Mistaken Cost of Nuclear Plant

The most common mistake in Cost-Benefit business models is not including all of the cost factors in the model. This mistake jumps off the page from President for Progress Energy Jeff Lyash's letter on the cost effectiveness of nuclear energy.

While nuclear energy has known cost effective benefits over fossil fuels, rarely do these cost-benefit analyses include factors such as the cost of protecting the plant from terrorist attacks (which they have refused to do), the cost of transporting the nuclear waste out safely on trucks and trains (also vulnerable to crashes and attacks), the cost of storing nuclear waste, and the cost to the environment for storing the waste, and the drain on state water resources.

Plus, in the event that there is an accident, the consequences should be weighted much higher for that potential cost. In nuclear power, the costs of human mistakes are much higher than for other types of fuel. Furthermore, until Progress Energy can assure fire regulators that their protocols are practiced and safe, the NRC may fine or block new projects, also escalating the costs for nuclear power. For these reasons, including possible terror attacks and nuclear waste’s toll on the environment, the cost of nuclear energy is much higher than business leaders think.