Blog

THE 80 CLUB: Celebrating America’s Longest-Serving Nuclear Reactors

U.S. nuclear plants are licensed for 40 years. Some have received 20-year extensions not once but twice, extending their lifespans to 80 years.

Office of Nuclear Energy

August 5, 2026
Estimated Read Time   min
Photo collage of nuclear power plants

Nuclear energy is part of the fabric of America. 

The United States has been a global leader in nuclear power generation for decades. The nation's 94 commercial reactors — more than any other nation on earth — have been generating reliable, affordable energy for American homes and businesses since the late 1960s. And they're still going strong. 

U.S. nuclear power plants are initially licensed for 40 years, but the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) can extend reactor licenses by 20 years at a time.  

Nearly all of the country’s commercial nuclear reactors have received an extension to their original licenses — but a select group have been renewed not once but twice, safely extending their lifespans to 80 years. 

Meet the 80 Club.

As of June 2026, 13 nuclear plants (25 reactors in total) across the United States have received second license renewals:
Photo
Graphic featuring Turkey Point and Peach Bottom nuclear plants and their license expiration dates.
Photo
Graphic featuring Surry and North Anna nuclear plants and their license expiration dates.
Photo
Graphic featuring Monticello and Oconee nuclear plants and their license expiration dates.
Photo
Graphic featuring Virgil C. Summer and Point Beach nuclear plants and their license expiration dates.
Photo
Graphic featuring Browns Ferry and H.B. Robinson nuclear plants and their license expiration dates.
Photo
Graphic featuring St. Lucie and Edwin I. Hatch nuclear plants and their license expiration dates.
Photo
Graphic featuring Dresden nuclear plant, its license expiration dates, and the benefits of nuclear energy
Photo
Graphic featuring Turkey Point and Peach Bottom nuclear plants and their license expiration dates.

Golden Years

Nuclear energy is known for its high capacity factor (basically, how much of the time a reactor is operating at full power), so nuclear plants operate 24/7 all year long, only stopping for periodic refueling and maintenance.  

In 2025, America’s nuclear power fleet generated power a whopping 91% of the time. 

Over an 80-year lifespan, a single 1,000-megawatt reactor operating at 91% capacity factor could produce around 638 million megawatt-hours of electricity. That’s enough to power the equivalent of nearly 740,000 U.S. homes per year for eight decades! 

And remember, many U.S. nuclear plants have two, three, or even four reactors operating simultaneously. That’s a truly staggering amount of power in a small package.

A Bright Future

Collectively, nuclear power in the United States has generated somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 billion megawatt-hours since its inception. 

Our nuclear power plants have been there for us for decades, keeping the lights on and our economy humming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. 

But nuclear energy isn’t just America’s past. It’s also our future.  

While we continue to extend the safe operation of our trusted nuclear power fleet, we are also upgrading our existing nuclear infrastructure, bringing retired nuclear plants back online, and laying the groundwork for a new generation of reactor deployment. 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s UPRISE initiative is facilitating “uprates” at some of the nuclear plants in the 80 Club, which will boost their power output and efficiency even further in the years to come. 

The golden age of nuclear energy is here, and it’s standing on the shoulders of giants. 

Explore more on these topics: