July 17, 1955, was the first time electricity generated by a U.S. nuclear power plant flowed into a utility grid. The experiment required Utah Power & Light to disconnect itself from the power lines to the 1,200 residents of Arco, Idaho, and plug in the Argonne National Laboratory experimental boiler water reactor, BORAX-III. The plant produced merely 2 megawatts for more than an hour, as planned, after which linemen reconnected the town’s grid to the utility. Since then, the U.S. nuclear industry has demonstrated excellence in operations, but more than 50 years after that first nuclear power supply, it is lagging far behind even developing nations in new construction.
Significant Global Growth
Today, 439 nuclear power plants are in operation in 30 countries with a total capacity of 372 GW. The U.S., for comparison, operates 104 of those plants, totaling a bit over 100 GW of installed capacity. France is runner-up with 59 operating plants and one new plant under construction.
As with picking stocks, the U.S. nuclear industry’s past performance may not be a predictor of future performance. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 53 reactors, rated at just over 47 GW, are under construction around the world today. In the U.S., the only "new" nuclear plant is Watts Bar Unit 2. Construction of that unit was stopped in 1985 but restarted two years ago. When completed in 2013, Watts Bar Unit 2 will add almost 1,200 MW to the Tennessee Valley Authority grid.
The growing global nuclear industry is leaving the U.S. nuclear industry in the dust. The IAEA predicts that the global 372 GW will grow to somewhere between 510 GW and 810 GW by 2030, an 8% increase compared with last year’s projections.
The IAEA projections by region are a mixed bag. "Modest" downward projections for North America are offset by major increases in the Far East — which includes China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea — and South Asia, which includes India. IAEA projections are presented as high- and low-range projections to reflect uncertainties surrounding individual countries’ economic and electricity growth projections and national policies supporting low-carbon electricity production. The IAEA projections also illustrate that the agency believes the U.S. nuclear market has softened over the past year.
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