Total megawatts of U.S. nuclear capacity offline right now (units in outages plus reduced power).
13,804
MW Offline
Percentage of total fleet capacity currently online and generating power.
85.7%
Fleet Online
Refueling outages scheduled for this season. Each one is a hiring window.
24
Fall 2026 Outages
Units currently at 0% power (likely in an outage or shutdown).
13
Units Offline
Units operating between 1-99% power (excluding known startups or coastdowns).
1
Reduced Power
Units nearing the end of their fuel cycle, gradually lowering power before an outage.
4
Coastdown
Units increasing power following an outage or scram.
0
Starting Up
Units on a qualifying Breaker-to-Breaker run: continuous operation exceeding their cycle-adjusted threshold with no trips to 0% power.
5
Breaker-to-Breaker
_16128_62584_33043.jpg)
Nuclear NewsNEW Latest Terrestrial Energy topical report submission could lead to faster deploymentTerrestrial Energy submitted a new topical report to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking to classify the non-nuclear portion of its Integrated Molten Salt Reactor as a conventional industrial project. If approved, developers could build and operate the Thermal and Electric Facility ahead of receiving final nuclear construction permits. This regulatory separation aims to streamline project financing and accelerate deployment timelines across future reactor sites. Approval of the Thermal and Electric Facility Topical Report submitted by the company to US regulators would mean that part of the Integrated Molten Salt Reactor plant would be classed as a conventional industrial, rather than nuclear, project, allowing it to be built and operated ahead of nuclear licensing. ; The Integrat...
Core Content
Core ContentNuclear NewsNEW Study proposes more efficient path to fusion ignitionPhysicists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory have reformulated the Lawson criterion for fusion ignition to create a model incorporating energy losses, radiation, and tungsten impurities. The updated calculations indicate that heating the plasma before raising its density requires less energy and offers a more efficient approach for future reactor designs. Researchers at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory reformulated the criterion to ignite and sustain fusion plasma, and their calculations indicate a pathway to make the process more energy efficient while also demonstrating the impac...Core Content
Core Content
Nuclear NewsNEW NRC reviews LAR on Palisades fuel loading incident, as Pioneer SMR application advancesThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing an emergency license amendment request from Holtec after a fuel assembly tilted during loading at the Palisades plant. The offline facility requires a revised safety analysis report to authorize custom recovery tools and an alternate removal path for the stuck component. This retrieval operation is necessary to resume broader restart activities at the 767-megawatt facility. Simultaneously, developers advanced a phased construction permit application for a two-unit small modular reactor project at the Michigan site. Agency staff made a preliminary...Core Content
Core Content
Nuclear NewsNEW Ramaswamy Nuclear Startup Raises Funds at $1.9 Billion ValueAtlas Atomics secured approximately $400 million in a Series A funding round led by General Catalyst. The stealth mode nuclear startup achieved a valuation of $1.9 billion. Venture firms are backing the company as it develops alternative heavy water reactor technology. This financial backing highlights a wider expansion of private capital flowing into advanced reactor developers. The firm aims to deploy systems that bypass enriched uranium requirements while producing industrial isotopes. Such alternative fuel approaches could reshape supply chains for commercial power generation facilities. A...Core Content
Core Content
Nuclear NewsNEW Urenco USA Completes 75% of Current U.S. Uranium Enrichment Capacity ProjectUUSA Completes 75% of Uranium Enrichment Capacity Project Urenco USA has initiated production in its sixth centrifuge cascade at the National Enrichment Facility in New Mexico. This milestone advances the site expansion project designed to add 700,000 separative work units of capacity by 2027. The broader infrastructure growth aims to strengthen the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain for current and future reactors. Urenco USA has started production in its sixth cascade of new U.S. uranium enrichment capacity at the National Enrichment Facility. Six installed cascades can produce more than 500...Core Content
Core Content
Nuclear NewsNEW NASA, Energy Department Advance New Era of Nuclear-Powered ExplorationNASA and the Department of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on space nuclear power and propulsion. The agreement establishes a framework for research, fuel production, and testing. Officials aim to field fission systems for upcoming lunar and deep space missions. The partnership supports federal directives to deploy a lunar surface reactor by 2030 and the Space Reactor-1 Freedom mission in 2028. These projects expand domestic fuel production and technical capabilities. Such initiatives stimulate the nuclear industrial base by translating laboratory research into opera...Core Content
Core Content
Nuclear NewsNEW DOE Science Committee Draws Concerns Over Limited ExpertiseThe Department of Energy consolidated six field-specific advisory panels into a single Office of Science Advisory Committee. Former advisors warn that the new 22-member panel lacks the specialized expertise required to draft rigorous long-range plans for complex physics fields. The restructuring impacts research priorities across seventeen national laboratories and numerous scientific user facilities. Without dedicated representation for nuclear science and other disciplines, industry observers question how effectively the pared-down committee can guide funding decisions and long-term project...Core Content
Core Content
Nuclear NewsNEW The U.S. Nuclear Plant Fleet Is Leaning Into AIAI Steps Into Nuclear Power Plants, and Workers Are Letting It in Nuclear power plant operators across the United States are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence assistants to help manage daily operations. Companies like Atomic Canyon and Nuclearn have deployed tools across a large portion of the commercial reactor fleet to process regulatory paperwork and search historical maintenance data. The commercial nuclear sector faces a shrinking, highly specialized workforce alongside growing piles of required documentation. By deploying localized language models trained on federal regulations an...Core Content
Core Content
Nuclear NewsNEW Seeing more, repairing smarter: How advanced NDE and repair technologies are changing nuclear asset Vattenfall Nuclear deployed an artificial intelligence tool at Sweden's Ringhals plant to analyze reactor vessel inspection data. The software automatically filters irrelevant signals from ultrasonic testing results. This process reduces analyst review workloads by up to ninety-five percent during refueling outages. Nuclear utilities generate large volumes of examination data that require extensive manual review. Adopting automated analysis and advanced testing techniques helps operators manage aging assets more efficiently. These technologies streamline outage execution while maintaining rigo...Core Content
Core Content
Site NewsNEW Our long-range outage projections just got sharperNukeWorker's Outage Schedule gives you two things: validated dates for the coming season, and our own long-range projections for the seasons beyond, 18 to 24 months out, before the utilities publish their dates.Today we upgraded the engine behind those long-range projections. Measured against the dates utilities have since confirmed, the new engine is 28% better at predicting long-range (18 to 24 month) start dates.See how we score ourselves on the Accuracy Scorecard.
