NEI published in late 2023 information about the cost of nuclear power.
[It should be noted at the outset of reviewing this document that nuclear power is inherently a long-game financial proposition, one that pays off handsomely in the long run. On the hand, natural gas, wind and solar finances revolve around short-term gains, but requiring re-investment every 10 years or so, excluding considerations of the short term O&M cost and resulting rising costs to the customer. Nuclear power is much like large hydroelectric dams where the capital costs are high but a sound longterm investment nonetheless with major financial gains in the future. See University of Illinois Professor Ruzic's lecture on the subject (here).]
In 2022, the average total generating cost for nuclear energy was $30.92 per megawatt-hour (MWh). The 2022 total generating costs were 0.8 percent lower than in 2021, and also were nearly 40 percent below 2012 costs, surpassing the goal set by the nuclear industry’s Delivering the Nuclear Promise (DNP) initiative. Total generating costs include capital, fuel, and operating costs – all the costs necessary to produce electricity from a nuclear power plant, but not to own and operate a nuclear power plant.
Cost information for the U.S. nuclear fleet is collected by EUCG, with prior years converted to 2022 dollars for accurate comparisons.
TOTAL GENERATING COSTS
The 0.8 percent reduction in total generating costs year-over-year is due to a 9.7 percent decline in fuel costs, a 16.8 percent increase in capital expenditures and a 3.4 percent decline in operating costs. The 39.6 percent reduction in total generating costs since 2012 is due to a 41.4 percent decrease in fuel costs, 50.9 percent decrease in capital expenditures and a 33.4 percent decrease in operating costs. Prior to the 2012 peak, nuclear total generating costs had increased steadily over the previous decade. The 2022 total generating costs are the lowest since EUCG started collecting industry-wide detail data in 2002.
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