The cost of nuclear

What this episode covers

Dr. Jessica Lovering, co-founder of the Good Energy Collective, explains that nuclear construction costs vary wildly globally, from $2,200/kW in South Korea to over $8,000/kW in the US, primarily due to a lack of standardized, high-volume production. She argues that unlike solar, nuclear has historically been treated as unique infrastructure projects rather than manufactured goods, leading to high engineering and project management costs. Lovering suggests that Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and micro-reactors could lower costs through factory fabrication and passive safety features, but regulatory modernization and demand-pull policies are essential to create the volume needed to drive down prices. She remains optimistic about a handful of projects coming online by 2030, despite the cancellation of the NuScale deal, by targeting diverse markets with varying reactor sizes.