Can nuclear really compete from a cost perspective?
ST: Measured solely on an economic basis-including operating and maintenance costs, fuel costs, future capital requirements, and administrative expenses-nuclear plants compete extremely well with other sources of electricity in a competitive generation market. And the trend continues to be encouraging. In the United States, for example, average nuclear production costs have been cut in half, from 3.0 cents per kilowatt hour in 1987 to below 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour in 2001. W-G: How important is the environmental aspect in helping to make nuclear power more attractive throughout the world? ST: Most developed nations are implementing stringent environmental goals relating to air pollution and carbon emissions. The goal of the European Union, which has ratified the Kyoto agreement, is to cut carbon emissions back to 1990 levels within the next 10 years. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve those goals without nuclear power. As more and more people come to this realizati
