World nuclear electric production peaked in 2006 and is already declining
By Gail the Actuary
27 August 2012 The issue of nuclear electricity is a complex one. In this post, I offer a few insights into the nuclear electric situation based on recent reports and statistical data. Nuclear Electric Production Is Already Declining According to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy, the highest year of nuclear electric production was 2006. There are really two trends taking place, however. 1. The countries that adopted nuclear first, that is the United States, Europe, Japan, and Russia, have been experiencing flat to declining nuclear electricity production. The countries with actual declines in generation are Japan and some of the countries in Europe outside of France. 2. The countries that began adopting nuclear later, particularly the developing countries, are continuing to show growth. China and India in particular are adding nuclear production. The long-term trend depends on how these two opposite trends balance out. There may also be new facilities built, and some “uprates” of old facilities, among existing large users of nuclear. Russia, in particular, has been mentioned as being interested in adding more nuclear. […]
Talking about "peak" nuclear is potentially misleading, since the dynamics affecting the total output are so vastly different to those governing oil (or coal) that there is no analogous geological reality behind the situation.
PS I am no nuclear fan-boy.