Here is a decent article. The media are generally correct in reporting that no U.S. nuclear power plant had been authorized to begin construction since the year before TMI.
According to the IAEA, the Three Mile Island accident was a significant turning point in the global development of nuclear power. From 1963-1979, the number of reactors under construction globally increased every year except 1971 and 1978. However, following the event, the number of reactors under construction in the U.S. declined every year from 1980 to 1998. Many similar Babcock and Wilcox reactors on order were canceled — in total, 51 American nuclear reactors were canceled from 1980-1984.
The 1979 TMI accident did not, however, initiate the demise of the U.S. nuclear power industry. As a result of post-oil-shock analysis and conclusions of overcapacity, 40 planned nuclear power plants had already been canceled between 1973 and 1979. No U.S. nuclear power plant had been authorized to begin construction since the year before TMI. Nonetheless, at the time of the TMI incident, 129 nuclear power plants had been approved; of those, only 53 (which were not already operating) were completed. Federal requirements became more stringent, local opposition became more strident, and construction times were significantly lengthened to correct safety issues and design deficiencies.
Globally, the cessation of increase in nuclear power plant construction came with the more catastrophic Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
