The US nuclear industry operated at a 92% capacity factor over the past year, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute's State of the Nuclear Industry 2026, underscoring the fleet's role as one of the most reliable sources of electricity on the grid. The capacity factor measures how much electricity a plant produces relative to its maximum possible output, and nuclear consistently posts the highest figure of any generation source.

The nation's 94 licensed reactors generate close to 20% of US electricity. For the first time, the NRC approved the restart of a previously shuttered reactor, Holtec's Palisades plant in Michigan, which is scheduled to return to service later in the year. Constellation's Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania is set to restart in 2027, and Duane Arnold in Iowa is slated to follow in 2029.

Existing plants are also expanding output through power uprates. The NRC has approved more than 8,000 megawatts of additional capacity through uprates, including over 7,500 megawatts at currently operating reactors. These upgrades add generation without building new plants by boosting the output of existing units.

The figures point to an industry extracting more electricity from its installed base while preparing for new construction. Restarts, uprates, and license extensions allow operators to add reliable supply relatively quickly compared with new builds. For the US grid, the data highlights nuclear's steady contribution at a time of rising electricity demand from data centers and electrification.

Source: Nuclear Energy Institute - https://www.nei.org/news/state-of-the-nuclear-industry-2026