Updated October 1, 2021

United States

  • It would take 540 nuclear reactors for the United States to completely decarbonize its electric grid with only nuclear power.

  • EP finds that the U.S. is at moderate to very high risk of losing 66.3 GW of nuclear energy between today and 2030, and is likely or very likely to add 2 GW of new nuclear by 2030.

  • The U.S. generated 807 terawatt-hours (TWh, net) of nuclear electricity in 2018, matching the historic peak of 807 TWh of nuclear generation in 2010, and a 4.6 percent change from the recent historic low of 770 TWh in 2012.

  • Nuclear comprised 19 percent of U.S. electricity in 2018

  • The share of U.S. electricity coming from clean energy sources slightly declined from 36.2  percent in 2017 to 35.5 percent in 2018.

  • An 8.8 percent share of U.S. electricity came from solar and wind in 2018, which constitutes 25.0 percent of total electricity from clean energy sources.

  • In 2017, wind and solar received, respectively, 17 and 140 times more in federal subsidies than nuclear.

  • Thirty states have mandates to deploy clean energy that exclude nuclear.

  • It would take 12 years to replace the 120 billion kilowatt-hours of yearly production from the eleven at-risk nuclear plants with wind and solar, and 81 years to replace the entire reactor fleet.

  • Over 150% more nuclear capacity has been cancelled or killed than ultimately built in the United States.

  • In July 2017, utilities announced their decision to halt construction of the twin-reactor V.C. Summer project in South Carolina. The two nuclear reactors would generate 18 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity annually, replacing 86 percent of South Carolina’s electricity from coal.

Click on a state to find out more about its clean energy crisis

 

Reasons that US nuclear plants are at risk of early closure

  1. Discriminatory policies

  2. Public fears and concerns

  3. Cheap natural gas

Prematurely Closed

  1. Vermont Yankee, Vermont

  2. San Onofre, California

  3. Kewaunee, Wisconsin

  4. Crystal River, Florida

  5. Ft. Calhoun, Nebraska

  6. Pilgrim, Massachusetts

  7. Oyster Creek, New Jersey

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Premature Closures Announced

  1. Indian Point, New York

  2. Diablo Canyon, California

  3. Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania

  4. Palisades, Michigan

  5. Duane Arnold, Iowa