The True Cost of Nuclear Power

In the name of national security the U.S. government spent at least $145 billion between 1950 and 2000 on direct research and development assistance to the nuclear industry. Without this and without many other indirect subsidies and special treatments such as the Price Anderson Act that limited the potential liability of a commercial nuclear plant operator should their facility suffer from a catastrophic radioactive accident, the US industry would never have developed as extensively as it did. And even with direct and indirect subsidies, nuclear power never lived up to its promise.

According to a July 2000 report by the Renewable Energy Policy Project, the U.S. government has spent approximately $150 billion on energy subsidies for wind, solar and nuclear power–96.3% of which has gone to nuclear power.meter.” Actual generating costs at some U.S. commercial nuclear reactors were up to six times the projected estimates at the time of construction.

Given the costly nature of producing electricity by splitting atoms, when the move to deregulate the electric utility system began in earnest in the early 1990’s, the smart money in the environmental community was on the early demise of commercial nuclear power. It was simply inconceivable that commercial reactors such as the Indian Point nuclear power plant could ever possibly be competitive in an open market situation if it weren’t subsidized. But those who believed deregulation would bring about actual honest competition in the market place badly underestimated the political and economic power of the commercial nuclear power industry and its ability to influence federal and state regulators and legislators.

One of the most prominent indirect subsidies is the practice of not factoring into the price of nuclear generated electricity the external costs associated with the entire nuclear fuel cycle – from the mining of uranium to the storage of high level and low level radioactive waste. The external costs of nuclear power include the cost of environmental damage, the effect on human health and society following an accident, damage to human health and the environment during routine operation of nuclear facilities and also long term problems associated with nuclear waste and decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

‘Externalities’ that can be translated to monetary quantification include economic effects, employment, environment, environmental impacts, health effects & government subsidies. When such quantifiable social costs are added to the core price of electricity, the total costs of nuclear power are extremely high and nuclear power no longer stays competitive against the latest generation of renewable energy.