Nuclear power hits a record high as it provides 9% of the world’s electricity, promising data reveals

It is touted as a safe, clean and sustainable energy source that can meet the world’s energy needs.  

Now, it seems the world is finally realizing the benefits of nuclear power.

Data from the World Nuclear Association reveals that nuclear reactors supplied more electricity than ever before last year. 

In 2024, nuclear reactors generated a total of 2,667 terawatt-hour (TWh) of electricity – more than any other year in history. 

Nuclear energy now provides about nine per cent of the world’s electricity from about 440 power reactors worldwide, World Nuclear Association says. 

The organization calls nuclear power a ‘reliable, long-term electricity supply’, although it does controversially produce radioactive waste products. 

‘The new record electricity generation from nuclear energy^[1] in 2024 is a testament to the industry,’ said Dr Sama Bilbao y León, director general of World Nuclear Association.

‘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.’ 

Nuclear power hits a record high: In 2024 nuclear provided 9 per cent of the world’s electricity, data from the World Nuclear Association reveals. Pictured, Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant, Russia

This graph shows the increase in global nuclear electricity production since 1970. In recent years, generation has especially increased in Asia (light blue), with five of the seven reactors connected to the grid in 2024 being located in Asia 

According to the new report^[2], ‘World Nuclear Performance Report 2025’, last year’s record of 2,667 terawatt-hour (TWh) of electricity produced by nuclear reactors is the highest ever generation from nuclear in one year.

It surpasses the previous record of 2,660 TWh in 2006, is up 66 TWh from 2,601 TWh in 2023, and is the seventh year above 2,500 TWh in the past 10 years. 

Currently, coal makes up most of the world’s energy mix (36 per cent), followed by gas (22 per cent), hydro (15 per cent), solar, wind and geothermal (12 per cent), nuclear (nine per cent) and oil (three per cent). 

In the UK, 30 per cent of the energy mix is created by wind (a green option harnessing natural winds using huge turbines) and another 30 per cent by gas (a fossil fuel). 

Around 14 per cent of the UK’s energy mix is nuclear, followed by bioenergy (14 per cent), solar (5 per cent), hydro (2 per cent) and coal (0.7 per cent). 

The UK has nine operable reactors and another two under construction, but this is likely to increase, with two new reactors already under construction at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

In February, the UK government announced plans to reform planning requirements and regulatory rules to streamline the process of constructing new nuclear power plants in England and Wales. 

Over the last decade, the number of new reactors entering service each year worldwide has been gradually increasing, replacing the older units, World Nuclear Association says. 

In the UK currently, about 12 per cent of the energy mix is nuclear. Pictured, Sizewell B nuclear power station, on the Suffolk coast, England 

The UK’s nuclear electricity production in 2024: Nuclear power plants contributed around 25 per cent of total annual electricity generation in the UK, but this has gradually declined as old plants have been shut down. Currently, the UK has nine operable reactors at five sites and the government wants to ramp this up

This graph shows nuclear electricity generation by region in 2024 – note the sudden uptick in Asian nuclear electricity generation in the past 15 years 

An increase in global nuclear generation seen over recent years is primarily due to a rapid increase in capacity in Asia, according to the report authors.

Of the 68 reactors commissioned worldwide over the past decade, 56 were built in Asian countries, and this momentum shows no sign of slowing, with 59 of the 70 reactors currently under construction also located in Asia.

Nuclear reactors in operation around the world create energy by forcing radioactive elements to undergo a process called fission.

During this process, a neutron slams into a larger atom, forcing it to excite and split into two smaller atoms – also known as fission products. 

The fissioning of atoms in the chain reaction also releases a large amount of energy as heat, which is removed from the reactor by a circulating fluid, typically water. 

This heat can then be used to generate steam, which is used to drive steam turbines, in turn producing low-carbon electricity. 

Nuclear fission isn’t new, but its share of global electricity generation has declined since a peak in the 1980s due to safety concerns and major accidents such as Chernobyl^[3].

Questions also remain over nuclear energy’s eco-status; environmental organisation Friends of the Earth calls nuclear ‘a slow and costly solution to the climate crisis’. 

In Britain, the last remaining coal-fired power station, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar near Nottingham , switched off its generators for the last time on September 30

Nuclear fission is already making electricity, while nuclear fusion is still in the research and development phase. Pictured, nuclear power plant in Wuhan, China

‘Nuclear power produces radioactive waste that’s dangerous for people and wildlife and lasts for thousands of years,’ it says. 

‘If it isn’t disposed of or managed properly, the risks include contaminated groundwater and radiation exposure, which can have long-term implications for our health.’ 

Nevertheless, many countries are turning to nuclear fission in the quest to limit their carbon emissions, replacing the likes of coal, gas and oil. 

Nuclear power plants produce no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, which is why nuclear is generally considered clean energy, even though the material typically used in nuclear power plants – uranium – is a non-renewable. 

Dr Bilbao y León said nuclear power is necessary as a low-emitting source of electricity production to meet future energy demands. 

‘With rising demand from new sectors, such as data servers and AI, the challenge for the nuclear industry is to accelerate growth at the scale and speed required to meet future needs,’ she said.