The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) announced Thursday that nuclear power plants in the United States were successful in producing a capacity factor average of 96.4 percent in June of this year.
This amount follows the pattern of continued growth that has been seen since June of 2013 after falling below 90 percent in 2012. The NEI reports that 90 out of 99 nuclear reactors had operated at over 90 percent capacity.
Over the course of the month, the NEI reports that U.S. Nuclear generation was able to produce 68.5 billion kilowatt-hours as opposed to 68.1 billion in the previous year.
The capacity factor refers to the amount of energy that an electrical power plant is able to produce over a certain period of time compared with the absolute maximum that the plant could operate with 100 percent capacity on a continual basis.
The NEI also reports that of the 99 nuclear power plants in the United States, 62 of them were operational at 100 percent in June.
The Platts’ Megawatt Daily reported that the Palo Verde Unit 3 nuclear reactor was the second highest generator of electricity on a global scale in 2014. It produced 12.2 billion kilowatt-hours and had a capacity factor of 97.5 percent. The plant is located in Wintersburg, Arizona.
