The U.S. nuclear energy industry won the electricity sector’s equivalent of baseball’s Triple Crown last year by setting record highs for electricity production and efficiency, while establishing a record low in average production cost.

The plants produced approximately 807 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2007, according to preliminary figures from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).  No single country in the world—except Japan, China and Russia—produces this much electricity annually from all sources of electricity.

The nation’s 104 nuclear plants, operating in 31 states, also set a new record for efficiency (see chart and related story on page 3).  Based on preliminary figures, the 2007 average capacity factor—a measure of on-line availability of power—was 91.8 percent, exceeding the previous record of 90.1 percent set in 2004.  Capacity factor is the ratio of electricity actually produced compared to the theoretical maximum electricity that a power plant can produce operating at full power year-round.

The industry’s average electricity production cost, which includes expenses for uranium fuel and operations and maintenance, also set a record low in 2007.  The average production cost was 1.68 cents per kwh last year, according to preliminary data.  The previous low—1.72 cents/kwh—was set in 2005.

For seven consecutive years, the industry’s average electricity production cost has been below 2 cents/kwh.  And over this same period, nuclear power plants have had the lowest production cost of any major source of electricity, including coal- and natural gas-fired power plants.

“At a time when consumers are confronted with rising oil and gas prices and an increased reliance on foreign energy sources, nuclear energy provides reliable, affordable and clean electricity,” said Skip Bowman, NEI president and chief executive officer.  “Nuclear energy emits no greenhouse gases during the production of electricity, and it is available today to meet rising electricity demand and fight global warming.”

Bowman added that the 2007 performance “reflects our industry’s commitment to safety and operating excellence.  These levels of electricity production and efficiency could not—and would not—be sustained if our facilities were not operating at superior levels of safety.  The dedicated people who work in all segments of our industry are to be commended.”

Nuclear energy supplies electricity to one of every five U.S. homes and businesses.  Carbon-free sources generate about one-third of U.S. electricity production, and nuclear energy supplies more than 70 percent of that clean electricity.

The refurbishment of Browns Ferry 1 in Alabama, which returned to service in May 2007, bolstered electricity production from nuclear power plants.  The Tennessee Valley Authority completed the project within the five-year schedule at a cost of about $1.8 billion.  The 1,155-megawatt reactor alone produces enough electricity to serve 650,000 homes.

The industry also carried out plant “uprates,” or power production capacity increases, at two plants—a 55-megawatt increase at Browns Ferry 1 and a 13.7-megawatt increase at Progress Energy’s Crystal River 3 reactor in Florida.  Since 2001, the industry has implemented more than 60 uprates at U.S. nuclear plants.  Plant operators plan another 12 this year.