Timeline · 1973

The world's nuclear fleet in 1973

In 1973, 135 nuclear reactors were operating in 19 countries, 39.5 GWe net, with 153 under construction.

Compared with 1972, the operating fleet grew by 14 reactors. 20 reactors were connected to the grid that year, 12,864 MWe, mostly in United States (10), Germany (2) and Japan (2). 1 unit was permanently shut down, 70 MWe. Kazakhstan connected its first nuclear reactor in 1973. The countries with the most operating capacity were United States (19,671 MWe), United Kingdom (4,515 MWe) and Russia (2,568 MWe).

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Connected to the grid in 1973

Unit	Country	Type	Model	MWe
Pickering A4	Canada	PHWR	CANDU 500A	515
Phenix	France	FBR	PH-250	130
Greifswald 1	Germany	PWR	VVER-440/V-230	408
Niederaichbach 1	Germany	HWGCR	Pressure tube reactor	106
Fukushima Daiichi 2	Japan	BWR	BWR-4	760
Shimane 1	Japan	BWR	BWR-3	439
Aktau	Kazakhstan	FBR	BN-350	52
Borssele 1	Netherlands	PWR	KWU 2LP	482
Kola 1-1	Russia	PWR	VVER V-230	411
Leningrad 1-1	Russia	LWGR	RBMK-1000	925
Browns Ferry 1	United States	BWR	BWR-4 (Mark 1)	1,200
Fort Calhoun 1	United States	PWR	CE 2-loop (WET)	482
Indian Point 2	United States	PWR	WH 4-loop (DRY)	998
Oconee 1	United States	PWR	B & W (DRY)	847
Oconee 2	United States	PWR	B & W (DRY)	848
Prairie Island 1	United States	PWR	WH 2-loop (DRY)	522
Surry 2	United States	PWR	WH 3-loop (DRY)	838
Turkey Point nuclear power station 4	United States	PWR	WH 3-Loop (DRY)	821
Zion 1	United States	PWR	WH (DRY)	1,040
Zion 2	United States	PWR	WH (DRY)	1,040

Shut down in 1973

Unit	Country	Type	Model	MWe	Grid connection
Chinon A-1	France	GCR	UNGG	70	1963

Countries by operating capacity in 1973

#	Country	Reactors	MWe	Under construction
1	United States	39	19,671	57
2	United Kingdom	29	4,515	11
3	Russia	13	2,568	11
4	Canada	7	2,538	4
5	France	10	2,396	5
6	Japan	6	1,718	16
7	Germany	9	1,649	13
8	Switzerland	3	1,103	1
9	Spain	3	1,067	2
10	Italy	3	563	1
11	Netherlands	2	537	—
12	Sweden	2	483	8
13	India	3	434	3
14	Slovakia	1	93	2
15	Pakistan	1	90	—
16	Kazakhstan	1	52	—
17	Puerto Rico	1	18	—
18	Belgium	1	10	3
19	Panama	1	10	—
20	Argentina	0	0	1
21	Armenia	0	0	1
22	Brazil	0	0	1
23	Bulgaria	0	0	4
24	Finland	0	0	2
25	South Korea	0	0	1
26	Taiwan	0	0	2
27	Ukraine	0	0	4