The United States operated 96 commercial nuclear reactors across 57 plants in 28 states as of early 2026, with combined net summer generating capacity of 98,441 megawatts, according to industry statistics. The fleet supplies close to a fifth of the nation's electricity, making nuclear the largest single source of carbon-free generation in the country.

Reliability stands out in the data. United States nuclear plants ran at an average annual capacity factor of 91 percent in 2025, higher than any other generation source and well above the global reactor fleet average of about 83 percent. Capacity factor measures actual output against maximum possible output, and the high figure reflects plants that run nearly continuously aside from scheduled refueling outages. That steady output gives nuclear a distinct role in grid baseload supply.

The United States remains the world's largest nuclear power producer, with its reactors generating roughly 782 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024. Federal projections show the nuclear share of generation easing over the coming decades absent new construction, which has sharpened policy focus on plant restarts, power uprates, and advanced reactor deployment to maintain capacity. The data describes a mature fleet delivering consistent, high-utilization output as policymakers weigh how to expand it.

Source: Nuclear Energy Institute -- https://www.nei.org/resources/statistics/us-nuclear-generating-statistics