Nuclear Energy Facts

  • As of 2008, there were more than 430 operating nuclear power plants.

  • Nuclear energy provides about 15 percent of the world's electricity.

  • Nuclear energy is produced by a controlled nuclear chain reaction and creates heat—which is used to boil water, produce steam, and drive a steam turbine.

  • Nuclear power plants need less fuel than ones which burn fossil fuels. One ton of uranium produces more energy than is produced by several million tons of coal or several million barrels of oil.

  • The sun uses nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. This gives off heat and light and other radiation.

  • Building trust and increasing confidence in the use of nuclear energy are vital elements for public acceptance in democratic societies.

  • Nuclear energy is now very safe source of energy because safety measures are taken to its maximum so new Chernobyl is very unlikely to happen.

Nuclear Energy Facts
Energy Facts
Understanding Nuclear Energy

It's important to understand what nuclear energy is and what it is not, the historical context of nuclear energy around the world, and where we will get our nuclear energy in the future. You will find the most current energy facts on this website.

Nuclear Energy 101

Nuclear energy is released by the splitting (fission) or merging together (fusion) of the nuclei of atom(s).

Some peopl­e praise the technology as a low-cost, low-emission alternative to fossil fuels, while others stress the negative impact of nuclear waste and accidents such as Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

Nuclear Energy 201

Nuclear energy was first discovered by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, when he found that photographic plates stored in the dark near uranium were blackened like X-ray plates, which had been just recently discovered at the time 1895.

The United States produces the most nuclear energy, with nuclear power providing 19% of the electricity it consumes, while France produces the highest percentage of its electrical energy from nuclear reactors—78% as of 2006. In the European Union as a whole, nuclear energy provides 30% of the electricity. Nuclear energy policy differs between European Union countries, and some, such as Austria, Estonia, and Ireland, have no active nuclear power stations. In comparison, France has a large number of these plants, with 16 multi-unit stations in current use.