I think nuclear is expensive in part because we didn’t build enough of it. The more you build of something the more costs come down.
An opportunity was lost in the 80s when everybody abandoned nuclear as oil prices were coming down and energy demand stagnated. And Three Mile Island just happened which, understandably, made utilities nervous to invest in nuclear.
China and South Korea have much lower plant build cost and timelines. The really high delays and cost increases in the west are more an indication of problems in beauracracy and contract writing than fundamental to nuclear technology.
I think nuclear is expensive in part because we didn’t build enough of it. The more you build of something the more costs come down.
An opportunity was lost in the 80s when everybody abandoned nuclear as oil prices were coming down and energy demand stagnated. And Three Mile Island just happened which, understandably, made utilities nervous to invest in nuclear.
China and South Korea have much lower plant build cost and timelines. The really high delays and cost increases in the west are more an indication of problems in beauracracy and contract writing than fundamental to nuclear technology.