How Does A Nuclear Reactor Generate Electricity

That s an incredible stat given the fact that there are just 98 nuclear reactors operating in the united states.

How does a nuclear reactor generate electricity.

Nuclear power plants have supplied about 20 of total annual u s. We begin by looking at an electric motor. Let s begin at the end and see how it all fits together. The palo verde nuclear power plant in arizona is the largest nuclear power plant in the united states with three reactors and a total electricity generating capacity 1 of about 3 937 mw.

However most power plants do not operate a full capacity every hour of every day of the year. In most power plants you need to spin a turbine to generate electricity. In 2018 the r e. Ginna nuclear power plant actually generated at total of 4 689 440 mwh.

Coal natural gas oil and nuclear energy use their fuel to turn water into steam and use that steam to turn the turbine. They contain and control nuclear chain reactions that produce heat through a physical process called fission. When electricity is applied to the motor electromagnets within the. With more than 450 commercial reactors worldwide including 95 in the united states nuclear power continues to be one of the largest sources of reliable.

Vattenfall a nuclear reactor is driven by the splitting of atoms a process called fission where a particle a neutron is fired at an atom which then fissions into two smaller atoms and some additional neutrons. A stator which stands still and a rotor which rotates within the stator. How does a nuclear reactor generate electricity. Nuclear power plants have generated about 20 of u s.

Nuclear plants are different because they do not burn anything to create steam. That s right 59 nuclear power plants located in 30 states are fueling the future with reliable electricity that we can use every day and all the time. Did you know that 20 of america s electricity comes from nuclear power. As of january 1 2020 96 nuclear reactors were operating at 58 nuclear power plants in 29 states.

Nuclear power reactors generally operate at or near. Presently the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium. A motor consists primarily of two major components. The amount of electricity that a power plant generates over a period of time depends on the amount of time it operates at a specific capacity.

That heat is used to make steam that spins a turbine to create electricity. If the reactor generated that amount of electricity every day of the year it would generate 5 098 320 mwh. Thirty five of the plants have two or more reactors.