Nuclear Power in the USA

The USA has over 100 nuclear reactors providing almost 20% of its electricity. One-fifth. In 2006 the United States generated 4260 billion kWh of electricity, half of it from coal-fired plant, 19% from nuclear, 19% from gas and 7% from hydro. Total capacity is 1076 GWe. Annual per capita electricity consumption is 12,300 kWh. In 2007 the 104 US nuclear power reactors generated a record 806.5 billion kWh and achieved an average 91.8% capacity factor.

US annual electricity demand is projected to increase from 4300 billion kWh today to 5000 billion kWh in 2030.

● = Nuclear Plant Location

The USA was a pioneer of nuclear power development. Westinghouse designed the first fully commercial pressurized water reactor (PWR) of 250 MWe, Yankee Rowe, which started up in 1960 and operated until 1992. Meanwhile the boiling water reactor (BWR) was developed by the Argonne National Laboratory, and the first commercial plant, Dresden-1 of 250 MWe designed by General Electric, was started up 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, and a major construction program got under way. These remain practically the only types built commercially in the USA. Nuclear developments in USA suffered a major setback after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, though that actually validated the very conservative design principles of western reactors, and no-one was injured or exposed to harmful radiation. Many orders and projects were cancelled or suspended, and the nuclear construction industry went into the doldrums for two decades. Nevertheless, by 1990 over one hundred commercial power reactors had been commissioned.

Today the importance of nuclear power in United States is geopolitical as much as economic, reducing dependency on imported oil and gas. The operational cost of nuclear power, 1.66 c/kWh in 2006, is slightly lower than that from coal and much lower than from gas.

From 1992 to 2005 some 270,000 MWe of new gas-fired plant was built, and only 14,000 MWe of new nuclear and coal-fired capacity came on line. But coal and nuclear supply 70% of US electricity and provide price stability. While investment in these two technologies almost disappeared, unsustainable demands were placed on gas supplies and prices quadrupled, forcing large industrial users of it offshore and pushing gas-fired electricity costs towards 10c/kWh.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is the government agency established in 1974 to be responsible for regulation of the nuclear industry, notably reactors, fuel cycle facilities, materials and wastes (as well as other civil uses of nuclear materials). Its focus is on safety.

As of January 2007 the NRC had renewed the licenses of 48 reactors, nearly half of the US total. The NRC is still considering other license renewal applications, and they are expected eventually for some 85 of the 103 US nuclear reactors.

The table below lists current (2008) Construction-Operating Licenses (COL) projects by the Department of Energy, and indicates where action has been taken to actually order or contract for aspects of their construction.

Proponent(s)	Technology	MWe	Site & utility - licensee	Lodgement Date	Equipment contract
NRG Energy	ABWR x 2	2700	*South Texas, STP Nuclear	24/7/07	EPC? 8/07
NuStart	AP1000 x 2	2200	*Bellefonte, Alabama - TVA	30/10/07	Doosan?
Dominion	ESBWR	1520	North Anna, Virginia - Dominion	28/11/07	4/07
Duke Energy	AP1000 x 2	2200	Lee, South Carolina - Duke	13/12/07	Doosan?
Progress Energy	AP1000 x 2	2200	Harris, N Carolina - Progress	19/2/08
NuStart	ESBWR	1550	Grand Gulf, MS - Entergy	27/2/08	7/07
Unistar	US EPR	1600	* Calvert Cliffs MD - Unistar	7/07 and 17/3/08	(Areva has ordered forgings)
Southern Nuclear Co	AP1000 x 2	2200	Vogtle, Georgia - Southern	31/3/08	EPC 4/08
South Carolina Elect & Gas	AP1000 x 2	2234	Summer, SC - South Carolina Elect & Gas	31/3/08	EPC 5/08
Unistar, AmerenUE	US EPR	1600	Callaway, Fulton, Missouri - AmerenUE	28/7/08	(Areva has ordered forgings)
Progress Energy	AP1000 x 2	2200	Levy county, Florida - Progress(greenfield site)	30/708	LOI for EPC 4/08
Entergy	ESBWR	1550	River Bend LA - Entergy	30/9/08
Unistar	US EPR	1600	Nine Mile Point NY - Constellation	Sept 2008
Exelon	ESBWR x 2	3040	Victoria county, SE Texas, Exelon	Sept 2008	12/07
TXU / Luminant Corp	US-APWR x2	3400	*Comanche Peak Tx, Luminant	Sept 2008
Unistar, AEHI	US EPR	1600	Grand View, Idaho, Alternate Energy Holdings Inc.	late 2008
DTE Energy	ESBWR	1550	Fermi, Michigan - DTE Energy	Oct 2008
Unistar, PPL	US EPR	1600	Bell Bend, near Susquehanna, PA - PPL	late 2008
Florida Light & Power	AP1000 or ESBWR x 2	2200 to 3040	Turkey Point, Florida - FPL	early 2009
Amarillo Power	US EPR x 2	3200	Amarillo, Tx, Amarillo	late 2009
Total	32 units	41,000+

It is going to be extremely difficult to meet the future electrical needs of the United States without the use of nuclear power.

A May 2008 survey by Zogby showed 67% of Americans favored building new nuclear power plants, with 46% registering strong support; 23% were opposed. Asked which kind of power plant they would prefer if it were sited in their community, 43% said nuclear, 26% gas, 8% coal. Men (60%) were more than twice as likely as women
(28%) to be supportive of a nuclear power plant.