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Publicatie Laka-bibliotheek:
Nuclear Power: The Market Test (1983)

Auteur	C.Flavin, Worldwatch
Datum	december 1983
Classificatie	6.01.0.10/31 (KOSTEN)
Voorkant

Nuclear power was considered vital to humanity's future until just a short time ago. 
Its seemingly infinite potential and the freedom from fossil fuel dependence that it 
promises made nuclear power seem inevitable. Although issues such as plant safety, 
waste disposal and the spread of atomic weapons soon created controversy, faith in 
this energy source among key decision makers remained high throughout the past 
three decades. Their confidence was based largely on economics. Whatever its other 
problems, nuclear power was sure to be less expensive than the available alternatives.

Since the late seventies, however, economic viability has joined the list of issues 
that call into question the future of nuclear power. From state regulatory hearings 
to the highest levels of national energy planning, the economics of nuclear power 
has gained center stage. One might expect careful economic analysis to provide 
some calm amid the fury, but nuclear economics has proved to be almost as hotly 
disputed as other nuclear issues. Cost estimates frequently vary by a factor of two 
or more, and economists examining the same issue often reach sharply contrasting 
conclusions.

Although analysts continue to disagree on many issues, few can doubt that a wide 
range of economic problems has buffeted nuclear power since the early seventies. 
Cost overruns on nuclear projects have become endemic and devastating. Figures 
from utilities and governments in key countries show near-universal increases in 
the real (inflation-adjusted) cost of nuclear power during the past decade. Nuclear 
power has lost substantial economic ground compared to coal-fire power-the other 
main source of new baseload generating capacity in most countries. Only in France 
and a few other nations are new nuclear plants a less expensive power source than 
new coal plants, and nowhere is nuclear power economical compared to investment 
in improved energy efficiency. In addition, dramatic slowdowns in the rates of 
growth of electricity demand in many nations have eliminated the need for many 
nuclear plants now under construction.

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