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How old is the reactor fleet?

419 reactors are operating worldwide. The average reactor, weighted by capacity, started up 32 years ago (the median unit is 39), and 193 are 40 years old or more. Only 36 have a retirement date on record.

Average age
31.5 yr
weighted by capacity
Median age
39 yr
by unit
40 years or older
193
178 GW gross
Retirement date on record
36
17 by 2036

Operating units by age

Age, yearsUnitsGW gross
Under 105865.3
10 to 194642.4
20 to 293631.2
30 to 398687.9
40 to 49149142.7
50 and over4435.3

Age is this year minus the start-up year on record.

By country

Countries with at least three operating units, oldest fleet first.

CountryUnitsAverage ageAged 40+
Switzerland4 47.04
Sweden6 43.36
United States94 43.272
Hungary4 41.03
Canada17 41.012
Spain7 40.65
France57 38.436
Ukraine15 36.26
United Kingdom9 36.00
Czech Republic6 31.43
Japan15 31.27
Argentina3 30.52
Finland5 30.44
Russia34 28.115
Slovakia5 28.12
South Korea26 23.34
India22 16.83
China61 10.50
Pakistan6 8.40
United Arab Emirates4 3.50

The oldest operating units

UnitCountryStartedAgeMW gross
Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant 1United States 196957642
Beznau nuclear power plant 1Switzerland 196957380
Tarapur nuclear power plant 1India 196957160
Dresden nuclear power plant 2United States 197056950
Point Beach nuclear power plant 1United States 197056640
Robert Emmett Ginna nuclear power plantUnited States 197056608
Dresden nuclear power plant 3United States 197155935
H. B. Robinson nuclear power plant 2United States 197155780
Monticello nuclear power plantUnited States 197155691
Surry nuclear power plant 1United States 197254890
Turkey Point nuclear power station 3United States 197254829
Point Beach nuclear power plant 2United States 197254640
Beznau nuclear power plant 2Switzerland 197254380
Quad Cities nuclear power plant 1United States 197353940
Quad Cities nuclear power plant 2United States 197353940

Planned retirements

These are forecasts carried by the tracker for 36 operating units, not decisions that have taken effect, and dates move. A unit missing here has no retirement date on record; that does not mean it will run on. We do not hold licence expiry dates for any unit, so this page says nothing about which licences have been extended.

Sources

How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data

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