Rennhack
RennhackFallen:NEW Roger SlocumRoger passed away recently. He retired from Oconee after 46 years and then came back and worked some more. Roger was a long time Rad tech and ALARA planner. A great many people are very sad right now. He will be missed.
Smart People
Smart People
Outage NewsNEW Palo Verde 1 begins Fall 2026 refueling outagePalo Verde Unit 1 began a routine refueling outage on October 3, 2026, starting exactly on its scheduled date. The 1,311-megawatt pressurized water reactor enters the maintenance period following a 1,270-day unscheduled-outage-free streak. Operated by Arizona Public Service, the unit had completed about 93 percent of its typical 548-day operating cycle and recorded an 87.8 percent capacity factor during the 2025 cycle. The 45-day scheduled duration compares against a 42.4-day historical average across 18 prior refuels for the plant. Across the broader U.S. fleet, 94 units operated at an 85.4 percent capacity factor, with 12 units currently in refueling outages. TONOPAH, AZ. Refueling activities began at Palo Verde 1 on Oct 3, 2026 . The unit started on the published date (Oct 3, 2026) with...Core Content
Core Content
Outage NewsNEW Salem 1 begins Fall 2026 refueling outageSalem 1 began a routine refueling outage on October 4, 2026, starting precisely on its planned date. The PSEG Nuclear plant has a scheduled duration of 50 days for this maintenance period. The 1,153-MW Westinghouse 4-loop pressurized water reactor entered this refueling outage after maintaining a 624-day unscheduled-outage-free streak. Salem 1 had run about 90 percent of its typical 549-day operating cycle following an 85 percent capacity factor during its 2025 cycle. PSEG Nuclear operates two other United States nuclear units, while the broader nuclear fleet records an 85.2 percent capacity f...Core Content
Core Content
Outage NewsNEW McGuire 1 completes Fall refueling outage in 29 daysMcGuire 1 began a routine refueling outage on September 5, 2026, concluding after 29 days on October 3. The fall maintenance window ran one day longer than the planned 28 day schedule. Operated by Duke Energy Carolinas, the 1,158-MW Westinghouse pressurized water reactor maintained an unscheduled-outage-free streak of 246 days before the project. The duration ranked as the 13th-longest among the unit's 19 tracked refuels, falling below the historical average of 37.6 days for its 18 prior refuels. Across the broader U.S. fleet, 94 units operated at an 85.2 percent capacity factor while four oth...Core Content
Core Content
Every Outage Finally Has a NameIf you have worked an outage, you know it has a name. Nobody at the tool crib says &qu...
New on the facility map: see who's hiring at a glanceThe facility map got a pretty good overhau...
Did You Know NukeWorker Has Online Practice Exams? (Now With Certificates)Here is something a lot of folk...
The NukeWorker Reactor Status MapIf you have ever wanted to know which plants are running, which are down for an outa...
We have recently updated the with over 1,500 new aerial and facility images.Some of the late...
The Fall 2026 U.S. nuclear refueling outage schedule has been released. 25 units are scheduled to refuel this season.
POET: plant-specific PRA inputs, built from the operating recordA new tool on NukeWorker turns the U.S. fleet's...
We've launched a new board, Outage News: a running record of refueling and forced outages across ...
New Feature: RadNet Radiation Map Now OnlineWe're excited to announce a major addition to the Facility Info...
We have updated the "Current Reactor Status" section on our facility information pages ...
🔎 Deep Dive: Everything You Can Track on the Facility Info PagesHey everyone, I've been digging thr...
The Nuclear Grid Capacity & Generation Analysis dashboard provides a centralized interface for monitoring and...
We made a new tool fro you:The Operating Reactor Scram Dashboard is a comprehensive analytical tool designed fo...
I am very excited to announce a major upgrade to the NukeWorker Outage Schedules!We now independently project...
NukeWorker's preliminary schedule for Spring 2027 projects 29 nuclear outages, signaling a high-d...
The Fall 2026 nuclear maintenance season features 25 scheduled outages, with peak workload activity proje...
The Spring 2026 nuclear outage season is underway with 34 scheduled maintenance and refueling outages. View the full schedule at .
We've given the entire quiz section a major facelift to make your study sessions smoother and easier on the eyes.
The NukeWorker Photo Gallery has long been the primary destination for our community to share the history, te...
We've just rolled out a major update to the NukeWorker homepage. While the new "Situation Room&quo...
I split the 'Nuclear Discussions' from the 'Nuclear News' posts on the front page.Enhanced the titl...
I've updated the homepage Job Feed with a few key features designed to make it fairer for employers and easier for ...