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New Nuke Cost Update
Oct. 26th, 2008 02:03 amMore of the same from the latest S&P report.
Nuclear Costs Pressure Industry - Toronto Star - 20 Oct 08
"''We expect that capital costs for nuclear projects will be significantly higher than what we have seen in the power industry thus far,' said the agency, referring to the unique labour and material costs associated with nuclear development. 'The nuclear construction industry will be particularly prone to price spurts from transportation bottlenecks and fuel-price swings because nuclear units require a significantly higher amount of material than do other types of power assets.'
Complicating the risks even more, it said, was a 'scanty construction track record for the new technologies and an untested regulatory process.' The nuclear industry knows it. At a World Nuclear Association conference in London last month, executives said costs have jumped so quickly they no longer wanted to publicly commit to estimates.
S&P pegs the latest cost of building a new nuclear reactor at $5,000 to $8,000 per kilowatt. That's pretty much in line with the $7,000 per kilowatt figure Moody's Investors Service, another credit-rating agency, estimated in May.
It means Ontario, where a new nuclear plant at Darlington would be at least 2,000 megawatts in size, can expect to pay between $10 billion (U.S.) and $16 billion — assuming there are no cost overruns.
Compare that the $3,000 per kilowatt 'conservative' estimate the Ontario Power Authority used in its 20-year Integrated Power System Plan, which from a cost perspective has become quite dated. Based on that figure, a 2,000-megawatt plant would cost $6 billion (Canadian).
The Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario, in filings to the energy regulator, said the power authority's assumptions need a reality check."
Nuclear Costs Pressure Industry - Toronto Star - 20 Oct 08
"''We expect that capital costs for nuclear projects will be significantly higher than what we have seen in the power industry thus far,' said the agency, referring to the unique labour and material costs associated with nuclear development. 'The nuclear construction industry will be particularly prone to price spurts from transportation bottlenecks and fuel-price swings because nuclear units require a significantly higher amount of material than do other types of power assets.'
Complicating the risks even more, it said, was a 'scanty construction track record for the new technologies and an untested regulatory process.' The nuclear industry knows it. At a World Nuclear Association conference in London last month, executives said costs have jumped so quickly they no longer wanted to publicly commit to estimates.
S&P pegs the latest cost of building a new nuclear reactor at $5,000 to $8,000 per kilowatt. That's pretty much in line with the $7,000 per kilowatt figure Moody's Investors Service, another credit-rating agency, estimated in May.
It means Ontario, where a new nuclear plant at Darlington would be at least 2,000 megawatts in size, can expect to pay between $10 billion (U.S.) and $16 billion — assuming there are no cost overruns.
Compare that the $3,000 per kilowatt 'conservative' estimate the Ontario Power Authority used in its 20-year Integrated Power System Plan, which from a cost perspective has become quite dated. Based on that figure, a 2,000-megawatt plant would cost $6 billion (Canadian).
The Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario, in filings to the energy regulator, said the power authority's assumptions need a reality check."
