Nuclear Energy Economical Viability

Abstract

Recent construction technique developments and technology evolution have made the nuclear option a cost competitive option with other load base technologies such as coal and combined cycle facilities based on natural gas. Construction period, from first concrete to commercial operation, is around five years, as it has been confirmed by the most recent reactors built in Asia (e.g. Japan and China). At present, the cost for a new nuclear power plant has dropped overnight and is lower than in the past. The different reactors suppliers are offering new plants between 1200 and 1600 USD/kW with an output power between 1100 and 1600 MWe. In this work different scenarios of electricity generation using combined cycles by using natural gas and nuclear power stations are assessed from an economical point of view. The scenarios considered comprise three different discount rates, 5 %, 8 % and 10 %.