Possible short and long term evolution in the cost of PWRs nuclear fuel and coal

Cost evolution is a problem which keeps coming up whenever there is discussion about an energy policy. This paper identifies the causes of the charges of the past in order to give a better understanding of the costs of nuclear fuels and examines the reliability of the present forecasts. For this purpose the French case is used as an example. The conclusion is as follows: The cost of the nuclear fuel cycle should remain at about 6 centimes/kWh in constant francs as they were on 1.1.84, if the price of uranium does not increase by more than 2% per annum, since an increase in this item is more than balanced by the anticipated fall in the enrichment and reprocessing costs after amortization of the relevant plants. In fact, the main parameter is the price of coal. If it remains constant, the competitiveness of nuclear fuel will not decline but will, on the contrary, increase appreciably, even given a moderate rise in coal price