Nuclear power is the most capital-intensive form of energy supply, with the possible exception of a few large hydroelectric projects. Interest payments on existing international debt are crippling the development plans of many countries, and capital continues to be a scarce resource in most of the rest of the Third World. International borrowing for electric power already exceeds 40 percent of total annual public investment in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, South Korea, and Mexico. Nuclear power would increase the debt burden in these countries even further. And because the World Bank, an important source of funds for power development, does not finance nuclear projects, borrowers must seek loans at higher costs in the private capital markets.
Nuclear plants are traditionally large scale.
Conventional fission electric plants are most efficient in gigawatt-scale installations. Because the cost of extending the distribution grid into rural areas is often prohibitive, nuclear energy seems useful only in large urban centers which already have distribution systems. The development of more efficient, smaller reactors has been a goal of the Indian nuclear program, however. This would have important implications for nuclear prospects.6 Nuclear power requires a strong supporting infrastructure. Planning, regulating, and operating nuclear plants and disposing nuclear waste demand high technical expertise, including many doctorate and master-level engineers and physicists.