Nuclear Information and Resource Service



Take Action!


Campaigns


Nuclear Monitor


Nuclear Economics

 

Chart submitted by Florida Power and Light to the Florida Public Service Commission showing cost estimates for two new reactors at Turkey Point ranging from $12.1 Billion to $24.3 Billion.

April 3, 2008: Nuclear Power Plant Electricity: A Simple Costing Manual. PDF This is a basic primer from energy consultant Philip D. Lusk that shows how to calculate the kilowatt/hour cost of electricity from a new nuclear reactor. Under the model’s fairly universal assumptions, the cost of electricity from a standard new reactor will be about 19.75 cents per kw/h. Most renewable and efficiency projects would be well below this number, and on an economic basis alone should be implemented first.

March 21, 2008: Testimony of former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford to South Carolina PSC on the economics of Duke Power’s proposed Lee reactors, nuclear power and climate and more. PDF Very useful!

February 6, 2008: Analysis of FY 2009 Department of Energy Budget, by Robert Alvarez of Institute for Policy Studies. PDF

Think New Atomic Reactors Can be Built Cheaply and On-time? Think Again! PDF 79.77KB February 2008

January 28, 2008: Mid-American Nuclear Energy cancels plans to build new reactor in Idaho, citing poor economics of nuclear power. PDF This is especially significant because Mid-American is owned by financier Warren Buffett—if he can’t figure out how to make money on a reactor, who can?

January 2008: World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2007. PDF A new report commissioned by Greens in the European Parliament concludes—contrary to assertions of a nuclear resurgence—that “the number of nuclear power plants operating in the world will most likely decline over the next two decades with a rather sharper decline to be expected after 2020.” The report focuses on the continued poor economics of nuclear power as well as its lack of infrastructure and manufacturing capacity.

November 15, 2007: 14 top energy company beneficiaries of nuclear loan guarantees spent $48 million on lobbying. Co-Op America news release. PDF

November 1, 2007: Fact sheet on Senate provision on taxpayer loan guarantees for new reactors, prepared by coalition of organizations. PDF

October 31, 2007: Letter from taxpayer groups to Senate on nuclear loan guarantees. PDF

October 30, 2007: Issue brief on taxpayer loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors, from Environmental and Energy Study Institute. PDF

EESI sponsored a Congressional briefing on loan guarantees on October 30; presentations from former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford, economist Jim Harding, and Government Accounting Office, click here.

October 17, 2007: The current Energy Bill could give unlimited authority to the Department of Energy (with no further congressional oversight) to award federal guarantees to commercial banks that finance both new nuclear and also coal to liquid construction projects. A broad alliance of groups have produced fact sheets that you can use for background in letters to the editor, calls to congress and educating your friends:
Controversial Loan Guarantees in Current Energy Bill PDF
Why Wall Street Wants American Taxpayers  to Finance Nuclear Power PDF
Foreign Companies to Benefit from U.S. Taxpayer Loan Guarantees PDF
Energy Bill Provisions Undermine Constitutional Safeguards on Taxpayer Purse PDF
Nuclear Power Loan Assistance Will Gobble Up Money For Innovative Technologies PDF

Presentation by David Schlissel of Synapse Energy Economics before the Utah State Legislature Public Utilities and Technology Committee on The Risks of Building New Nuclear Power Plants. Very good primer on nuclear economics with data on the economic pitfalls and problems that await a new generation of reactors. Presentation made September 17, 2007.

Testimony of Mary Olson, Director of NIRS' Southeast office, on North Carolina Senate Bill 3 and "Construction Work in Progress." July 16, 2007

Rep. Upton Seeks $5 Billion Taxpayer Subsidy for New Nuclear Reactors: Critics Charge He's Doing Nuclear Power Industry's. NIRS press release.June 21, 2007

New Greenpeace report on the economics of nuclear power finds that that nuclear power is neither a practical nor economically viable solution to tackling climate change. May 1, 2007

Seven Myths of the Nuclear Renaissance. Presentation by utility economist Jim Harding on the continued failure of nuclear economics. March 7, 2007 Includes a Powerpoint presentation PDF and accompanying speech in pdf format. PDF

Why New Nukes are Risky. PDF 738.29KB Coalition briefing paper on the economic risks of nuclear power, presented to Wall Street analysts. July 8, 2006

Heinrich Boell Foundation Issue Paper No. 5. The Economics of Nuclear Power: Is nuclear power economically viable? What are the insecurities in such calculations? By Steve Thomas, University of Greenwich

Nuclear Power: the Energy Balance -- a comprehensive report, including data, calculations and graphs, on the life-cycle costs -- in money, energy and carbon emissions of nuclear power, and the nuclear waste generated.

Information on the magnitude of subsidies to nuclear power in the United States from Earth Track. This material was presented at a recent symposium on nuclear power and climate change hosted by the Nuclear Policy Research Institute.