Nuclear energy policy by country
[4][5] Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, Germany has permanently shut down eight of its reactors and pledged to close the rest by 2022.
In November 2015 and March 2017 Egypt signed preliminary agreements with Russian nuclear company Rosatom for a first VVER-1200 unit at El Dabaa to start in 2024.
[51][52] In 2006, Indonesian Government announced a plan to build its first major nuclear power plant on Muria peninsula, Jepara district, Central Java by 2015.
However, in January 2007, Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said his country should consider producing nuclear power for civilian purposes.
[65] On 6 May 2011, Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant be shut down as an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher is likely to hit the area within the next 30 years.
[72] Tens of thousands of people marched in central Tokyo in September 2011, chanting "Sayonara nuclear power" and waving banners, to call on Japan's government to abandon atomic energy.
[90] The government elected in 2016 has policies that include a move toward a nuclear-free society, and is considering legislating to phase out nuclear power generation within nine years.
This decision was criticized by Greenpeace, which suggested to focus on alternative power supplies from hydropower and smaller biofuel plants before risking nuclear.
[93][94] On May 27, 2024, Uzbeki President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the construction of a 330 megawatt capacity powerplant by Russian state-owned energy company, Rosatom following high level discussions.
[96] In October 2010, it signed an agreement with Russia for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant, Ninh Thuan 1, due to begin in 2014.
[98] Yemen has called for establishing The Arab Atomic Energy Agency for nuclear researches and using them for peaceful means, especially generating electricity.
[citation needed] The Czechoslovak government completed its first nuclear power plant – a gas-cooled heavy water reactor – in 1972 in Bohunice.
Two boiling water reactors built by Asea-Atom (now Westinghouse Electric Company) and commissioned in 1978 and 1980, are located at the Olkiluoto plant in Eurajoki, near Rauma.
[107] On 21 April 2010, the cabinet decided to grant permits for construction of the sixth and seventh commercial reactors to Teollisuuden Voima and Fennovoima, a subsidiary of E.ON.
Once in operation, the disposal process will involve putting twelve fuel assemblies into a boron steel canister and enclosing it into a copper capsule.
[113] After the oil crisis of the early 1970s, the French government decided in 1974 to move towards self-sufficiency in electricity production, primarily through the construction of nuclear power stations.
The Board of Electricité de France (EDF) has approved construction of a 1630 MWe European Pressurized Reactor at Flamanville, Normandy.
[121] According to a poll conducted by BBC, the opposition to building new reactors in pro-nuclear France has risen from 66% in 2005 to 83% in 2011[122] Nuclear power in Germany accounted for 23% of national electricity consumption,[123] before the permanent shutdown of 8 plants in March 2011.
The topic received renewed attention at the start of 2007 due to the political impact of the Russia-Belarus energy dispute and in 2011 after the Fukushima I nuclear accidents.
The plan includes the immediate permanent closure of six nuclear power plants that had been temporarily shut down for testing in March 2011, and two more that have been offline a few years with technical problems.
The announcement was first made by Norbert Röttgen, head of the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, after late-night talks.
[124][125] Chancellor Angela Merkel said the phase-out of plants, previously scheduled to go offline as late as 2036, would give Germany a competitive advantage in the renewable energy era, stating, "As the first big industrialized nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunities that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs".
[129] In 2004, a new energy law allowed joint ventures with foreign companies in relation to nuclear power plants and importing electricity from them.
[130] Following Silvio Berlusconi's victory in the 2008 election, Italy's industry minister announced that the government scheduled the construction to start the first new Italian nuclear-powered plant by 2013.
After the break up of the former Yugoslavia a new law was adopted on 10 March 1995, which confirmed the previous moratorium, although it removed the controversial article related to the nuclear criminal offense.
[144] The first full-scale nuclear reactor in Europe opened in Calder Hall, located in Cumberland, United Kingdom on 17 October 1956.
Increasing demands for electricity and environmental considerations have led Ontario to announce that it will maintain existing nuclear capacity by replacing older reactors with new ones.
[154] In November 2011, Mexico abandoned plans to build as many as 10 new nuclear reactors in order to focus instead on natural gas-fired electricity plants after boosting discoveries of the fuel.
[156][157] As of October 2011, plans for about 30 new reactors in the United States have been "whittled down to just four, despite the promise of large subsidies and President Barack Obama's support of nuclear power, which he reaffirmed after Fukushima".
[83] At the same time Australia's extensive, low-cost coal and natural gas reserves have historically been used as strong arguments for avoiding nuclear power.
