Nuclear Economics: One Size Cannot Fit All

For countries contemplating joining the “nuclear renaissance” as it has been dubbed, there is an important lesson to be learned. Nuclear electricity has been and remains to be a very controversial topic characterized by wildly conflicting statistics. Multiple issues remain the subject of fierce debate, as spectacularly divergent numbers are plentiful in the literature. When performing any economic analysis of nuclear power it is critical that policymakers, scientists, and nuclear experts do so with eyes wide open and not simply pass on published results without questioning the assumptions, models, and methodologies used. When it comes to nuclear power, “one size cannot fit all” and any economic analysis should be custom-made to the specific country and location under study.