Advice across the board is that nuclear power plants take a really long time and cost a lot of money. They almost always go far over time and budget. And they’re expensive to operate. Why is that so?
In: Engineering
[This study](https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(20)30458-X) does a good job explaining why nuclear plants have gotten more expensive.
As you might expect, there isn’t one single cause. They authors estimate only 1/3 of cost increases are the result of additional safety requirements. The rest is largely related to indirect or soft costs
> Indirect costs caused most (72%) of the cost increase during period 1 (1976–1987), in particular… engineering design, purchasing and expediting, estimating and cost control, planning, and scheduling… salaries and relocation expenses… materials and labor to construct and manage temporary buildings needed during construction, and payroll insurance and taxes.
Another is the decline in labor productivity. For example:
> Material deployment rates in the construction industry decreased over the period of study, falling about 14%… nuclear deployment rates declined five to six times more quickly. This productivity decline was a primary cause of nuclear cost increase. Labor interviews provide insight… **Craft laborers, for example, were unproductive during 75% of scheduled working hours**, primarily due to …lack of material and tool availability, overcrowded work areas, and scheduling conflicts between crews of different trades.
Put simply: safety is a factor, but the root of the problem is the amount and type of labor required to build and operate reactors. Not only do you have to pay for the labor (which is often expensive specialty labor), but also people to supervise and coordinate that labor and all the materials. It’s an enormous logistical challenge where any unexpected delay cascades into the next. That’s why building the same reactor doesn’t necessarily decrease costs.
The catch-22 is that attempting a new design or build process to fix this problem just creates a new set of logistical and cost challenges.
Contrast this with solar, where the same PV module is created on an automated assembly line and requires little to no maintenance or operating costs after placement in the field.
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