Current status
By the late 1980s, the nuclear industry was bogged down in political and economic argument in most countries. Few orders for new plants were being placed, and, many plants under construction were being canceled. By the mid-1990s, there were no nuclear power plants under construction or on order in the United States. France, with its strong tradition of central control of technical issues, has been a major exception to this example, as was the Soviet Union.
As might be expected, estimates of future energy that will be obtained from nuclear power vary widely. Everyone agrees, however, that it has not been the answer its advocates once foresaw. Earlier estimates that nuclear power could be producing as much as 10 to 15 percent of the world’s energy by the year 2000 have proved to be too high. Nuclear power produced about 6.4 percent of the world’s energy in 1995 and will likely produce very close to that amount in the year 2000. Two advanced means of nuclear power generation—the breeder reactor and nuclear fusion technology—can make no significant contribution to energy supply until well into the 21st century.