![]() The only country where the costs of construction seem to have steadily decreased is South Korea. Most countries display a similar pattern of increasing costs into the 1980s, after which costs level off. Here are French costs (which some experts have suggested is an underestimate): seems to do especially badly here, but most other countries have seen steadily rising construction costs. Today the Vogtle 3 and 4 reactors are likely to come in at around $8000/KWe in overnight costs ($6000/KWe in 2010 dollars), with an actual cost of nearly double that due to financing costs. Commercial plants whose construction began in the late 1960s cost $1000/KWe or less (in 2010 dollars) plants started just 10 years later cost nine times that much. is one of steadily rising costs to build them. ![]() The story of nuclear power plants in the U.S. Why are nuclear construction costs so high, and why do they so frequently increase? Let’s take a look. Two reactors being built in Georgia (the only current nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S.) are projected to cost twice their initial estimates, and two South Carolina reactors were canceled after costs rose from $9.8 billion to $25 billion. In the 1980s, several nuclear power plants in Washington were canceled after estimated construction costs increased from $4.1 billion to over $24 billion, resulting in a $2 billion bond default from the utility provider. nuclear power has been hampered by steady and dramatic increases in nuclear power plant construction costs, frequently over the life of a single project. People are often enthusiastic about nuclear power because of its potential to decarbonize electricity production, produce electricity extremely cheaply and reduce the risk of grid disruption from weather events.īut U.S. Nuclear power currently makes up slightly less than 20% of the total electricity produced in the U.S., largely from plants built in the 1970s and 80s. Plants have gotten radically more expensive, even as technology has improved and we understand the underlying science better. Nuclear plant construction is often characterized as exhibiting “negative learning.” That is, instead of getting better at building plants over time, we’re getting worse. What does it cost to build nuclear power? ![]()
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