We’ve got about 93 reactors humming away in the US. That’s more than any other country. France eats our lunch on percentage of grid power (they’re at ~70%), but we win on raw output. Take that, baguette-eaters.
Inside Plant Vogtle, the largest generator of carbon-free nuclear
They’re the workhorses. They run at 90%+ capacity—meaning they’re churning out power almost all the time. Wind and solar? They’re moody; they go to sleep when the wind stops or the sun sets. Nuclear just grunts and keeps going.
The Old vs. The New
Most of our plants are getting old. Like, wearing a cardigan and complaining about kids on the lawn old. The average age is 40+ years. But they’re getting license renewals for another 20 or 30 years. Why? Because they work. And replacing them is a nightmare.
Building new ones? Expensive and slow. Look at the Vogtle plant in Georgia—seven years late and $17 billion over budget. That’s not a delay; that’s a generational project.
