France | 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
French Republic
Records
63
Source
France | Electricity production from nuclear sources (% of total)
0.19451365 1960
0.3392419 1961
0.54271749 1962
0.5050943 1963
0.6633516 1964
0.9922916 1965
1.44928844 1966
2.49901614 1967
2.87079399 1968
3.60488798 1969
3.88974404 1970
5.9904138 1971
8.5233147 1972
8.07690622 1973
7.86472354 1974
9.84813324 1975
7.66454383 1976
8.54644809 1977
13.47940481 1978
16.61752658 1979
23.80454553 1980
38.21282154 1981
39.1136504 1982
48.84259494 1983
59.26924591 1984
65.42034249 1985
70.48642023 1986
70.53410618 1987
70.60440968 1988
75.31732146 1989
75.28325811 1990
73.36828959 1991
73.57324064 1992
78.39558483 1993
75.85046556 1994
76.79768567 1995
78.03833765 1996
78.94266181 1997
76.48649821 1998
75.6362269 1999
77.57369428 2000
77.221128 2001
78.89023355 2002
78.55153303 2003
78.81714758 2004
79.04781079 2005
79.05965945 2006
77.99922662 2007
77.25834297 2008
77.21209129 2009
75.94052651 2010
79.5116603 2011
75.96277983 2012
74.70448631 2013
78.23558829 2014
77.62780083 2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
France | 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
French Republic
Records
63
Source