Current Status of Nuclear Power in the U.S.

The United States, one of the principal pioneers of nuclear power development, remains the world’s largest producer of nuclear-generated electricity: 99 reactors are currently in operation at 61 sites in 30 states with a cumulative capacity of 98,662 MWe. The U.S. commercial nuclear fleet has operated at relatively high capacity in recent years: the annual capacity factor for U.S. nuclear plants was 91.7% in 2014, significantly higher than the capacity factors of other baseload power sources such as geothermal (68.8%) and coal (60.9%) in the same year. According to the latest statistics posted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), U.S. NPPs generated approximately 797 TWh of electricity, or 19.47% of the country’s total electricity generation in 2014, far exceeding the output of the second largest nuclear generating country in the world, France (416 TWh in 2014). In terms of U.S. emissions-free electricity, nuclear power produced an even greater share: approximately 63% of electricity from sources that do not emit carbon dioxide during operation.