Nuclear reactors worldwide generated 2667 TWh of electricity in 2024, beating the previous record of 2660 TWh set in 2006, according to the World Nuclear Association’s (WNA’s) World Nuclear Performance Report 2025.
The latest edition of the yearly report also recorded that the average capacity factor increased to 83%. There was no decline in performance of reactors as they age, with more than 60% of reactors achieving a capacity factor of more than 80%.
The report says that the increase in global nuclear generation over the past decade is primarily due to Asia, which accounts for 56 of the 68 reactors commissioned and 59 of the 70 reactors currently under construction.
“The new record electricity generation from nuclear energy in 2024 is a testament to the industry,” said WNA Director General Sama Bilbao y León. “To meet our global energy and climate goals, it is a record that needs to be bettered again and again, every year, by increasingly larger amounts.”
She added: “The challenge ahead is immense, but so is the opportunity. With the backing of bold global industry leaders, forward-thinking governments, and an increasingly engaged public, the path to tripling nuclear capacity is not only achievable, it is necessary. This is our chance to build a cleaner, more secure energy future for everyone everywhere, powered by reliable, low-carbon nuclear energy.”
During 2024 seven reactors were connected to the grid – Zhangzhou 1 in China, Vogtle 4 in the USA, Shidaowan Guohe One in China, Kakrapar 4 in India, Flamanville 3 in France, Fangchenggang 4 in China and Barakah 4 in the UAE.
Construction began on nine more during 2024 – Chashma 5 in Pakistan, El Dabaa 4 in Egypt, Leningrad II-3 in Russia, and in China, Lianjiang 2, Ningde 5, Shidaowan 1, Xudabao 2 and Zhangzhou units 3 and 4.
Four reactors were permanently shut down. These were Kursk 2 in Russia, an RBMK light water graphite reactor; Pickering pressurised heavy water reactors 1&4 in Canada, which had operated for 53 and 51 years respectively; and Maanshan 2, a 41-year-old pressurised water reactor that was closed as part of the Taiwanese government phase-out policy.
Report author, Jonathan Cobb, WNA senior programme lead for climate told the World Nuclear News podcast that he expects to see the new record broken again in the next few years. “As the reactors currently under construction are grid-connected over the next five to six years, we should see global nuclear capacity and total nuclear generation continuing to rise,” he said. “There may be some closures of older plants, but our analysis has shown that for the current reactor fleet, including those reactors that have operated for at least 50 years, there is no decline in reactor performance related to age … indeed, in the US, we are seeing some reactors that recently shut being reopened.”
