Nuclear Power Prospects in the USA: The Continuing Problem of the Waste Issue

Abstract

This paper addresses two questions concerning the economics and prospects for nuclear power in the USA: 1) What is the long term economic future of nuclear energy? 2) Is the inability to solve the nuclear waste issue a factor that will limit new nuclear plant development? With respect to the first question, we find that the long term economic future of nuclear energy is uncertain, at best. Despite recent interest in a “nuclear renaissance,” objective, rigorous studies have concluded that, at present, new nuclear power plants are not economically competitive with coal or natural gas for electricity generation and will not be for the foreseeable future. With respect to the second question, we find that the inability to solve the nuclear waste issue will likely limit new nuclear plant development. Nuclear waste disposal poses a serous, seemingly intractable problem for the future of nuclear power, and the waste issue could be a show stopper for new nuclear plants. Thus, while some new nuclear power plants will likely be built in the U.S. over the next two decades, a major “nuclear renaissance” is unlikely.