70 Reactors Under Construction · May 2026

Nuclear Is Back

The Renaissance

|

2,667 TWh in 2024
70 reactors building
9.7+ GW from Big Tech
39 in China alone
2024 Generation (TWh)
0
All-time record, breaking 2006
Reactors Under Construction
0
In 13 countries
Big Tech GW Committed
0.0 GW
Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Google
US Fleet Capacity Factor
0%
Highest ever in 2024
China Building
0
Reactors under construction
⚛️ Nuclear 2024 — 2,667 TWh generated — New all-time record🖥️ Microsoft — 835 MW from TMI — 20-year clean power deal🇨🇳 China — 39 reactors under construction — Most of any nation💰 Meta — Up to 7.7 GW committed — Biggest tech nuclear bet🚀 SMR Sector — $5B+ raised — Private investment surge🇫🇷 France — 70% nuclear — World's most nuclear-powered grid🔬 Commonwealth Fusion — $1.8B raised — Record fusion round📊 70 Reactors — Under construction globally — 13 countries⚡ Google × Kairos — 500 MW — First corporate SMR fleet deal🌏 Asia — Leads construction — 5 of 7 new grid connections in 2024💡 US Capacity Factor — 92% in 2024 — Highest in history🏗️ X-energy × Amazon — 960 MW planned — Advanced SMR tech🌐 2024 Record — Beat 2006 by 7 TWh — Renaissance confirmed🇺🇸 US Nuclear — 97 GW / 94 reactors — World's largest fleet⚛️ Nuclear 2024 — 2,667 TWh generated — New all-time record🖥️ Microsoft — 835 MW from TMI — 20-year clean power deal🇨🇳 China — 39 reactors under construction — Most of any nation💰 Meta — Up to 7.7 GW committed — Biggest tech nuclear bet🚀 SMR Sector — $5B+ raised — Private investment surge🇫🇷 France — 70% nuclear — World's most nuclear-powered grid🔬 Commonwealth Fusion — $1.8B raised — Record fusion round📊 70 Reactors — Under construction globally — 13 countries⚡ Google × Kairos — 500 MW — First corporate SMR fleet deal🌏 Asia — Leads construction — 5 of 7 new grid connections in 2024💡 US Capacity Factor — 92% in 2024 — Highest in history🏗️ X-energy × Amazon — 960 MW planned — Advanced SMR tech🌐 2024 Record — Beat 2006 by 7 TWh — Renaissance confirmed🇺🇸 US Nuclear — 97 GW / 94 reactors — World's largest fleet

Global Nuclear Generation 1972–2024

The Rise, the Dip, and the New Record
Nuclear's absolute generation hit a new all-time high in 2024 at 2,667 TWh — finally eclipsing the 2006 peak, 18 years later.
Source: Energy Institute 2025, World Nuclear Performance Report, IAEA / WNA historical data
1986 ChernobylGrowth slowed
2011 Fukushima143 TWh drop
2006 Old Peak2,660 TWh
2024 New Record2,667 TWh
Installed Nuclear Capacity by Country
The US operates the world's largest fleet at 97 GW — bigger than France and China combined.
Source: World Nuclear Association / EIA 2024
Reactors Under Construction by Country
China is building 39 reactors simultaneously — more than the rest of the world combined.
Source: World Nuclear Association / IAEA PRIS (early 2025)

Nuclear Share of Electricity by Country (2024)

France Runs on Nuclear. The US and UK Are Far Behind.
France generates 70% of its electricity from nuclear — the world's highest share. The global average is just 9%.
Source: IAEA PRIS — pris.iaea.org/pris/worldstatistics/nuclearshareofelectricitygeneration.aspx (2024)

Big Tech Bets on Nuclear

Nuclear Capacity Committed by Tech Companies (MW)
Meta leads with 7,700 MW across multiple deals. Total commitments top 9,700 MW — enough to power 7 million homes.
Source: CNBC, Data Center Dynamics, smrintel.com — 2024 announcements
Meta
7,700 MW
Constellation + TerraPower/Oklo
Microsoft
835 MW
Constellation (TMI restart)
Amazon
960 MW
X-energy (SMRs)
Google
500 MW
Kairos Power (SMRs)

