Education --> Nuclear Facts

GENERAL INFORMATION

Nuclear energy provides about 20 percent of the United States' electricity and is its number one source of emission-free electricity.

                 103 nuclear plants with operating licenses

For more details, see the U.S. nuclear plants state-by-state interactive map.

Number of operating reactors: 103; 
34 Boiling Water Reactors, 69 Pressurized Water Reactors-
(B) BWR plants with 1, 2 or 3 reactors: 1(14), 2(10)
(P) PWR plants with 1, 2 or 3 reactors: 1(15), 2(24), 3(2)
For reactors by state, see Generation capacity by state.

Companies licensed to operate nuclear reactors: 40

Number of states with operating reactors: 31

States with nuclear as largest percentage of electricity:

Connecticut - 45%
Illinois - 50%
New Hampshire - 53%
New Jersey - 49%
South Carolina - 55%
Vermont - 67%

Largest U.S. nuclear plant/size/number of reactors:
Plant site: Palo Verde (Ariz.)/3,733 MWe/3 reactors;
12th largest nuclear plant in the world.
Reactor: South Texas Project 1 & 2 (TX); 1,251 MWe each

Smallest nuclear plant/size:
Ft. Calhoun (Neb.)/478 MWe

Newest nuclear plants/year:

1996/June - Watts Bar 1; Tenn.-Tennessee Valley Authority; 1,158 MWe
1993/Aug. - Comanche Peak 2; TXU Electric Co.; 1,160 MWe
1990/Aug. - Comanche Peak 1; TXU Electric Co.; 1,150 MWe
1990/Aug. - Seabrook 1; N.H.-North Atlantic Energy Corp.; 1,158 MWe
1990/Jan. - Limerick 2; Pa.-PECO Energy Co.; 1,115 MWe

Oldest operating nuclear plant/year:
Oyster Creek (N.J.)/ 1969 (Dec.)

Reactor Manufacturers: 
General Electric - www.ge.com
Westinghouse - www.westinghouse.com
Framatone Technologies (formerly Babcock & Wilcox) - www.framatech.com
Asea Brown Boveri/Combustion Engineering* - www.abb.com

* ABB's worldwide nuclear businesses were acquired by Westinghouse on May 2, 2000.  The former ABB-CE fuel fabrication facility in Hematite, Mo., will be closed over an 18-month period and most of the company's U.S. fuel operations will be consolidated at the existing Westinghouse facility in Columbia, S.C.

Generation/Capacity

Percent of total U.S. electricity generation in 1999:
19.8% or 727.9 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh), a record high. For state specific generation information, see Generation capacity by state. Nuclear generation helps to avoid millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions that would be produced if the same amount of electricity were produced from fossil fuels. See Environmental data.

Percent of worldwide electricity:
17% from 435 reactors. See 1999 World Nuclear Power Generation and Capacity.

Industry capacity factor: 
About 85% (86.8% for all 103 plants, 88.5% in 1999 for operating units)

There has been an upward trend in the capacity factor for U.S. commercial nuclear power plants since the 1980s.

Amount of electricity generated by a 1,000 MWe reactor at 80% capacity factor in one year:
7 billion KWh - enough to supply electricity for 650,000 households. If generated by other fuel sources, it would require:

Nuclear plant performance and oversight

Longest operating period between refuelings:
Three Mile Island Unit 1, Pa., set record on July 21, 1999 with 618 days of continuous operation. The reactor operated continuously for 669 days before shutting down for its 13th refueling and maintenance outage on September 10, 1999.

Most electricity generated: Palo Verde 1, 2, and 3 (Ariz.); 30.4 million MWh; 1999

Capacity factor: Robinson 2 (S.C.); 103.59%; 1997

World Association of Nuclear Operations:
Every single organization in the world that operates a nuclear electricity generating plant is united, voluntarily, through the World Association of Nuclear Operations (WANO). WANO's mission is to maximize the safety and reliability of nuclear power plant operations by exchanging information and encouraging communication, comparison, and emulation amongst its members.

To support its mission and provide practical help to members, WANO has five main programs, one of which is the Performance Indicator Program. This program provides a means by which members can assess the performance of their plants objectively. By using ten performance indicators, which relate to nuclear plant safety and reliability, plant efficiency and personnel safety, each member can monitor its own performance and progress. They can also set challenging goals for improvement and allow consistent comparisons of performance with that of other plants throughout the world or the industry as a whole.

For information on the new NRC Reactor Oversight Process for U.S. nuclear power plants, visit the Nuclear Regulator Commission site at www.nrc.gov.