Features and Prospects of Nuclear Power Development in the USA

This paper focuses on the features and prospects of nuclear power development in the United States, analyzing and describing the history of commercial nuclear power from its beginnings in the 1950s to 2021. Particular attention has been paid to the history of nuclear reactor development, aspects of regulation, licensing, and public attitudes toward the nuclear industry in the United States. This paper also defined the current situation and identified the challenges that the industry is facing today and an extensive information base of 177 U.S. nuclear reactors was compiled, for 112 of which historical construction cost data were obtained, from which the LCOE and learning curve were further modeled to determine the economic status of nuclear power in the United States today and assess its competitiveness against other sources of electricity generation. In conclusion based on SWOT-analysis were identified the prospects of nuclear development in the foreseeable future.