Extracting efficiency

[Marlin]

https://www.ans.org/news/2026-05-27/article-7952/extracting-efficiency/

[News Wire]

The U.S. nuclear fleet maintains a median capacity factor of 91.29 percent, highlighting the reliability of existing assets. Industry experts suggest that prioritizing uprates, license renewals, and extended operating cycles could add 8 to 10 gigawatts of capacity over the next decade. These incremental improvements offer a lower-risk alternative to new reactor construction by maximizing the output of plants already connected to the grid.

May is a month when we pause—briefly—to recognize something that too often goes unsaid: the extraordinary performance of the existing U.S. nuclear fleet. Capacity factors remain above 90 percent (with a median of 91.29 for the three-year period 2023–2025—see Nuclear News, May 2026, p. 24), an impressive figure delivered at a scale unmatched...

In this issue, you will also read about the important work researchers at our national laboratories are doing to extract even greater efficiency from the plants we already have. That effort deserves more attention, because it points to a fundamental truth: the fastest, most reliable way to expand nuclear generation in the United States is not solely through new builds—it is by maximizing the assets already on the grid.

Read the full article at ans.org:
https://www.ans.org/news/2026-05-27/article-7952/extracting-efficiency/