Current U.S. Nuclear Capacity | Federal Efforts to Accelerate Nuclear Deployment | Public Funding | Data Dictionary | References
Current U.S. Nuclear Capacity
Not shown on this map are the nearly 100 gigawatts (GW) of existing nuclear energy capacity generated by 94 nuclear reactors in 54 power plants across 28 states. Nuclear energy has accounted for about 20 percent of annual U.S. electricity generation since the late 1980s. This existing capacity makes the United States the country with the largest commercial nuclear power generation fleet in the world.
In the last decade, nuclear power has been facing financial challenges, resulting in 13 reactor closures (over 10 GW of capacity) since 2012. There are now efforts underway to recommission some of these reactors where possible. Scheduled to be operational by the end of 2025, the restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan would be the first U.S. commercial nuclear reactor to be shuttered and restarted.
Federal Efforts to Accelerate Nuclear Deployment
Estimates project the United States will need an additional 200 GW of nuclear capacity to keep pace with power demand growth while reducing electric sector emissions. The Trump administration named nuclear energy as a key domestic energy resource in its Day 1 executive order, “Unleashing American Energy.” Similarly, Secretary for the Department of Energy Chris Wright called for an “unleashing of commercial nuclear power in the United States.”
In May 2025, the administration issued four executive orders aimed at revitalizing the U.S. nuclear sector:
- Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security (EO 14299): Aims to accelerate the use of advanced nuclear technologies to support military operations, national defense infrastructure, and critical government energy needs; calls for increasing exports of U.S. nuclear technology, expanding domestic fuel recycling capacity, and establishing categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for construction of nuclear reactors on federal sites.
- Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (EO 14300):
Seeks to overhaul the NRC by streamlining licensing processes, reducing bureaucracy, accelerating approval of reactor designs, and considering the economic and national security benefits when licensing nuclear reactors; sets a target of quadrupling U.S. nuclear energy capacity to a total of 400 gigawatts (GW) by 2050. - Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy (DOE) (EO 14301):
Directs the DOE to expedite the review, approval, and deployment of reactors at the DOE and national lab sites and to create a pilot program for reactor construction and operation outside the National Laboratories. - Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base (EO 14302):
Calls for initiatives promoting workforce development, expanding domestic fuel supply, evaluating management of spent nuclear fuel, restarting shuttered plants, supporting advanced reactor deployment, and enhancing spent fuel management; sets a target for 10 new large reactors and 5 gigawatts (GW) of power uprates to be under construction by 2030 to support AI data centers and U.S. economic competitiveness.
Public Funding
Sources of public funding for existing and proposed nuclear reactor projects have included:
- Loan Program Office: Provides loans and loan guarantees to help deploy innovative clean energy.
- Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program: Intended to speed the demonstration of advanced reactors through cost-shared partnerships with U.S. industry.
- Advanced Nuclear Energy Licensing Cost-Shared Grant Program: Designed to offset fees associated with licensing advanced reactors and facilities.
- Civil Nuclear Credit Program: Funding to support the continued operation of existing U.S. nuclear reactors with demonstrated risk of closure due to economic reasons.
- Federal Tax Credits: The zero-emission nuclear power production credit (45U) supports continued operation of existing nuclear reactors, and the technology-neutral clean electricity production tax credit (45Y) and investment tax credit (48E) support new and re-commissioned nuclear energy projects.
Data Dictionary
- Total Project Capacity: Megawatts of proposed capacity addition from new projects. Note, this does not include already existing capacity on the site but rather sums all proposed new reactor capacity within the same plant footprint.
- Number of Reactors: The number of proposed or planned new reactors at a given site under a single project.
- Reactor Type: The nuclear reactor technology proposed under a given project.
- Model: The specific nuclear reactor design proposed under a given project.
- Fuel: The fuel source used as input to the specific reactor type and model.
- Status: The phase of the development life cycle for a given project. In this map, the status may be
- Under consideration: Being prominently discussed in media, may have engaged with the NRC, but has not obtained final regulatory approvals.
- Under development: As received regulatory approvals but is preconstruction.
- Under construction: Construction has begun at the reactor site; it does not necessarily refer to reactor construction itself.
- Operating: Has been commissioned and is actively supplying electric power.
- On hold: The project had previously been under development but has been delayed by the project developer.
- Owner/Developer: The entity responsible for executing the development of the nuclear power project.
- Commercial Partners: Companies that have signed offtake agreements or have otherwise contractually engaged with the developer to support the project.
References and Additional Resources
Global Energy Monitor, Global Nuclear Power Tracker
Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy
U.S. NRC, New Nuclear Reactors
World Nuclear Association, Nuclear Power in the U.S.