In the tide of energy transition, nuclear power is quietly rising.

When we turn our attention to the global stage, we can't help but wonder: As major energy countries, how is the construction of nuclear power plants in the United States, China, and Russia? What are the differences in quantity?

Nuclear power, as an efficient, stable, and clean source of energy, is playing an increasingly important role in the adjustment of the global energy structure.

China, the United States, and Russia, as three major countries with significant influence on the world energy map, each have their own strengths in the field of nuclear power.

According to the latest statistical data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as of 2024, the United States has 93 operating nuclear power plants, Russia has 37, and China has 53.

This set of data reveals a surprising fact: There is a huge gap in the number of nuclear power plants among the three countries of China, the United States, and Russia.

The United States leads by a wide margin with 93 plants, which is almost 2.5 times that of Russia and 1.8 times that of China.So, what factors have led to this cliff-like gap? There are complex historical origins and practical considerations behind it.

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As a pioneer in global nuclear power, the United States built the world's first nuclear power plant - the EBR-1 experimental fast reactor - as early as 1951. Since then, the U.S. nuclear power industry has entered a period of rapid development. In the 1970s, stimulated by the oil crisis, the U.S. government strongly supported the nuclear power industry, and nuclear power plants sprouted like mushrooms after a spring rain.

This laid the foundation for the United States to take a leading position in the field of nuclear power. To this day, despite being affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident, the United States still operates the most nuclear power plants in the world and continues to upgrade and transform old units to extend their service life. In contrast, although Russia has a deep accumulation in nuclear power technology, its development speed is significantly behind the United States due to economic strength and policy orientation.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia's economy fell into a trough, and nuclear power investment was affected.At the same time, Russia's energy policy has been more focused on the development of traditional fossil fuels, such as oil and gas resources. This has led to a slowdown in the construction of its nuclear power plants. In recent years, with the implementation of the "Look East" policy, Russia has increased its investment in nuclear power and built several new nuclear power plants, but in terms of quantity, it is still difficult to compete with the United States.

China's nuclear power industry started relatively late but has developed rapidly. Since the reform and opening up, China's economy has grown rapidly, and the demand for electricity has surged. To meet the growing demand for electricity, while achieving the optimization of energy structure and the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, China has made the development of nuclear power an important strategy. In 2007, the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 was connected to the grid and began power generation, marking the beginning of a new era of commercial operation for China's nuclear power.

Since then, China's nuclear power has entered the "fast lane", with new units being completed and put into operation almost every year. Especially in the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China has further accelerated the pace of nuclear power construction, striving to reach an operational nuclear power capacity of about 70 million kilowatts by 2025.Currently, China has risen to become the world's third-largest nuclear power nation.

Compared to the United States' 93 operational nuclear power plants, China still has a significant gap with its 53 operational nuclear power plants.

This reflects not only the different stages of nuclear power industry development between China and the United States but also highlights the enormous potential of China's nuclear power.

In the future, as more units under construction are completed and put into operation, China is expected to further narrow the gap with the United States.

The reasons for the differences in the number of nuclear power plants between China, the United States, and Russia

The significant differences in the number of nuclear power plants among China, the United States, and Russia reflect the different choices and strategies of the three countries on the path of nuclear power development.

The formation of this gap has many reasons.

Differences in national energy strategies and policy orientations. A country's energy policy largely determines its investment efforts and development focus on various types of energy.The United States has regarded nuclear power as a significant strategic energy source since the 1950s, with the government enacting a series of supportive policies, such as the Atomic Energy Act and the Energy Reorganization Act, providing strong policy guarantees for the development of nuclear power.

In contrast, Russia has long focused more on the development of traditional fossil fuels, with relatively limited support for nuclear power.

China only listed the development of nuclear power as a national strategy after the reform and opening up, with policy support gradually increasing, but still lagging behind the United States overall.

Differences in economic strength and power demand. Nuclear power projects require large investments and long cycles, posing high demands on a country's economic strength.

As the world's largest economy, the United States' strong economic strength has provided a solid material foundation for the large-scale development of nuclear power.

Russia's nuclear power investment scale and construction progress are obviously limited by its economic strength.

Although China's total economic output has risen to the second place in the world, its per capita GDP is still far below that of the United States, and its economic strength to some extent restricts the speed of nuclear power development.Additionally, the electricity demand of a country also influences the scale of nuclear power development. Both the United States and China have vast electricity markets, providing ample room for the growth of nuclear power.

