Question

Arrange the following countries in the descending order of their number of nuclear power plants and select the correct answer from the codes given below

1. France

2. Japan

3. Russia

4. U.S.A

1. 3, 4, 2, 1
2. 3, 1, 4, 2
3. 4, 1, 2, 3
4. 4, 3, 2, 1

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : 4, 1, 2, 3

The correct answer is 4, 1, 2, 3. 

• According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), France is home to 56 operational nuclear power reactors, second only to the U.S., which has 94.
• France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy, due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. France is the world's largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of generation.
• Japan's first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in mid-1966, and nuclear energy has been a national strategic priority since 1973. This came under review following the 2011 Fukushima accident but has been confirmed.
• Up until 2011, Japan was generating some 30% of electricity from its reactors and this was expected to increase to at least 40% by 2017. The plan is now for at least 20% by 2030, from a depleted fleet.
• Russia is moving steadily forward with plans for an expanded role of nuclear energy, including the development of new reactor technology. Russia is a world leader in fast neutron reactor technology and is consolidating this through its Proryv ('Breakthrough') project.
• The USA is the world's largest producer of nuclear power, accounting for more than 30% of worldwide nuclear generation of electricity. The country's nuclear reactors produced 843 billion kWh in 2019, about 19% of total electrical output.

• Nuclear power plants heat water to produce steam. The steam is used to spin large turbines that generate electricity. Nuclear power plants use the heat produced during nuclear fission to heat water.
• Nuclear plants are different from energy plants such as coal and natural gas because despite being a thermal generation process they do not need to burn anything to create steam.
• In a nuclear plant, uranium atoms are split in a process called fission, which requires low-enriched uranium fuel. Uranium fuel is formed into pellets, one of which can produce as much energy as one tonne of coal, three barrels of oil, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas.