What is the longest running nuclear reactor?

The Kaiga nuclear complex is not bereft of controversies.

In a major accomplishment for India's Department of Atomic Energy, the 220 MW nuclear reactor at Kaiga in Karnataka has completed a continuous run of 941 days to become the world's longest running reactor without a shutdown in this marathon run.

The earlier record of 940 days of continuous operation was held by a British reactor called Heysham-2, Unit-8 reactor, which set the benchmark in 2016.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called it a 'major feat' saying it was another world record by Indian scientists and engineers.

Applauding the efforts, PM Modi tweeted, "Congratulations to all those associated with India's nuclear energy programme. Their untiring efforts have enhanced India's progress. The nation is proud of them."

During the stint, the indigenously designed Kaiga-1 nuclear power unit has been under continuous operation from May 13, 2016, and has generated revenues of Rs 1,500 crore.

The twin Indian made units of Kaiga 1 and 2 were started in 2000 at a total cost of Rs 2,800 crore.

According to India's Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), "this landmark demonstrates the excellence in design, construction, safety, quality and operation and maintenance practices of India."

This achievement comes on the back of extended technology denial and sanctions that the Indian nuclear establishment lived under after testing atom bombs in 1974 and in 1998 at Pokharan.

It was the culmination of the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal that led to lifting of sanctions on India's atomic establishment.

The Kaiga nuclear complex is not bereft of controversies. When it was set up many environmentalists protested against locating the atomic complex amidst the verdant forests.

In 2009 it faced its worst crisis when an 'insider' poisoned the water cooler within the secure nuclear island by adding radioactive tritium to the drinking water.

Several workers were exposed to this radioactivity and even after a lot of investigation, till last reports, the person responsible had not been nailed down.

Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada--On Thursday, February 4th at sometime after 11PM Darlington Unit 1 of Canada's Darlington nuclear power plant finally went down for maintenance after 1,105 continuous days of generation, setting the world nuclear operation record for the Longest continuous operation of a nuclear power plant and world thermal plant generation record, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

“Unit 1’s record-setting run highlights the excellent work carried out by our dedicated nuclear professionals throughout the pandemic to ensure Ontarians and frontline workers battling COVID-19 can count on a steady supply of power 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Sean Granville, OPG’s Chief Operating Officer.

“It also highlights the effectiveness of our preventive maintenance programs, and the overall reliability of our nuclear fleet.”

The outage team will now inspect Unit 1’s equipment, including fuel channels, and carry out maintenance in areas that aren’t normally accessible during unit operation. The outage scope also includes upgrading the unit’s reactivity control systems and completing preparatory work required prior to refurbishment.

Last year, Unit 1 set several new benchmarks for the nuclear industry. On Sept. 15, 2020, the clean power stalwart broke the previous world record of 962 days set by India’s Kaiga power station in December 2018. And on July 9, the reactor set a new Canadian and North American nuclear record with 895 straight days of consecutive operation. Pickering Nuclear’s Unit 7 held the previous record at 894 days.

Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. It is a large nuclear facility comprising four CANDU nuclear reactors with a total output of 3,512 MWe when all units are online.

It is Canada's second-largest NPS and provides about 20 percent of Ontario's electricity needs, enough to serve a city of two million people.

“Work completed during the last outage as well as maintenance work performed while the unit was online both contributed to Unit 1’s record run,” said Charlie Qaqish, Section Manager for Outages at Darlington. “This extraordinary performance is a positive reflection of the planning and teamwork by both employees and contract staff.”

     WORLD RECORDS:

• 2020: On Tuesday, September 15 Darlington Unit 1 broke the world record for continuous generation at 963 days, a record previous held by Pickering Unit 7 at 894 days for 22 years until it was broken in 2016 by Heysham 2 in the UK. As of September 28, 2020, Unit 1 was at 976 days.
• 2021: On Thursday, February 4th at sometime after 11PM Darlington Unit 1 finally went down for maintenance after 1,105 continuous days of generation, setting the world nuclear operation record and world thermal plant generation record.

Darlington Nuclear Unit 1 has reached a milestone of 1,000 days of continuous run! Thanks to our amazing employees who ensure a safe, reliable supply of clean power every day for Ontario. pic.twitter.com/en12d40vYu

— Ontario Power Gen (@opg) October 22, 2020

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Electricity generation from commercial nuclear power plants in the United States began in 1958. At the end of 2021, the United States had 93 operating commercial nuclear reactors at 55 nuclear power plants in 28 states. The average age of these nuclear reactors is about 40 years old. The oldest operating reactor, Nine Mile Point Unit 1 in New York, began commercial operation in December 1969. The newest reactor to enter service, Watts Bar Unit 2, came online in 2016—the first reactor to come online since 1996 when the Watts Bar Unit 1 came online. According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as of November 2021, there were 23 shut down commercial nuclear power reactors at 19 sites in various stages of decommissioning.

