Skip to content

Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020

Is nuclear power a more reliable source of electricity than renewable alternatives?

Jacob Alabab-Moser, Gigafact
yes

According to the U.S. Energy Department, nuclear power has the highest capacity factor, or portion of time a power plant is actually producing electricity, out of all generating sources. Nuclear power plants require minimal maintenance and are designed to operate for long stretches before refueling. Because of this, nuclear plants are capable of producing maximum power for 93% of a given year, which makes nuclear power 2.5 to 3.5 times more reliable than wind and solar power.

In advanced economies, nuclear is the largest source of low-carbon electricity, providing 18% of supply in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency. This figure is set to decline in the future as existing plants near the end of their expected lives and aren't replaced. Nuclear power output in advanced economies could fall two-thirds by 2040.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.