Nuclear Energy: 2.75 Billion Gross Megawatt-Hours Strong

Just off the wire:

The world's nuclear generators in 2005 appear to have matched their record 2004 output, according to Platts Nucleonics Week. Platts is the energy information business of the McGraw-Hill Companies.

Platts calculated the nuclear total at 2.75-billion gross megawatt-hours (MWh). In 2004, the total was approximately 2.742-billion. The largest increase was recorded in South Korea, where addition of a new 1,000-MW unit helped the national total increase by 16-million MWh. The operators of the 103 nuclear units in the U.S. came within 10-million MWh of their 2004 record of 828-million gross MWh.

"The most striking thing in these numbers is how much potential is still left, even with record generation," said Margaret Ryan, editorial director of Platts' global nuclear publications. "Nuclear units are putting out more power than ever before, and there are some places including the U.S. where operators have made measurable gains. But the numbers show many cases where reactors are far from maxed out. There is still a lot of energy potential out there."

To visit Nucleonics Week, click here.

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