Could the US replace coal with Nuclear Energy?

Daniel G. Jennings
Market Mad House
Published in
4 min readSep 19, 2022

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America could generate 263.3 gigawatts of greenhouse-gas free electricity by converting 394 coal-burning power plants to nuclear power.

That means the United States could generate 263.3 billion watts of carbon-free electricity by converting coal-burning plants to nuclear. To explain, a gigawatt is a billion watts of electricity.

Utilities could install small modular nuclear reactors at 394 coal-burning power plant sites, a US Department of Energy study claims. The study found 157 closed coal plants and 237 operating coal-burning plant sites that can house small modular reactors (SMRs).

Can Small Modular Reactors Generate 263.3 gigawatts of carbon-free electricity?

Installing SMRs at 125 abandoned coal plants could provide 64.8 gigawatts (64.8 billion watts) of electricity, Investigating Benefits and Challenges of Converting Coal Plants into Nuclear Plants claims. Similarly, installing 190 operating coal plant sites could generate 198.5 gigawatts (198.5 billion watts) of electricity. I got 263.3 gigawatts by adding 198.5 gigawatts and 64.8 gigawatts.

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Daniel G. Jennings
Market Mad House

Daniel G. Jennings is a writer who lives and works in Colorado. He is a lifelong history buff who is fascinated by stocks, politics, and cryptocurrency.