U.S. nuclear electricity generation capacity peaked in 2012 at about 102,000 MW when there were 104 operating nuclear reactors. At the end of 2021, there were 93 operating reactors with a combined generation capacity of about 95,492 MW. In 2013 through 2019, annual nuclear generation capacity and electricity generation increased each year (except in 2017) even as the number of operating reactors declined. Power plant uprates—modifications to increase capacity—at nuclear power plants have made it possible for the entire operating nuclear reactor fleet to maintain a relatively consistent total electricity generation capacity. These uprates, combined with high-capacity utilization rates (or capacity factors), helped nuclear power plants maintain a consistent share of about 20% of total annual U.S. electricity generation from 1990 through 2021. Some reactors also increased annual electricity generation by shortening the length of time reactors are offline for refueling.

On December 2, 1942, under the bleachers of the football stadium at the University of Chicago, Dr. Enrico Fermi initiated the first controlled nuclear chain reaction. The experiment, conducted as part of the wartime atomic bomb program, also led to peaceful uses of the atom, including construction of the first U.S. commercial nuclear power plant at Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in 1958.

Twenty eight states have at least one commercial nuclear reactor

Most U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors are located east of the Mississippi River. Illinois has more reactors than any state (11 reactors at 6 plants), and at the end of 2021, it had the largest total nuclear net summer electricity generation capacity at about 11,582 megawatts (MW). The Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, Mississippi, has the largest U.S. nuclear reactor with an electricity generating capacity of about 1,400 MW. The two smallest operating reactors, each with a net summer generating capacity of about 520 MW, are at the Prairie Island nuclear plant in Red Wing, Minnesota. Two new nuclear reactors are under construction in Georgia, each with a planned electricity generation capacity of about 1,100 MW.

The Grand Coulee Dam in Washington has the most electricity generation capacity of any electric power plant in the United States—7,079 megawatts (MW) net summer capacity. The Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona, with three reactors, has the second-largest generating capacity—3,937 MW. Nuclear power plants generally use more of their electricity generating capacity on an annual basis than hydropower facilities. In 2021, Grand Coulee generated about 18 million megawatthours of electricity, while Palo Verde generated about 32 million megawatthours.

Many nuclear power plants have more than one reactor

The term power plant refers to an entire facility. A power plant may contain nuclear as well as non-nuclear electricity generating units. Each nuclear reactor located at a commercial nuclear power plant is unique and has its own personnel and equipment. The reactor provides heat to make steam, which drives a turbine that, in turn, drives the generator that produces electricity.

Thirty-two U.S. nuclear power plants have two reactors. Although some foreign nuclear power plants have as many as eight reactors, only three U.S. nuclear power plants have more than two operating reactors: Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona, Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Alabama, and Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina. All three plants have three reactors.

Nuclear power plants are generally used more intensively than other power plants

For cost and technical reasons, nuclear power plants are generally used more intensively than coal- or natural gas-fired power plants, as measure by electric generation capacity factor. In 2021, the nuclear share of total U.S. electricity generating capacity was about 8%, while the nuclear share of total utility-scale electricity generation was about 19%. The average annual capacity factor for nuclear power plants in 2021 was 92.7%, which was higher than the capacity factors for other types of power plants.

Recent U.S. nuclear construction activity

In 2016, the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Watts Bar Unit 2 in Tennessee became the first new U.S. reactor to come online since 1996.

In February 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted to approve Southern Company's application to build and operate two new reactors, Units 3 and 4, at its Vogtle plant in Georgia. The new Vogtle reactors are the first new reactors to receive construction approval in more than 30 years.

In March 2012, the NRC voted to approve South Carolina Electric and Gas Company's application to build and operate two new reactors, Units 2 and 3, at its Virgil C. Summer plant in South Carolina. However, construction on these reactors stopped in 2017.

When will new reactors in the United States come online?

The two new reactors that are now under construction—Vogtle Units 3 and 4—in Georgia are expected to come online before 2023.

The NRC issues license applications for new reactors in various stages of review. The NRC application review process can take up to five years to complete. Under current licensing regulations, a company that seeks to build a new reactor can use reactor designs that the NRC has previously approved. The design certification the NRC issues is independent of approvals of applications to construct or operate a new nuclear power plant. When the applicant uses an NRC-certified reactor design, that means that all safety issues related to the design have been resolved, and the focus of the NRC's review is the quality of construction. Construction of a nuclear power plant may take five years or more.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected in the Annual Energy Outlook 2022 Reference case that new nuclear electricity generation capacity will be added in 2022, but capacity retirements and derating of some reactors will result in less total nuclear electricity generation capacity in 2050 than in 2021.

Last updated: April 18, 2022, with most recent available data at the time of update; data for 2021 are preliminary.