Nuclear Energy Institute statistics show the US reactor fleet operating at high reliability even as it ages, underscoring why policymakers are working to extend and expand it. The data quantify the fleet's outsized contribution relative to its size.

US reactors run at a capacity factor near 92 percent, the highest of any generating source, meaning they produce close to their maximum possible output nearly all the time. The fleet supplies about 20 percent of total US electricity and the largest share of carbon-free generation. Roughly 30 power uprates are planned across the fleet through the end of the decade, which would add capacity without building new reactors.

The high capacity factor matters because it makes nuclear a dependable baseload source that complements variable wind and solar generation. As data centers and electrification push up electricity demand, the existing fleet's reliability has made life extensions, uprates, and restarts a priority for utilities and federal programs. The data frame nuclear as a mature, high-performing segment of the US power system rather than a declining one. Uprates and renewals are the near-term levers for adding nuclear output.

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