Seems to me the very high cost of new nuclear plants is the key deterrent to deploying new nuclear plants, at least in the U.S. and Europe. The high costs are largely the direct result of vast overregulation by the government bureaucracy. Absent a more rational regulatory approach, the financial risk is too great in most Western countries. Indeterminate costs and project completion times make for really poor investments while creating stunningly excessive costs for consumers.

As far as safety is concerned, well designed, built, and operated nuclear plants are no particular risk to the public. However, the cost for that protection is very high, particularly when measured against more conventional power plants that require no such protections.

While various advanced reactors are under development, the cost of these technologies is essentially indeterminate. In general, the machines are much more efficient than conventional nuclear plants, which means the advanced technologies will significantly reduce or eliminate the need for cooling water. The advanced technologies are generally passively fail-safe, unlike conventional nuclear plants that require power and water to keep the core from melting.

Claims that nuclear power is the savior against the alledged “climate emergency” strike me as self serving propaganda by some in the nuclear industry. Practically speaking, deploying vast numbers of expensive nuclear plants is wildly out of touch with financial reality.

Some claim that nuclear can lead to energy security. That is not true if the uranium comes from our foes, for instance Russia. That problem can be somewhat reduced by the more efficient advanced reactors, but fundamentally, the uranium should come from friendly allies, like Canada.

In closing, intermittent and unreliable renewable energy is not capable of meeting the bulk of our energy needs. That being said, green technologies can be useful in some regions. Reliable, reasonably clean, and cost effective electrical generation is required for the U.S. to thrive. The clear winner is the low cost, exceptionally efficient natural gas power plant. The U.S. has vast reserves of inexpensive natural gas.

Nuclear Power in Our World Today: Current and Future Generation (Does Its Costs Outweigh Its Benefits?)