Technical and economic aspects of successful nuclear plant construction projects in the U.S. and future prospects

Taken together as stones in a mosaic, the individual successes and failures of various nuclear plant construction programs begin to form a larger picture. Certain prerequisites to good experience become apparent. They are: agreement of need, constancy of purpose, rationalization of vendor/utility organizations, stable regulatory environment and plant standardization. Equally important is a belief that power plant costs can be contained and the commitment to do something about them. A Calvinist approach to spending, namely that costs are preordained and cannot be affected by mere men, is self-defeating. There is no escaping these conclusions nor the need to implement them