For decades, this large, reliable, and cheap energy source has been supplying electricity to the United States - now it is facing a crisis. The economic environment has changed, and it is precisely this spirit of the times that has kept pace with the times that made nuclear power prosperous. Cheap natural gas and renewable energy are devouring its former market. In the past few years, there have been several large factories that have been shut down continuously. Earlier this week, another major power company announced that it would shut down a 685 MW plant in Massachusetts. However, this production line was not replaced by any other project.

Yes, the bottleneck of nuclear power is coming.

Look at what we did? The top news in the United States in recent weeks has been the decline in coal-based energy production capacity. However, the nuclear energy industry, which accounts for 20% of the nation's electricity supply, is also gradually declining. It stands to reason that nuclear energy should survive in the current environment: after all, it is a non-polluting energy source. The use of nuclear energy should meet the goal of reducing emissions today. However, this is not the case for the following reasons.

The history of the development of nuclear energy is not long. After the accident on the Sanli Island in 1979, a nuclear reactor was destroyed and the United States immediately halted a new nuclear project. Even after several years, the development of this industry is still stalled. From then on until 1996, "WattsBar1" was allowed to go online in Tennessee. At the same time, no other nuclear power plant was shut down except for a set of installations at a landmark facility in Connecticut in 2001. In 2011, the U.S. Energy Information Administration stated that there were 104 nuclear power plants in the United States.

However, the situation has changed. In 2012, Southern California Edison Power Company shut down two sets of equipment for its ultra-large nuclear power plant in Sanonofrio; in mid-2013, the company announced that the two devices will never be on-line. With a total capacity of more than two gigawatts, they account for almost 2% of the nation's nuclear capacity. In February 2013, Duke Power shut down the Crystal River nuclear power plant in northern Tampa (capacity: 860 MW). In May 2013, Dominic also shut down the 560MW Kiwani power station on Lake Michigan in the Wisconsin coast. In December 2014, Antege closed the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. These closed factories have led to a 4% reduction in nuclear power in the United States. More collapses are coming. A few years ago, Essence announced that they would turn off the Oyster River nuclear power plant in New Jersey before 2019. Similarly, the Massachusetts Pilgrimage Nuclear Power Plant is about to close.