page_title: Nuclear power in the United States
section_title: Uranium supply
hierarchical_section_title: Nuclear power in the United States / Uranium supply
caption_attribution_description: English: Sources of uranium fuel for the US commercial nuclear power industry in 2012 (US Energy Information Administration)
context_page_description: Nuclear power in the United States is provided by 96 commercial reactors with a net capacity of 98 gigawatts, 64 pressurized water reactors and 32 boiling water reactors. In 2019 they produced a total of 809,409 thousand megawatt hours of electricity, which accounted for 20% of the nation's total electric energy generation. In 2018, nuclear energy comprised nearly 50 percent of U.S. emission-free generation.
  As of September 2017, there are two new reactors under construction with a gross electrical capacity of 2,500 MW, while 34 reactors have been permanently shut down. The United States is the world's largest producer of commercial nuclear power, and in 2013 generated 33% of the world's nuclear electricity. With the past and future scheduled nuclear plant closings, the United States could lose its position to China and Russia.
  As of October 2014, the NRC has granted license renewals providing a 20-year extension to a total of 74 reactors. In early 2014, the NRC prepared to receive the first applications of license renewal beyond 60 years of reactor life, as early as 2017, a process which by law requires public involvement.
context_section_description: A 2012 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded: “The currently defined uranium resource base is more than adequate to meet high-case requirements through 2035 and well into the foreseeable future.”
  At the start of 2013, the identified remaining worldwide uranium resources stood at 5.90 million tons, enough to supply the world's reactors at current consumption rates for more than 120 years, even if no additional uranium deposits are discovered in the meantime. Undiscovered uranium resources as of 2013 were estimated to be 7.7 million tons. Doubling the price of uranium would increase the identified reserves as of 2013 to 7.64 million tons. Over the decade 2003–2013, the identified reserves of uranium (at the same price of US$130/kg) rose from 4.59 million tons in 2003 to 5.90 million tons in 2013, an increase of 28%.
caption: Sources of uranium fuel for the US commercial nuclear power industry in 2012 (US Energy Information Administration)
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