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.
Operating units by age
| Age, years | Units | GW gross |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 58 | 65.3 |
| 10 to 19 | 46 | 42.4 |
| 20 to 29 | 36 | 31.2 |
| 30 to 39 | 86 | 87.9 |
| 40 to 49 | 149 | 142.7 |
| 50 and over | 44 | 35.3 |
Age is this year minus the start-up year on record.
By country
Countries with at least three operating units, oldest fleet first.
| Country | Units | Average age | Aged 40+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 4 | 47.0 | 4 |
| Sweden | 6 | 43.3 | 6 |
| United States | 94 | 43.2 | 72 |
| Hungary | 4 | 41.0 | 3 |
| Canada | 17 | 41.0 | 12 |
| Spain | 7 | 40.6 | 5 |
| France | 57 | 38.4 | 36 |
| Ukraine | 15 | 36.2 | 6 |
| United Kingdom | 9 | 36.0 | 0 |
| Czech Republic | 6 | 31.4 | 3 |
| Japan | 15 | 31.2 | 7 |
| Argentina | 3 | 30.5 | 2 |
| Finland | 5 | 30.4 | 4 |
| Russia | 34 | 28.1 | 15 |
| Slovakia | 5 | 28.1 | 2 |
| South Korea | 26 | 23.3 | 4 |
| India | 22 | 16.8 | 3 |
| China | 61 | 10.5 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 6 | 8.4 | 0 |
| United Arab Emirates | 4 | 3.5 | 0 |
The oldest operating units
| Unit | Country | Started | Age | MW gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant 1 | United States | 1969 | 57 | 642 |
| Beznau nuclear power plant 1 | Switzerland | 1969 | 57 | 380 |
| Tarapur nuclear power plant 1 | India | 1969 | 57 | 160 |
| Dresden nuclear power plant 2 | United States | 1970 | 56 | 950 |
| Point Beach nuclear power plant 1 | United States | 1970 | 56 | 640 |
| Robert Emmett Ginna nuclear power plant | United States | 1970 | 56 | 608 |
| Dresden nuclear power plant 3 | United States | 1971 | 55 | 935 |
| H. B. Robinson nuclear power plant 2 | United States | 1971 | 55 | 780 |
| Monticello nuclear power plant | United States | 1971 | 55 | 691 |
| Surry nuclear power plant 1 | United States | 1972 | 54 | 890 |
| Turkey Point nuclear power station 3 | United States | 1972 | 54 | 829 |
| Point Beach nuclear power plant 2 | United States | 1972 | 54 | 640 |
| Beznau nuclear power plant 2 | Switzerland | 1972 | 54 | 380 |
| Quad Cities nuclear power plant 1 | United States | 1973 | 53 | 940 |
| Quad Cities nuclear power plant 2 | United States | 1973 | 53 | 940 |
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
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data