Economics

The resources in this section provide information about the economics of nuclear energy, including the cost of power plants, project financing considerations and trends, incentives and markets.

 

This journal article presents a comparative review of the renewable energy sectors and sharing opportunities in China, India and Pakistan and foresees a significant role for nuclear energy in the future regional energy mix. The authors describe these opportunities in the context of regional development and security. They also detail future energy demands and renewable energy targets, a comparison of renewable energy sectors, resource mixes, and projects.
This journal article provides an overview of the economics, opportunities, barriers and technology for nuclear desalination. The author proposes a value stack approach for desalination but acknowledges that the countries for which the technology would be most useful are generally not nuclear powers.
This report provides modeled projections of domestic energy markets through 2050, and it includes cases with different assumptions about macroeconomic growth, world oil prices, and technological progress. It predicts that use of renewables and liquefied natural gas will become dominant while coal and nuclear use will decline, with no new plants being built after 2021.
This techno-economic study, using the Desalination Economic Evaluation Program developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, shows that by 2030, China will have the capacity to produce 23.1 billion cubic meters of water annually, at $0.86/cubic meter, as a coproduct of electricity generation through nuclear power, provided the country favors desalination over water diversion. The authors argue that this policy is more economical and less risky than diversion over the long term.

This journal article addresses recent trends in the private finance of nuclear power projects. The authors focus on the changing risk factors and ownership structures that can be employed to mitigate risk as well as contractual arrangements that can lower the fiscal burden associated with nuclear power projects for both governmental and private investors.

This journal article presents a study to evaluate the status of small modular nuclear reactors and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-assisted desalination projects for the Middle East and North Africa region. The authors (1) discuss the potential of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for adopting nuclear reactors and coupled nuclear reactor desalination, (2) examine the theoretical and computational techniques that could be best suited for adopting nuclear desalination and (3) discuss the techno-economics analysis of CAREM and SMART nuclear reactors with cost estimation.