total number of GWh generated by power plants separated into electricity plants and CHP plants. The International Energy Agency (IEA) compiles data on energy inputs used to generate electricity. IEA data for countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are based on national energy data adjusted to conform to annual questionnaires completed by OECD member governments. In addition, estimates are sometimes made to complete major aggregates from which key data are missing, and adjustments are made to compensate for differences in definitions. The IEA makes these estimates in consultation with national statistical offices, oil companies, electric utilities, and national energy experts.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Euro area
Records
63
Source