U.S. capacity factors: Keeping the grid stable

摘要

Nuclear power continues to be a highly productive electricity source in the United States, as it has been so far this century. For the past few years, however, it has not been reasonable to conclude that this is enough for the technology to remain viable in the long term. The litany of concerns has been recited many times in this magazine, and also in this annual survey of power reactor capacity factors, so much so that it might be possible to lose sight of an underlying truth: If nuclear power were not this productive, it would be even more difficult to present it as a key to future power generation. Fossil-fuel combustion must somehow be limited, if not reduced, to improve the chances to avert severe climate change (this statement should not be taken as a political expression, but as a recognition of substantial consensus in the scientific community).