Nuclear development in the US: 95 GW of new reactors could be built at nuclear power plant sites

The United States will need an additional 200 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2050 to achieve carbon neutrality, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). Up to half of the required new installed capacity could be built at existing or retired nuclear power plant sites. Coal-fired power plant sites also offer significant potential, with the DOE estimating they could host up to 174 GW of nuclear reactors.

Electricity consumption in the United States, as in other regions, is expected to rise in the coming years as transport, industry and heating become increasingly electrified and data centres consume more electricity. The Department of Energy expects that, alongside new renewable energy sources, a massive build-out of nuclear power plants will be needed to meet rising electricity demand. Up to 200 GW of new nuclear capacity could be added by 2050.

For comparison, the total installed capacity of the 54 US nuclear power plants currently in operation is around 95 GW. Thanks to their high capacity factors, these plants meet roughly 20% of annual electricity consumption in the United States.

According to a recently published study by the US Department of Energy, 60 to 95 GW of new nuclear power plants could be built at existing or recently retired nuclear power plant sites. The scale of the potential depends on the type of new nuclear reactors considered. Large AP1000 reactors would put the potential at the lower end of this range. Using smaller advanced reactors with a capacity of around 600 MW could bring it to as much as 95 GW.

"Reliable supplies of clean electricity at gigawatt scale are becoming increasingly important for the United States to meet growing energy demand," said Dr. Mike Goff, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy.

The study found that 41 of the 65 nuclear power plant sites assessed are suitable for building new nuclear reactors. The assessment covered all 54 existing nuclear power plants, as well as 11 recently retired plants.

Huge potential at coal-fired power plant sites

As part of the study, the DOE also examined coal-fired power plant sites. The analysis found that up to 145 coal plant sites could be suitable for nuclear power plants, with room for either 290 smaller reactors or 115 larger ones. The potential new installed capacity at these sites is therefore 128 to 174 GW.

"These findings are consistent with our previous research into converting coal-fired power plants to nuclear, where projects benefit from the existing workforce and selected infrastructure, delivering significant economic and environmental benefits," the department said.

The department added that these are preliminary estimates and that energy companies and local communities will need to work closely together to make decisions about building new nuclear power plants at the identified sites.