The SMR Startup Boom

Private Nuclear Funding by Company ($M)
Commonwealth Fusion raised $1.8B in a single round — the largest private nuclear raise in history. X-energy added another $1.2B with Amazon's backing.
Source: TechCrunch (May 2025), Crunchbase, SEC filings, company press releases
Commonwealth Fusion
$1,800M
Google, Tiger Global + 50 others
X-energy
$1,200M
Amazon Climate Pledge Fund
TerraPower
$750M
Bill Gates, SK Group, Nvidia NVentures
Kairos Power
$629M
DOE ($303M) + private
Oklo
$460M
Sam Altman-backed, public 2024

70 Years of Nuclear: Key Milestones

From Obninsk 1954 to Three Mile Island's Restart
The full arc: rapid buildout, three major accidents, a long stagnation, and now — a tech-driven comeback.
⚛️
1954First grid-connected reactor
Obninsk, USSR
⚠️
1979Three Mile Island accident
Pennsylvania, USA
☢️
1986Chernobyl disaster
Ukraine, USSR
📈
1996Peak nuclear share: 17% of global electricity
Worldwide
🏆
2006Previous generation record: 2,660 TWh
Worldwide
🌊
2011Fukushima disaster; Japan shuts 50 reactors
Japan
🏗️
2017Last US plant built (Watts Bar Unit 2)
Tennessee, USA
💥
2022NIF achieves fusion ignition (Q>1)
Livermore, CA
🖥️
2024Microsoft signs TMI restart; new generation record
USA
✅
2024NuScale receives NRC design approval for 77 MWe SMR
USA
🇫🇷
2025France Flamanville-3 connects to grid
France
🔋
2027Three Mile Island target restart (Microsoft-powered)
USA

Nuclear Fleet Rankings

World Nuclear Fleet by Country — Sortable
Click columns to sort. Five countries control 71% of global nuclear capacity.
Country Capacity (GW) ↓Reactors GW per ReactorStatus
USA97941.0Top fleet
France63571.170% nuclear
China55571.0Fastest growing
Russia27360.8Operating
S. Korea26261.0Operating
Japan19121.6Operating
Canada15190.8Operating
India7220.3Operating
UK790.8Operating

5 Things the Data Tells Us

📈
The Record Stood for 18 Years
Nuclear's 2006 generation peak of 2,660 TWh went unbroken until 2024. The new record of 2,667 TWh isn't just a milestone — it's the start of an upswing driven by higher US capacity factors and Chinese buildout.
🖥️
AI Changed the Calculus
Data center power demand is doubling roughly every 4 years. Nuclear's 24/7 baseload power — unlike solar and wind — is exactly what hyperscalers need. Microsoft's Three Mile Island restart was the first domino; 9.7+ GW of deals followed within 12 months.
🇨🇳
China Is Lapping the World
China's 39 reactors under construction outnumber the entire rest of the world combined. Six of nine new construction starts in 2024 were Chinese. By 2035, China is projected to surpass the US as the world's largest nuclear fleet.
🔬
SMRs Are No Longer Vaporware
NuScale's 77 MWe design received NRC approval in 2025 — the first SMR certification ever issued. Google's contract with Kairos Power for 500 MW of SMR capacity marked the first corporate SMR fleet deal. Private investment in nuclear fission startups exceeded $5B.
⚖️
TWh Up, Share % Down — Both True
Nuclear's share of global electricity fell from a peak of 17% in 1990 to ~9% today — not because nuclear declined, but because solar and wind grew faster. The TWh output is at an all-time high. Both narratives are true, and both matter for policy.
Nuclear Power's Comeback · Dashboard Factory
Sources: Energy Institute 2025, World Nuclear Association Performance Report 2025, IAEA PRIS, EIA, CNBC, Data Center Dynamics, smrintel.com, TechCrunch. Data as of May 2026. Not financial advice.
@Trace_Cohent@nyvp.com