- Avoidance
- Worldwide
- North America
- Western Europe
- Eastern Europe
- Far East
- Rest of the World
- Conservation

 

   The International Nuclear Forum
Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Western Europe		  
 

Information from: Nuclear Energy’s Clean Air Benefits on a Worldwide Scale, Nuclear Energy Institute, November 1997


Electricity supply in Western Europe

There were 150 nuclear power units in operation in Western Europe in 1995.

Country Number of Units Capacity(MW) 1973-1995 generation (million kWh)
 Belgium  7 5 631  599 074
 Finland  4  2 310  300 638
France  56  58 493  4 175 387
 Germany 20  22 017  2 085 901
 Netherlands  2  504  83 831
 Spain  9  7 124  652 741
 Sweden  12  10 002  1 036 241
 Switzerland  5  3 050  392 766
 United Kingdom  35  12 908  1 256 847
 TOTAL  150  121 039  10 583 426

Nuclear contribution to electricity by country region, 1995

Western Europe's 150 nuclear plants generated 835 billion kilowatt-hours in 1995.

On a country-by-country basis, Western Europe's nuclear energy plants supplied the following shares of electricity in 1995.

Fuel displacements by nuclear energy in Western Europe

In addition to nuclear energy, Western Europe has traditionally relied principally on coal and to a lesser degree on fuel oil for baseload generation purposes. Therefore, as indicated below, the fossil fuels that have been historically displaced by the region's nuclear plants are coal and fuel oil.



During 1995, Western Europe's 150 nuclear energy plants avoided the use of approximately:

297 million tons of coal.

1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas.

69 million barrels of oil.

Over the period 1973-1995, the use of nuclear energy in Western Europe avoided the burning of fossil fuels by about:

275 million tons of coal.

1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas.

253 million barrels of oil.

Emissions reductions as a result of nuclear in Western Europe

Western Europe's nuclear energy plants reduced the region's carbon dioxide emissions by:

177 million metric tons of carbon in 1995

2.3 billion metric tons of carbon since 1973.

Electric utilities in Western Europe would have emitted almost twice as much (99% more) carbon dioxide in 1995 without their nuclear generating capacity.

During 1995, Western Europe's 150 nuclear energy plants avoided the discharge of approximately:

6 million tons of sulphur dioxide.

3 million tons of nitrogen oxide.

Over the period 1973-1995, nuclear energy in Western Europe reduced the sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by about:

86 million tons of sulphur dioxide.

37 million tons of nitrogen oxide.

Western Europe's electric utility sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions would have been 100% and 95% greater in 1995 respectively, in the absence of nuclear energy.

  

 

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