Southern company new nuclear plant8/7/2023 The licence renewal process typically costs $16-25 million, and the procedures for such renewals, with public meetings and thorough safety review, are exhaustive. Hence, almost all of the US power reactors are likely to be licensed to operate for 60 years, with owners undertaking major capital works to upgrade them at around 30-40 years. This took the number of US power reactors that have renewed their licences to 94, several of which have since shut down. In March 2019 the NRC renewed the licence for Seabrook, extending the unit’s operation by 20 years to 2050. In an historic move, the NRC in March 2000 renewed the operating licences of the two-unit Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant for an additional 20 years. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is the government agency established in 1974 to be responsible for regulation of the nuclear industry, notably reactors, fuel cycle facilities, materials and waste (as well as other civil uses of nuclear material). 9 Reactor lifetime extensions and regulation This 39% reduction in nuclear generating costs since 2012 surpasses the goals set in the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Delivering the Nuclear Promise initiative and has been driven by: a 35% decrease in fuel costs a 58% decrease in capital expenditures and a 31% decrease in operating costs. Average nuclear generation costs have come down from $47.65/MWh in 2012 to $29.13/MWh in 2021. The US nuclear industry has also achieved remarkable gains in power plant utilisation through improved refuelling, maintenance and safety systems at existing plants. Much of the increase came from the 47 reactors, all approved for construction before 1977, that came online in the late 1970s and 1980s, more than doubling US nuclear generation capacity. In 2019, that output had risen to 809 TWh and nearly 20% of electricity, providing more than 30% of the electricity generated from nuclear power worldwide. In 1980, nuclear plants produced 251 TWh, accounting for 11% of the country's electricity generation. A further PWR – Watts Bar 2 – started up in 2016 following Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) decision in 2007 to complete the construction of the unit.ĭespite a near halt in new construction for more than 30 years, US reliance on nuclear power has grown. Until 2013 there had been no new construction starts since 1977, largely because for a number of years gas generation was considered more economically attractive and because construction schedules during the 1970s and 1980s had frequently been extended by opposition, and compounded by heightened safety fears following the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. Nuclear power industryĪ table of operable plants in the USA is available as an appendix to this page.Īlmost all the US nuclear generating capacity comes from reactors built between 19. If today’s nuclear plants retire after 60 years of operation, 22 GWe of new nuclear capacity would be needed by 2030, and 55 GWe by 2035 to maintain a 20% nuclear share.īeyond the two units currently under construction at Vogtle, since about 2010 the prospect of sustained low natural gas prices has dampened plans for new nuclear capacity (see section on New nuclear capacity below). Given that nuclear plants generate nearly 20% of the nation’s electricity overall and about 55% of its carbon‐free electricity, even a modest increase in electricity demand would require significant new nuclear capacity in order to maintain this share. The industry invests about $7.5 billion per year in maintenance and upgrades of the plants. In 2019 it was a record 94%, compared with wind (32%) and solar PV (22%) (EIA data). The average capacity factor has risen from 50% in the early 1970s, to 70% in 1991, and it passed 90% in 2002, remaining at around this level since. Since 2001 these plants have achieved an average capacity factor of over 90%. The US fleet is operated by 30 different power companies across 30 different states. Nuclear power plays a major role in electricity provision across the country. In its Annual Energy Outlook 2022, the US Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) reference case shows electricity demand growth averaging 1% per year through to 2050. Source: International Energy Agency and The World Bank. Import/export balance: 47.3 TWh net import (61.4 TWh imports 14.1 TWh exports)
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