New EIA study reports drop in nuclear power plant outages
The U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows that unplanned nuclear plant outages averaged more than 90 outages in 2000, peaking at nearly 120 in 2003, and since steadily fell to 34 so far this year.
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A new study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that daily capacity outages at U.S. nuclear power plants averaged 3.1 GW from June 1 to Aug. 31, 2021. This average was reportedly 22% less than the 4 GW daily capacity outage average of summer 2020.
The length of planned refueling and maintenance outages continue to drop as utility planners and contractors get more efficient at planning the thousands of tasks involved during the scheduled breaks.
The EIA reports that nuclear power still generates 20% of the U.S.’s electricity and more than half of the nation’s carbon-free electricity.
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