US nuclear power generation rose 0.5 percent during the first four months of 2026 compared with the same period the prior year, while coal-fired electricity output fell 11.6 percent over the same span, according to generation data tracked by the US Energy Information Administration. The divergent trends reflect nuclear power's continued role as a stable, always-on source of electricity even as other conventional generation sources see more volatile output.
The EIA's most recent data shows 96 operating commercial nuclear reactors across 57 power plants in 28 states as of March 2026, with combined net summer electricity generation capacity of 98,441 megawatts. The average age of the operating reactor fleet is approximately 44 years, a reflection of the fact that no new large-scale commercial reactors were completed in the United States between the mid-1990s and the 2023 and 2024 completion of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in Georgia.
Longer term, the EIA's Annual Energy Outlook projects nuclear power's share of total US electricity generation will gradually decline from 17 percent in 2025 to a range of 12 to 15 percent by 2050, primarily as a result of overall electricity demand growth outpacing the addition of new nuclear capacity, even as existing reactors continue operating reliably. That outlook predates the recent wave of corporate power purchase agreements, plant restart announcements, and federal financing commitments aimed at expanding the country's nuclear generation base.
The Department of Energy has separately announced financing support for long-lead-time supply chain components intended to accelerate the deployment timeline for new large-scale commercial reactors, alongside support for restarting previously shuttered plants including the Palisades facility in Michigan and the Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania.
Source: US Energy Information Administration – https://www.eia.gov/nuclear/generation/