From: aa139@Freenet.carleton.ca (Mike Lynch)
Subject: Re: Nuclear Power and Climate Change
Organization: National Capital Freenet, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 03:15:49 GMT


A word on costs:
 
A.
 
Source: Energy Information Administration, "An Analysis of Nuclear Power 
Plant Construction Costs", (DOE/EIA-0485), p. x-xii.
 
EIA computations based on data from EIA form EIA-254.
 

Total costs were gathered for 75 nuclear power plants in operation by the 
end of 1986.  "Figure ES1 indicates that the total cost including 
financing charges, expressed in 1982 dollars, increased from about 
$700/kwe for plants that entered into construction in 1966-1967 to about 
$3100/kwe for units that entered construction about 8 years later.  Of the 
total increase of about $2400/kwe, approximately $1800/kwe was due to 
escalation in the real costs (i.e. the quantities of land, labor, 
materials, and equipment used for construction).  The remaining $600 of 
the increase was due to increases in the time related costs (increases due 
to escalation in the relative prices and financial charges over the 
construction period)."
 
Figure ES1, which I wish was convenient to post shows the overnight costs 
increasing from about $540/kwe to about $2300/kwe (1966/67 to 1976/77 
year of construction start). 
 
B.
 
Source: Ontario Hydro, Economics of CANDU-PHW-1985, NGD-10, Toronto, 
August 1986, page 27, referenced in the Report of the House of Commons, 
Standing Committee on Energy Mines and Resources, "Nuclear Energy: 
Unmasking the Mystery", p. 137.
 
Trend in Ontario Hydro Nuclear Station Costs, Measured in Current Dollars 
per kilowatt of installed net electrical equivalent capacity:
 
 
Station            Specific Cost         Year in Service
                    ($/kwe)
 
Actual Cost
Pickering A         362.4                 1971-1973
Bruce A             606.0                 1977-1979
 
 
Estimated Cost
Pickering B        1871.1                 1983-1986
Bruce B            1821.8                 1984-1987
Darlington         3095.3                 1988-1992
 
 
C. 
 
Source: Los Alamos National Laboratory, "The Future Market for Electric 
Generating Capacity: Technical Documentation", LA-10285-MS, March 1985, 
p.55.
 
"The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) (1984, 76) report contains 
estimated costs of 46 nuclear plants currently under construction; only 
six of these plants are estimated to cost $1500/kwe or less.  Most of the 
plants are estimated to cost over $2000/kwe, and 11 of them are 
estimated to cost over $3000/kwe."
 
D.
 
Please note that the above costs are based on actual experience.  There 
are many reports detailing cost experience and cost comparisons.  The 

nuclear industry in Canada as in the US and elsewhere clearly are intent 
in bringing capital costs down.  However experience does suggest that a 
six year lead time for construction is very optimistic. I would like to 
quote one further report that is available through the Nuclear Energy 
Agency and is completed on an annual basis.  It compares costs for 
nuclear, coal, and I believe some other options in several OECD member 
countries (UNIPEDE).
 
Should anyone wish to receive further references on costing methodologies 
for nuclear and coal stations, I would be delighted to supply.
 
The point of the above comments is to show that capital costs exclusive of 
interest duing construction are approaching if not over $2000/kwe.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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