Nuclear power generation in the EU rose by 4.8% in 2024 to 649,524 gigawatt hours (GWh), and accounted for 23.3% of total electricity production.
Electricity output from nuclear plants increased for a second consecutive year after falling in 2022, when generation totalled 609,255 GWh, Eurostat informed on Thursday.
France produced 380,451 GWh of nuclear electricity in 2024, representing 58.6% of the EU’s total.
Spain was the second-largest producer with 54,510 GWh (8.4%), followed by Sweden with 50,665 GWh (7.8%) and Finland with 32,599 GWh (5.0%).
Compared with 2023, nuclear electricity production rose most in France, up 12.5%. Sweden increased output by 4.5% and Slovenia by 4.2%.
Germany, which was the EU’s second-largest nuclear power producer up to 2021, ended nuclear electricity production completely in April 2023.
France and Slovakia led reliance on nuclear electricity
France generated 67.3% of its electricity from nuclear power in 2024, the highest share in the EU, while Slovakia’s share was 61.6%, according to Eurostat.
Around 40% of electricity generation came from nuclear power in Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Finland and Czechia. The Netherlands recorded a 2.9% share.
Across most other countries producing nuclear electricity, output fell by an average of 4% in 2024 compared with 2023, with declines ranging from 0.6% in Slovakia to 10.3% in the Netherlands.
