• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Nuclear Power Generation

Countries around the world expect nuclear power generation to play an essential role in providing a stable supply of energy and mitigating global warming. Toshiba Group will contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions through the promotion of safe and secure nuclear power generation.

Contributing to Providing a Stable Supply of Energy and Mitigating Global Warming

The global primary energy demand is predicted to increase to about 1.5 times the current level by 2030, only twenty years from now. At present, we depend on fossil fuels for about 80% of our energy supplies. Meanwhile, the use of fossil fuels presents serious problems, including global warming and resource depletion, making it more and more difficult to depend on these sources for our energy supplies. Although solar power and wind power are expected as sources of clean energy, they are unlikely to become conventional energy sources because of their economic performance and supply stability. Under these circumstances, nuclear power generation is expected to play an essential role in providing a stable supply of energy and mitigating global warming at the same time.

Nuclear power generation is capable of producing a large amount of energy without emitting CO₂ during the operation. While it is estimated that fossil fuels will only be available for about 100 more years, uranium, which is a reprocessable nuclear fuel, is estimated to be available for use as energy for as long as 3,000 years.*¹ By building a 1.35 GW nuclear power plant instead of a coal-fired thermal power plant, we will be able to achieve an annual reduction of as much as 9.05 million tons of CO₂.*² This is equivalent to annual CO₂ emissions from about 3.9 million privately owned vehicles.*³

Nuclear power generation is highly evaluated by the IEA as a technology effective in reducing CO₂ emissions. The IEA estimates that in order to stabilize the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere at the level of 450 ppm,*⁴ there is a need to build a 1.28-TW nuclear power plant (equivalent to 1,280 GW plants) by 2050.*⁵ Countries that have been following strategies to minimize the use of nuclear power generation are now adopting strategies aimed at promoting its use one after another, accelerating the development of plans to construct nuclear power plants in countries around the world.

To Top

As a Leading Company in Nuclear Power Generation

Toshiba Group has been engaged in the construction of 112 nuclear power plants in ten countries around the world, thereby contributing to reducing approximately 700 million tons of CO₂ emissions*⁶ annually. We will continue to provide countries around the world with nuclear power plants, which can produce electricity without CO₂ emissions during the operation. We also contribute to achieving further reductions in CO₂ emissions in plants in operation by developing and providing technologies designed to increase the power generation capacity and operation rate of existing facilities. For example, replacing conventional turbines by high-performance turbines improves power generation efficiency and increases the amount of electricity generated without increasing the thermal output of the nuclear reactors. Proper management of plant facilities also improves the operation rate of power plants.

If the amount of electricity generated by the 53 nuclear power plants (48.2 GW) that are being operated in Japan is increased by 20% from the current level and the operation rate of these plants from the current 70% to 90%, approximately 150 million tons of CO₂ emissions will be eliminated annually. Toshiba replaced old turbines used in a BWR plant with high-performance turbines for the first time in Japan, As a result, about 5%*⁷ increase of power generation capacity has been achieved annual reduction of about 260,000 tons of CO₂ emissions.

To Top

Initiatives for the Future

In order to contribute to the continuous, stable operation of nuclear power plants, Toshiba Group will step up its efforts to develop technologies related to fast breeding reactors, spent fuel reprocessing and nuclear waste disposal required to secure a supply of uranium, to manufacture fuel and to extend the service life of uranium resources, and will promote nuclear power generation through all stages of plant life cycles. We will also develop hydrogen manufacturing technologies using heat generated from nuclear reactors and technologies related to nuclear fusion in order to preserve the global environment and energy resources for “planet Earth 1,000 years from now.”

*1

Source: Graphical Flip-chart of Nuclear & Energy Related Topics 2009, Japan Atomic Energy Relations Organization

*2

Reduction calculated based on comparison of CO₂ emissions between coal-fired thermal power plants and nuclear power plants assuming that a 1.35-million-kW power plant is operated at 80% of its capacity, from Graphical Flip-chart of Nuclear & Energy Related Topics 2008

*3

2.3 tons of CO₂ emissions per year per privately owned vehicle (based on data presented on the website of the Forestry Agency)

*4

The level of concentration that makes it possible to limit the increase in temperature to no more than 2°C in order to avoid serious damage to ecosystems, from the IPCC report

*5

Calculated from the IEA's Energy Technology Perspective 2008

*6

The total power generation capacity of the 112 power plants whose nuclear reactors are maintained by Toshiba Group as the major contractor is 110 GW (based on a survey conducted by Toshiba in April 2008). The reduction in CO₂ emissions is calculated assuming that the annual reduction of CO₂ emissions per 1.35-million-kW nuclear power plant is 9.05 million tons.

*7

The power output capacity was increased from 784,000 kW to 823,000 kW.