Nuclear

(Updated 1/30/01)

Resource base

Uranium

World reserves

U.S. reserves

Costs of tapping the resource base

Costs reflected in market price

Mining, enrichment/fuel fabrication, power plants, plant decommissioning, some waste disposal costs

Costs arguably not reflected in market price (and size of such costs)

Full cost of nuclear waste disposal (Executive Summary of Planning Information Corporation report for the State of Nevada)

Current and forecasted market price

Current plants producing electricity at competitive prices (discounting sunk cost of the plant)

Unknown cost of future plants

Barriers to expanded use

Waste disposal

Cost of new safer generation of power plants

Public acceptance

Current policies to overcome barriers

R&D on new generation of reactors

Nuclear Waste Policy Act to develop permanent storage

Potential actions to overcome existing cost barriers and future cost barriers

Weakening disposal standards

Financial incentives for construction of a new generation of reactors

Potential actions to include costs allegedly not reflected in market price

Reflect the full cost of repository development in the existing fee on nuclear generation