In an article last April I wrote that despite the events at the Fukushima, Japan “power generation from nuclear energy is set to rise in many countries.”.

I came across an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal this week on this topic.From the article:

Developing countries with an insatiable thirst for electricity are going full speed ahead with new reactors a year after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster disrupted the growth of nuclear power around the world.

Sixty nuclear reactors are currently under construction globally, with 163 more on order or planned, according to the World Nuclear Association. That is little changed from the trade group’s February 2011 survey—a month before Fukushima—showing 62 reactors under construction and 156 on order or planned.

The numbers belie the perception that the nuclear power industry was stopped in its tracks after the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant following an earthquake and tsunami, the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. While Japan and some European nations prepare to shut down or idle their nuclear plants, the march to build reactors continues in developing countries.

Source: Nuclear Pushes On Despite Fukushima, The Wall Street Journal

The journal article also includes a nice interactive graphic of atomic footprint across the globe.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration just 19% of the electricity power generation comes from nuclear power in the US. Coal remains the main source of electricity accounting for about 42% of total power generated. Among the developed countries electricity generation from nuclear power is the highest in France.

Related ETFs:

Market Vectors Uranium + Nuclear Energy ETF (NLR)
iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy index ETF (NUCL)

Disclosure: No Positions