United States - World Nuclear Performance Report
The USA has 94 operable reactors with a combined capacity of 96,952 MWe, the largest nuclear fleet of any single country.
Vogtle 3, an AP1000, was connected to the grid in April 2023 and began commercial operation in July. Unit 4 was connected to the grid in March 2024 and began commercial operation in April.
In October 2023 Holtec International applied to restart the Palisades plant in Michigan, having purchased the 800 MWe PWR from owner and operator Entergy in June 2022, shortly after the plant was shut down. In March 2024 the US DOE Loan Programs Office committed up to USD1.52 billion for a loan guarantee to support the project.
In December 2023 Californian regulators agreed to extending the operation of Diablo Canyon nuclear plant for an additional five years, to 2030. Pacific Gas & Energy had agreed in 2016 that the plant would close at the end of its current licences - in 2024 for unit 1 and 2025 for unit 2. At that time, it was thought that the plant's output would no longer be required as California focused on an energy policy centred on efficiency, renewables and storage. However, in September 2022 – as California's energy grid saw its highest-ever peak demand during a recordbreaking heatwave – the state passed a law allowing the two nuclear units that provide 9% of California's power generation to continue operation.
Nuclear electricity production by age of reactor