Nuclear power in the US

Extracted Attributes

• Net Capacity

  97 gigawatts (GW)

• Capacity Factor (2019)

  94%

• Oldest Operating Reactor

  Nine Mile Point Unit 1 (started Dec 1969)

• State with Most Reactors

  Illinois (11 reactors at 6 plants)

• Share of Electricity (2023)

  about 19%

• Largest U.S. Nuclear Reactor

  Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (1,400 MW)

• Electricity Production (2019)

  809.41 terawatt-hours (TWh)

• Electricity Production (2023)

  779 TWh

• Number of Commercial Reactors

  94

• Share of Global Nuclear Electricity (2013)

  33%

• Share of Emission-Free Energy Generation (2018)

  nearly 50%

• Share of Total Electric Energy Generation (2024)

  18.6%

• Average Age of Operating Reactors (as of Aug 2023)

  about 42 years

• Reactors with 20-year License Renewals (as of Oct 2014)

  74

Timeline

• Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-1) started up, becoming the first nuclear reactor to produce electricity in the US. (Source: World Nuclear Org)

  1951-12

• President Eisenhower proposed his "Atoms for Peace" program, reorienting research towards electricity generation. (Source: World Nuclear Org)

  1953

• The first U.S. reactor to face public opposition, Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station, was built near Detroit, Michigan. (Source: Web Search)

  1957

• The 60 MWe Shippingport demonstration PWR reactor started up in Pennsylvania. (Source: World Nuclear Org)

  1957

• Commercial nuclear power plants began generating electricity in the United States. (Source: EIA)

  1958

• Yankee Rowe, the first fully commercial PWR (250 MWe) designed by Westinghouse, started up. (Source: World Nuclear Org)

  1960

• Dresden-1, the first BWR (250 MWe) designed by General Electric, started up. (Source: World Nuclear Org)

  1960

• Nine Mile Point Unit 1 in New York, the oldest operating reactor, began commercial operation. (Source: EIA)

  1969-12

• The majority of U.S. reactors began construction before this year. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1974

• Ground-breaking on new nuclear reactors at existing power plants stalled since this year. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1977

• The Three Mile Island accident occurred, leading to many planned projects being canceled. (Source: Summary)

  1979

• More than 100 orders for nuclear power reactors were canceled due to changing economics and post-Three Mile Island concerns. (Source: Summary)

  1970s-1980s

• A revival of interest in nuclear power, termed a "nuclear renaissance," emerged. (Source: Summary)

  2000s

• The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster led to the cancellation of many new nuclear projects. (Source: Summary)

  2011

• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the construction of four new reactors at existing plants. (Source: Summary)

  2012

• Construction began on the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station Units 2 and 3, though later abandoned. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2013-03-09

• Construction began on the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Units 3 and 4. (Source: Summary)

  2013-03-12

• Several aging reactors, including San Onofre 2 and 3, Crystal River 3, Vermont Yankee, and Kewaunee, were permanently shut down due to high costs and falling natural gas prices. (Source: Summary)

  2013-2014

• 74 reactors had received license renewals from the NRC for 20-year extensions. (Source: Summary)

  2014-10

• Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station Unit 2 became the first U.S. reactor to enter commercial operation since 1996. (Source: Summary)

  2016-10-19

• Construction of Virgil C. Summer Units 2 and 3 was abandoned after Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2017-07-31

• The Indian Point nuclear plant in New York was permanently closed. (Source: Summary)

  2021-04

• Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Unit 3 reached initial criticality. (Source: Summary)

  2023-03

• Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Unit 3 commenced service. (Source: Summary)

  2023-07-31

• Prediction for an explosive acceleration in AI reasoning and a buildout of nuclear power in the US to meet energy demands. (Source: Related Document)

