Nuclear power plants with light water cooled reactors in the seventies and eighties and their new fields of application

A survey is given of the development and the status of the peaceful use of nuclear energy with the help of light water cooled type reactors in various countries with an outlook on the F.R. of Germany. Petroleum and natural gas shall contribute relatively less to the increasing energy demand in the future. The utilization of the still large coal reserves as power plant fuels must be limited. In order to diminish the dependence of every individual of the expensive petroleum and to create a marketable basis for the products of the German industry which is strongly dependent on exports the further expansion of nuclear power plants and the closing of the fuel-cycle shall be necessary. (GL)