Frequently Asked Questions
How many nuclear power plants are in the U.S. and where are they located?
There are currently 62 commercially operating nuclear power plants with 100 nuclear reactors in 31 states in the United States. Thirty-five of these plants have two or more reactors. The Palo Verde plant in Arizona has 3 reactors and had the largest combined net summer generating capacity of 3,937 megawatts (MW) in 2012. Fort Calhoun in Nebraska with a single reactor had the smallest net summer capacity at 479 megawatts (MW) in 2012.
Four reactors were taken out of service in 2013: the Crystal River plant in Florida with one reactor in February, the Kewaunee plant in Wisconsin with one reactor in April, and the San Onofre plant in Californiawith two reactors in June.
Learn more:
U.S. and state nuclear reactor statistics
Data on capacities of individual generators at U.S. power plants (file “GeneratorYyy”)
List of recent power plant retirements
Last updated: April 3, 2014
Other FAQs about Electricity
- Can I choose the electricity supplier where I live?
- Can I generate and sell electricity to an electric utility?
- Does EIA have city or county-level energy consumption and price data?
- Does EIA have county-level energy production data?
- Does EIA have data on each power plant in the United States?
- Does EIA have data on the costs for electricity transmission and distribution?
- Does EIA have electricity prices by state?
- Does EIA have information on the service territories of U.S. electric utilities?
- Does EIA have maps or information on the location of electric power plants and transmission lines in the United States?
- Does EIA have projections for energy production, consumption, and prices for individual states?
- Does EIA publish data on peak or hourly electricity generation, demand, and prices?
- Does EIA publish electric utility rate, tariff, and demand charge data?
- How is electricity used in United States homes?
- How many and what kind of power plants are there in the United States?
- How many nuclear power plants are in the U.S. and where are they located?
- How many smart meters are installed in the U.S. and who has them?
- How much coal, natural gas, or petroleum is used to generate a kilowatthour of electricity?
- How much does it cost to build different types of power plants in the United States?
- How much does it cost to generate electricity with different types of power plants?
- How much electricity does a typical nuclear power plant generate?
- How much electricity does an American home use?
- How much electricity is lost in transmission and distribution in the United States?
- How much electricity is used for cooling in the United States?
- How much electricity is used for lighting in the United States?
- How much energy is consumed in the world by each sector?
- How much of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are associated with electricity generation?
- How much of world energy consumption and electricity generation is from renewable energy?
- How old are U.S. power plants?
- What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source?
- What is a capacity factor?
- What is the difference between electricity generation capacity and electricity generation?
- What is the efficiency of different types of power plants?
- What is the outlook for home heating fuel prices this winter?
- What types and amounts of energy are produced in each state?