Economics of nuclear power

A comparison of costs associated with building and operating nuclear-, coal-, and oil-fired electric generating plants in the Philadelphia Electric system indicate an economic advantage for nuclear facilities. A breakdown of average total costs shows 1.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for nuclear, 1.7 cents for coal, and 3.3 cents for oil. The advantage for nuclear is expected to increase in the future as all fuel and capital costs escalate. Ten-year estimates compare capital and fuel costs of 1100-megawatt generating units in order to make projections of costs per kilowatt-hour for the three fuels. Although nuclear fuels are assumed to be recovered and reprocessed, the projections indicate that nuclear plants would still have the advantage if this were not the case. Known reserves of uranium will last through 1990, but the use of breeder reactors could make the domestic uranium supply nearly unlimited