  2025

Nuclear power in the United States

In the United States, nuclear power is provided by 94 commercial reactors with a net capacity of 97 gigawatts (GW), with 63 pressurized water reactors and 31 boiling water reactors. In 2019, they produced a total of 809.41 terawatt-hours of electricity, and by 2024 nuclear energy accounted for 18.6% of the nation's total electric energy generation. In 2018, nuclear comprised nearly 50 percent of US emission-free energy generation. As of September 2017, there were two new reactors under construction with a gross electrical capacity of 2,500 MW, while 39 reactors have been permanently shut down. The United States is the world's largest producer of commercial nuclear power, and in 2013 generated 33% of the world's nuclear electricity. With the past and future scheduled plant closings, China and Russia could surpass the United States in nuclear energy production. As of October 2014, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) had granted license renewals providing 20-year extensions to a total of 74 reactors. In early 2014, the NRC prepared to receive the first applications of license renewal beyond 60 years of reactor life as early as 2017, a process which by law requires public involvement. Licenses for 22 reactors are due to expire before the end of 2029 if no renewals are granted. Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts was to be decommissioned on June 1, 2019. Another five aging reactors were permanently closed in 2013 and 2014 before their licenses expired because of high maintenance and repair costs at a time when natural gas prices had fallen: San Onofre 2 and 3 in California, Crystal River 3 in Florida, Vermont Yankee in Vermont, and Kewaunee in Wisconsin. In April 2021, New York State permanently closed Indian Point in Buchanan, 30 miles from New York City. Most reactors began construction by 1974. But after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 and changing economics, many planned projects were canceled. More than 100 orders for nuclear power reactors, many already under construction, were canceled in the 1970s and 1980s, bankrupting some companies. In 2006, the Brookings Institution, a public policy organization, stated that new nuclear units had not been built in the United States because of soft demand for electricity, the potential cost overruns on nuclear reactors due to regulatory issues and resulting construction delays. There was a revival of interest in nuclear power in the 2000s, with talk of a "nuclear renaissance", supported particularly by the Nuclear Power 2010 Program. A number of applications were made, but facing economic challenges, and later in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, most of these projects have been canceled. Up until 2013, there had also been no ground-breaking on new nuclear reactors at existing power plants since 1977. Then in 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved construction of four new reactors at existing nuclear plants. Construction of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station Units 2 and 3 began on March 9, 2013, but was abandoned on July 31, 2017, after the reactor supplier Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2017. On March 12, 2013, construction began on the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Units 3 and 4. The target in-service date for Unit 3 was originally November 2021. In March 2023, the Vogtle reached "initial criticality" and started service on July 31, 2023. On October 19, 2016, Tennessee Valley Authority's Unit 2 reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station became the first US reactor to enter commercial operation since 1996.

Web Search Results

• Nuclear power in the United States - Wikipedia

  In 2017, the US Energy Information Administration projected that US nuclear generating capacity would decline 23% from its 2016 level of 99.1 GW, to 76.5 GW in 2050, and the nuclear share of electrical generation would go from 20% in 2016 to 11% in 2050. Driving the decline will be retirements of existing units, to be partially offset by additional units currently under construction and expected capacity expansions of existing reactors. [...] Under President Obama, the Office of Nuclear Energy stated in January 2012 that "Nuclear power has safely, reliably, and economically contributed almost 20% of electrical generation in the United States over the past two decades. It remains the single largest contributor (more than 70%) of non-greenhouse-gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States. Domestic demand for electrical energy is expected to grow by more than 30% from 2009 to 2035. At the same time, most of the [...] There has been considerable opposition to the use of nuclear power in the United States. The first U.S. reactor to face public opposition was Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station in 1957. It was built approximately 30 miles from Detroit, Michigan and there was opposition from the United Auto Workers Union. Pacific Gas & Electric planned to build the first commercially viable nuclear power plant in the US at Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco, California. The proposal was controversial and

• Nuclear Power in the USA

  Despite a near halt in new construction for more than 30 years, US reliance on nuclear power has grown. In 1980, nuclear plants produced 251 TWh, accounting for 11% of the country's electricity generation. In 2023 output was 779 TWh providing about 19% of electricity. Much of the increase came from the 47 reactors, all approved for construction before 1977, that came online in the late 1970s and 1980s, more than doubling US nuclear generation capacity. The US nuclear industry has also achieved [...] "The United States led the development of civilian nuclear power through the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Reactor Testing Station (now known as Idaho National Laboratory), and several other Federal Government entities.This work produced safe and abundant energy.But in the decades since, commercial deployment of new nuclear technologies has all but stopped.The Idaho National Laboratory has principal responsibility for constructing and testing new reactor designs; it concluded [...] Nuclear power plays a major role in electricity provision across the country. The US fleet is operated by 30 different power companies across 30 different states. Since 2001 these plants have achieved an average capacity factor of over 90%. The average capacity factor has risen from 50% in the early 1970s, to 70% in 1991, and it passed 90% in 2002, remaining at around this level since. In 2019 it was a record 94%. The industry invests about $7.5 billion per year in maintenance and upgrades of

