Nuclear power supplies approximately 18 percent of United States electricity generation in 2026, roughly consistent with 2025 levels, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. The 94 licensed operating nuclear reactors currently active in the United States collectively represent the largest installed nuclear generating capacity in the world, although several other countries generate a higher percentage of their electricity from nuclear sources.
The United States nuclear fleet generated approximately 775 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, providing consistent baseload generation throughout the year with capacity factors typically exceeding 90 percent, compared with capacity factors of 20 to 35 percent for wind and solar resources. High capacity factors make nuclear generation particularly valuable for grid reliability applications where consistent output regardless of weather conditions is a primary requirement.
The 2026 NEI State of the Nuclear Industry report noted that the number of nuclear power plant license renewal applications, life extension requests, and new construction proposals before the NRC has increased substantially compared with 2022 to 2024. Corporate power purchase agreements from data center operators and tech companies have provided a new demand signal for nuclear operators seeking long-term revenue certainty to justify continued operations and capital investments.
NuScale Power, TerraPower, Kairos Power, and Oklo are among the US advanced nuclear companies working through NRC licensing processes for small modular reactor and advanced reactor designs. The Tennessee Valley Authority's Clinch River site in Tennessee and several other Southeast locations have been identified as candidate sites for early SMR deployments, with timelines targeting operation in the late 2020s to early 2030s.
Source: Nuclear Energy Institute -- https://www.nei.org/news/state-of-the-nuclear-industry-2026