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Nuclear Power is tied with natural gas
as the #2 source of U.S.
electricity, providing 800 TWh electricity
per year (20% of U.S. electrical
energy). Nuclear power does not contribute to
global warming, but nuclear waste is an environmental and national
security issue. Construction costs are high but operating costs
are low; however, uranium prices have been extremely volatile. Nuclear direct costs: $60/MWh Nuclear indirect costs: $22/MWh Nuclear true price: $82/MWh (2050 prediction: $-1/MWh) |
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| Policy! |
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| Direct
Costs |
Indirect
Costs |
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| Capital Construction Costs Estimates for nuclear power plant capital construction costs vary wildly from $1000-$8000/kVe (1). We will assume $4000/kVe -- a 1200 MW nuclear power plant would cost about $5 billion to build and contribute $40/MWh. Operating Costs Nuclear plants require fissionable material, usually uranium. Uranium prices have been extremely volatile, and average prices have doubled in the past few years. Assuming a value of $50/lb, fuel contributes about $5/MWh (2). Nuclear plants have higher operating and maintenance costs due to the radioactive material, including additional security, insurance, waste disposal, and decomissioning; O&M is roughly $15/MWh. (3) |
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(1) Wikipedia.org "Economics of Nuclear Power Plants" compilation of sources of new power plant construction costs (wikipedia.org).
(2) World Nuclear Association "The Economics of Nuclear Power" (world-nuclear.org).
(3) Nuclear Energy Institute "Costs: Fuel, Operation and Waste Disposal" (nei.org).