• U.S. nuclear industry - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

  Electricity generation from commercial nuclear power plants in the United States began in 1958. As of August 1, 2023, the United States had 93 operating commercial nuclear reactors at 54 nuclear power plants in 28 states. The average age of these nuclear reactors is about 42 years old. The oldest operating reactor, Nine Mile Point Unit 1 in New York, began commercial operation in December 1969. The newest reactor to enter commercial service is Unit 3 at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating [...] Most U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors are located east of the Mississippi River. Illinois has more reactors than any state (11 reactors at 6 plants), and at the end of 2022, it had the largest total nuclear net summer electricity generation capacity, at about 11,582 megawatts (MW). The Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, Mississippi, has the largest U.S. nuclear reactor, with a net summer electricity generation capacity of about 1,400 MW. The two smallest operating reactors, each [...] The Grand Coulee Dam in Washington has the most electricity generation capacity of any electric power plant in the United States—7,079 megawatts (MW) net summer capacity. The Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona, with three reactors, has the second-largest generation capacity—3,937 MW. Nuclear power plants generally use more of their electricity generation capacity on an annual basis than hydropower facilities. In 2022, Grand Coulee generated about 21 million megawatthours of electricity,

• Nuclear power plants - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

  Nuclear power plants have generated about 20% of U.S. electricity since 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- As of August 1, 2023, 93 nuclear reactors were operating at 54 nuclear power plants in 28 states. Of the 54 operating nuclear power plants, 19 have one reactor, 31 have two reactors, and 4 have three reactors. The U.S. nuclear energy industry has supplied about 20% of total annual U.S. electricity since 1990. [...] | Country | Nuclear electricity generation capacity (million kilowatts) | Nuclear electricity generation (billion kilowatthours) | Nuclear share of country's total electricity generation | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | United States | 95.49 | 778.15 | 19% | | France | 61.37 | 360.70 | 68% | | China | 53.26 | 407.52 | 5% | | Russia | 27.73 | 222.44 | 20% | | South Korea | 24.43 | 150.52 | 26% | [...] Learn more ---------- U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy U.S. nuclear generation and generation capacity Monthly Energy Review—Nuclear energy U.S. energy consumption by source and sector U.S. energy flow U.S. electricity flow Annual Energy Outlook International Energy Outlook Articles on nuclear energy

• Outline History of Nuclear Energy

  In the USA, Westinghouse designed the first fully commercial PWR of 250 MWe, Yankee Rowe, which started up in 1960 and operated to 1992. Meanwhile the boiling water reactor (BWR) was developed by the Argonne National Laboratory, and the first one, Dresden-1 of 250 MWe, designed by General Electric, was started up earlier in 1960. A prototype BWR, Vallecitos, ran from 1957 to 1963. By the end of the 1960s, orders were being placed for PWR and BWR reactor units of more than 1000 MWe. [...] The Mark 1 reactor led to the US Atomic Energy Commission building the 60 MWe Shippingport demonstration PWR reactor in Pennsylvania, which started up in 1957 and operated until 1982. Installation of the reactor vessel at Shippingport the United States first commercial nuclear power plant Installation of the reactor vessel at Shippingport the United States first commercial nuclear power plant [...] The first nuclear reactor to produce electricity (albeit a trivial amount) was the small Experimental Breeder reactor (EBR-1) designed and operated by Argonne National Laboratory and sited in Idaho, USA. The reactor started up in December 1951. In 1953 President Eisenhower proposed his "Atoms for Peace" program, which reoriented significant research effort towards electricity generation and set the course for civil nuclear energy development in the USA.