Global Nuclear Power Tracker Methodology

Architecture

Global Energy Monitor’s Global Nuclear Power Tracker uses a two-level system for organizing information, consisting of both a database and wiki pages with further information. The database tracks individual nuclear power plant units and includes information such as project owner, status, technology type, and location. A wiki page for each project is created within the Global Energy Monitor wiki. The database and wiki pages are updated annually.

Status Categories

• Announced: The unit has been described in corporate or government plans but concrete steps such as applying for permits have not yet been taken.
• Pre-construction: The unit is actively moving forward in seeking governmental approvals, land rights, or financing.
• Construction: The unit has site preparation and equipment installation underway.
• Operating: The unit has been formally commissioned; commercial operation has begun.
• Shelved: Unit suspension has been announced.
• Shelved – inferred 2 y: The unit is inferred to be shelved because no progress has been observed for at least two years.
• Cancelled: A cancellation announcement for the unit has been made.
• Cancelled – inferred 4 y: The unit is inferred to be cancelled because no progress has been observed for at least four years.
• Mothballed: The project is disused, but not dismantled.
• Retired: The unit has been decommissioned.

Research Process

The Global Nuclear Power Tracker data set draws on various public data sources, including:

• Industry data on individual nuclear power units 
• Government websites tracking project permits and applications
• Reports by power companies (both state-owned and private)
• News and media reports
• Local non-governmental organizations tracking nuclear projects or permits

Wiki Pages

For each nuclear power project, a wiki page is created on Global Energy Monitor’s wiki. Under standard wiki convention, all information is linked to a publicly-accessible published reference, such as a news article, company or government report, or a regulatory permit. In order to ensure data integrity in the open-access wiki environment, Global Energy Monitor researchers review all edits of project wiki pages.

Mapping

To allow easy public access to the results, Global Energy Monitor worked with Earth Genome to develop a map-based and table-based interface. In the case of exact coordinates, locations are either specifically identified on a mapping service such as Google Maps, Open Street Maps, etc., or gathered from company or government documentation. If the location of a nuclear project or proposal is not known, Global Energy Monitor identifies the most accurate location possible based on available information.

Global Nuclear Power Tracker Change Log

July 2024

• This update covers all regions of the globe, and uses the United Nations’ Statistics Division definitions of region and subregion.
• The column name “Country” has been changed to “Country/Area”. The Country/Area column presents energy data within various economic contexts, and the geographical unit does not strictly follow political boundaries.
• GEM ID formats have changed from an L7+5 digit number to L1+11 digit number for location IDs and a G7+5 digit number to a G1+11 digit number. Previous GEM ID numbers have been preserved. For example, a previous GEM ID of L500064 is now L100000500064.
• Shelved and cancelled statuses have been broken down into two subcategories depending on if there was an announcement of delay or cancellation, or if the status is inferred by lack of observed progress.

October 2023

• All countries have been researched for this update.
• The Global Nuclear Power Tracker now includes nuclear power units with a status of “cancelled”, representing over 500 GW of tracked capacity worldwide, as well as the data attribute “Cancellation Year”.

January 2023

• Global Energy Monitor releases the first version of the Global Nuclear Power Tracker.
• All global regions have been researched for this data release.
• Global Energy Monitor has transitioned to using the United Nations’ region and subregion definitions.
• The Global Nuclear Power Tracker has replaced the word “development” in the status domain with the term “pre-construction” to support consistent language across all of Global Energy Monitor’s trackers. The definition of “pre-construction” is consistent with the tracker’s previous definition of “development.”
• Global Energy Monitor has adopted the name “Türkiye” as a replacement for “Turkey.”