United States consumption of electricity produced by nuclear power plants last year hit its lowest point in nearly a decade, the government’s independent energy auditor said last week.
According to a report published Friday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity consumption in 2021 from nuclear power decreased to around 8.12 quadrillion British Thermal Units (BTUs) from roughly 8.25 quadrillion BTUs in the year prior. 2020’s nuclear electricity consumption was the lowest on record since 2012, EIA said.
That decline comes as electricity consumption from non-fossil fuel energy sources, including solar, wind, hydroelectricity and nuclear, increased to around 20 quadrillion BTUs from roughly 19 quadrillion in 2020, according to tables published alongside EIA’s Friday report. Fossil energy sources such as coal and natural gas made up the lion’s share of electricity consumption in 2021, at around 77 quadrillion BTUs or 79% of the total.
Despite the drop in nuclear power consumption, electricity production in the sector has absorbed some of the impact of recent plant closures, EIA has said.
The independent electricity auditor reported in April that, although renewable energy sources in 2021 produced about 20 million more megawatt-hours than nuclear power plants, generation in the sector has remained relatively flat over the last few years. Increased generation rates and shorter refueling outages at operating sites have offset capacity losses from closing plants, EIA has said.
Just one nuclear power plant went offline in 2021 — New York’s Indian Point Energy Center, which shuttered for good last April. Two other plants, Byron and Dresden Nuclear Generating Stations in Illinois, were also scheduled for closure but were saved in September by a roughly $700 million bailout from Springfield.
Nuclear generation capacity has declined further in 2022 so far, as Michigan’s Palisades plant went offline May 20. California’s Diablo Canyon is next on the chopping block, with its two reactors scheduled to close in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