Although Russia has a vast territory, it has a relatively small population, and the growth of electricity demand is limited, which objectively restricts the expansion of its nuclear power scale.

Differences in nuclear power technology level and independent innovation capabilities.

Nuclear power, as a high-precision technology, poses extremely high requirements for a country's scientific and technological innovation capabilities.

The United States started early and has a solid foundation in nuclear power technology research and development, with a large number of high-level nuclear power research institutions and enterprises, and is at the forefront of the world in reactor design, nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear safety, and other aspects.

In comparison, although Russia's nuclear power technology also has its unique features, there is still a certain gap in terms of advancement and maturity.

China's nuclear power technology started relatively late, mainly relying on the introduction of foreign technology in the early stages.

In recent years, China has increased its efforts in independent innovation in nuclear power, successively developing independent third-generation nuclear power technologies such as "Hualong One" and "Guohe One," but there is still a significant gap compared to the United States.The level of nuclear power technology directly affects the pace and scale of a country's nuclear power industry development.

Differences in nuclear safety culture and public acceptance.

Nuclear safety is always an important issue that cannot be bypassed in the development of nuclear power.

The United States has a comprehensive nuclear power safety regulatory system, a deeply rooted nuclear safety culture, and the public generally has a higher acceptance of nuclear power.

In contrast, during the former Soviet Union period, some nuclear facilities had safety hazards, such as the famous Chernobyl accident, which left a shadow on the public and to some extent affected the development of Russia's nuclear power.

China attaches great importance to nuclear safety and regards it as the lifeline of nuclear power development. However, after the Fukushima nuclear accident, public doubts about nuclear power have increased, which has objectively also slowed down the approval and construction progress of some nuclear power projects.

Chinese nuclear power plants

At the time node of 2024, China's nuclear power industry is facing new development opportunities and challenges.Looking at the history of China's nuclear power development, one can clearly see a curve that keeps climbing higher. After decades of relentless progress, China has joined the ranks of the world's major nuclear powers, but there is still a certain gap compared to the United States in terms of the number of nuclear power plants. This not only reflects the huge potential for China's nuclear power development but also indicates that there is a long way to go in the future.

At present, China's nuclear power industry is showing a pleasing trend of vigorous development. The "14th Five-Year Plan" clearly proposes that by 2025, China's nuclear power operation capacity will reach 70 million kilowatts, and the under-construction scale will reach 18 million kilowatts, accounting for about 20% and 30% of the global total, respectively. This means that in the next few years, China will add an average of 6-8 nuclear power units per year, with an unprecedented development speed.

As of 2024, there are 53 nuclear power units in operation in the mainland of China, and the number of under-construction nuclear power units ranks first in the world.China's independent third-generation nuclear power technologies, such as the "Hualong One" and "Guohe One," have achieved mass construction, demonstrating strong market competitiveness.

The rapid development of China's nuclear power industry is attributed to the combined effects of multiple favorable factors.

On one hand, the sustained strong demand for electricity in China has provided a vast market space for the development of nuclear power. It is predicted that by 2030, the total electricity consumption in Chinese society will reach around 11.5 trillion kilowatt-hours, which is 1.5 times that of 2020.

In this context, as a clean, efficient, and stable baseload power source, nuclear power has great potential for growth.

On the other hand, China views the development of nuclear power as an important means to achieve its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

China is striving to reach its peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

Under the guidance of the dual carbon goals, the value of nuclear power as a zero-carbon power source is further highlighted, and its development space is further expanded.Under the dual impetus of favorable policies and market demand, China's nuclear power industry is accelerating its development in depth.

The pace of independent innovation in nuclear power is continuously accelerating, and significant breakthroughs have been made in the research and development of key core technologies.

Enterprises such as China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) continue to increase their investment in research and development, promoting the iteration and upgrading of nuclear power technology.

At the same time, China's nuclear power industry chain is becoming more and more perfect, and the level of nuclear-grade equipment manufacturing has been greatly improved.

According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 200 enterprises in China with nuclear power equipment manufacturing qualifications, and the localization rate exceeds 85%.

A nuclear power industry system with domestic demand as the main body, international market as a supplement, independent and controllable technology, and complete equipment support is taking shape.

For China, nuclear power has great potential and has made great achievements.

Guided by the "dual carbon" goal, nuclear power is facing new development opportunities.From technological innovation to industrial upgrading, from deepening reforms to expanding openness, China is advancing the high-quality development of nuclear power across multiple dimensions.

This not only concerns China's own energy transition and economic and social development but also the global governance of nuclear power and the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.