Issues to Improve the Prospects of Financing Nuclear Power Plants

This publication discusses issues related to the financing of nuclear power plants once a decision has been made to introduce nuclear power as part of the national energy portfolio. The focuses in issues of government commitment, technology, capital cost, return on investment, physical infrastructure, fuel supply, spent fuel and waste management, and decommissioning. It emphasizes that a credible, practical, and substantiated strategy is important from initial nuclear power project development to operation and decommissioning. The target audience for this publication is decision makers, advisers, senior managers and economists in government as well as investors, utilities, industrial organizations and regulatory bodies in countries intending to build a nuclear power plant for the first time. It would also be of interest to those who are either seeking to make a significant increase in nuclear power from a small but already existing base, or those who are restarting a dormant programme.