Estimating the Levelized Cost of Electricity of the First Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh

Abstract

In this work, an economic study of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is conducted. It is the first nuclear power plant being constructed in Bangladesh. Correlation from available literature is used to predict the net power output of VVER-1200 type nuclear power plant in the weather condition of Bangladesh. This predicted value is used to estimate the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of the plant. Results reveal that the estimated LCOE for the plant is 91.19 $/MWh for 50 years operating life, lower than most of its conventional and renewable competitors. However, LCOE of the nuclear power plant becomes higher than that of coal-based power plants in the country if the plant lifetime is 20 years. This is, however, very unlikely since the average lifetime of a nuclear power plant is much longer. Therefore, Rooppur nuclear power plant is found to be a feasible option from geo-economic point of view.