Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinordi
The big knock on nuclear isn't necessarily the most obvious. Most people, rightly, question the security and waste issues of a large central nuclear plant. But what really doesn't make sense about nuclear is the cost. It's just a terribly high cost generation option. And it's not even the upfront costs (which are huge) but all the costs of waste management and final disposal which are never factored into a levelized cost analysis and decommissioning.
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The costs make a nuclear plant one of the cheapest options for energy. yes the up front cost is large as is the back end but that is ALL factored in to the cost of a nuclear plant project for any new design (AP-1000s for instance).
Those decommissioning and waste handling costs are factored in because the utility companies are on the hook for those costs. Things may be managed by governmental agencies but it is the utilities that pay for those programs in most countries.
Also note that the molten salt reactors are on the backburner. Instead the PWR designs are all designed with passive systems to keep things safe in case power, cooling etc are lost.