Not just upfront. Nuclear plants need staffing, security (lots of it) throughout its operational life, waste handling and storage, constant audits (and related bureaucracy) for safety, security, etc. None of that stuff is free. Additionally, nuclear plants work with materials that actually decay when exposed to lots of neutrons which I imagine needs occasional maintenance as well You need trained staff as well and a few propeller heads that actually understand the physics. These people need educations and salaries. None of that stuff is free. That's why nuclear is currently considered the most expensive form of energy in the market.
The problem with renewables (for nuclear) is that it reduces the potential revenue for a nuclear plant over its 6-7 decade lifespan to well below any level where it makes sense to build them. If you budget for 1960s era grid pricing it all looks beautiful. Then fast forward 6 decades and you have solar bids trending towards 0.01$/kwh when most nuclear plants in operation are basically closer to 0.15$/kwh.
That's the whole problem. It's the most expensive option in the market by far. a 10X improvement would make it competitive with current solutions. Except that will take a few decades. So, realistically, you'd need a second order of magnitude improvement at that point. Yes, I believe renewables can do another 10x cost reduction over the next decades; possibly more. Ballpark 0.005$/kwh is probably worth investing in for a plant that comes online around 2045 or so. That's a modest 3x cheaper than the lowest solar/wind bids right now. 25 years is a long time. In any case, last time I checked, such plants are not being planned anywhere and most nuclear bids are 10x or more expensive than that. Out of the gate they are 2-3x more expensive than solutions in the market right now. That's for a plant that has not been built yet and will take decades to get built.
The problem with renewables (for nuclear) is that it reduces the potential revenue for a nuclear plant over its 6-7 decade lifespan to well below any level where it makes sense to build them. If you budget for 1960s era grid pricing it all looks beautiful. Then fast forward 6 decades and you have solar bids trending towards 0.01$/kwh when most nuclear plants in operation are basically closer to 0.15$/kwh.
That's the whole problem. It's the most expensive option in the market by far. a 10X improvement would make it competitive with current solutions. Except that will take a few decades. So, realistically, you'd need a second order of magnitude improvement at that point. Yes, I believe renewables can do another 10x cost reduction over the next decades; possibly more. Ballpark 0.005$/kwh is probably worth investing in for a plant that comes online around 2045 or so. That's a modest 3x cheaper than the lowest solar/wind bids right now. 25 years is a long time. In any case, last time I checked, such plants are not being planned anywhere and most nuclear bids are 10x or more expensive than that. Out of the gate they are 2-3x more expensive than solutions in the market right now. That's for a plant that has not been built yet and will take decades to get built.