The RIC Report
The nuclear necessity
9 May 2023
In 1951, the Experimental Breeder reactor in Idaho became the first nuclear reactor to generate electricity. Commercial nuclear power plants followed later in the 1950s.
Nuclear in numbers
1. 437: the number of reactors in the world today. 90% were built in the 1970s & 80s. 60 new reactors are under construction, 100 are planned, and old reactors are being
refurbished for 80 years or more of total lifetime use.1 2
2. >50%: the nuclear share of emissions-free electricity in the US. Nuclear power is
25% of global carbon-free power and 10% of global electricity overall.3 4
3. 60: gigatons of CO2emissions avoided in the past 50 years due to nuclear power.5
93%: average “uptime” for nuclear plants. It’s 35% for wind and 25% for solar.7
22¢/kWh: electricity cost in France (>70% nuclear); in Germany, 40¢ (0%). In the US, it’s 14¢/kWh in South Carolina (56% nuclear)
or 27¢ in California (10%).9
$122/MWh: average cost to build & generate nuclear power on an “all-in” basis; wind plus battery storage costs $291/MWh, solar plus batteries $413 (Exhibit 20). Where supplies come from
Uranium is an abundant resource with some estimates suggesting that the Earth’s crust contains 35 trillion tons. Two-thirds of uranium production today comes from
Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia. 35% of US uranium is imported from Kazakhstan with another 14% from Russia. Canada (15%) and Australia (14%) are the other main US
suppliers.
Australia has 1.7 million tons of reserves, accounting for almost 30% of known
uranium deposits (Exhibit 8).
2.Cost
Industry research suggests that, after accounting for efficiency, storage needs, the cost of transmission, and other broad system costs, nuclear power plants are one of the least expensive sources of energy.
Longevity: nuclear power plants can last anywhere from 40 to 100 years with proper maintenance while solar panels and wind farms are replaced after 20-30 years. A solar farm may need to be replaced as many as five times during the
operable life of a nuclear plant.
https://advisoranalyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/bofa-the-ric-report-the-nu... The US data shows 14 cents Kwh for nuclear power which is less than half of what we're paying.