Nuclear construction in the UK is expensive and slow in comparison to other countries, in part because the UK has not built any nuclear plants since the 1990s and lacks a proven supply chain, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) says. The report says the cost of building new nuclear power plants in the UK ranges from around $60 per MWh to about $140/MWh. By comparison, these costs range from about $30/MWh-$55/MWh in South Korea; $50/MWh-$120/MWh in France, $45/MWh-$125MWh in Finland; and about $58/MWh-$100/MWh in the US. The estimates are based on discount rates of three percent and 10 percent. The discount rate is an estimate of the cost of capital for a given project. No new nuclear power stations have been built in the UK for over 20 years, the report says. “The UK lacks a proven, skilled supply chain to support the construction of a new power station. The costs to build ‘first-of-a-kind’ power stations will be much higher than in countries that have rolled out new facilities, where learning and expertise can be shared.”
NucNet 14th July 2016 read more »