The latest data on the status of renewable energy in the U.S. has revealed which states are producing the most electricity via nuclear power.
Data from the Energy Information Administration, which monitors the energy output of every state by different energy sources, includes statistics on which states are producing the most nuclear power.
When mapped by Newsweek, the data shows that 28 states produce electricity by using nuclear fuels in some way. The data was gathered from the month of September 2024, and all measurements were made in thousand megawatt-hours (MWh).
The state producing the most nuclear power was Illinois, which produced 7,654 MWh. This is expected, as Illinois has more nuclear power plants than any other state in the U.S., with 11 reactors.
The second-best state for nuclear energy is Pennsylvania, with 6,285 MWh, followed by South Carolina (4,355 MWh). Southern states in particular saw strong investment in nuclear power, with Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee each producing over 2,000 MWh of electricity.
Since 2019, three states consistently generate more than half of their in-state electricity via nuclear power; New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Illinois.
Twenty-two states did not produce any power via nuclear fuel in the last month, and these states were largely located in the northwest, with no states north of New Mexico and west of Nebraska producing nuclear power apart from California and Washington. There are also no nuclear power plants in Hawaii or Alaska.
There are some political reasons behind this. Firstly, several states have restrictive laws around the handling of nuclear waste that makes it harder to develop nuclear energy. For example, in 1980, Oregon banned the construction of nuclear reactors until the federal government built a nuclear waste site.
Additionally, California passed a similar law in 1976, leading to the closure of several reactors. Now, only one plant, Diablo Canyon, is actively producing power in the state.
The new findings come as President-elect Donald Trump's new administration is set to make drastic changes in energy policy. While the campaign itself has not made any specific statements on nuclear power, Trump has voiced skepticism several times.
Most notably, during his interview with Joe Rogan, Trump told the podcaster that nuclear reactors "get too big, and too complex and too expensive. I think there's a little danger in nuclear."
"They did one in Alabama. They did one in, I think, South Carolina. They do them wrong," Trump said, highlighting the southern states with the highest nuclear output. "They build these massive things. Then the environmentalists get in."
Newsweek contacted the Trump transition team for clarification on his stance via email.
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