원자력 발전소 비용의 비교 분석 (Nuclear Costs in Context)
본 보고서는 원자력 에너지를 사용해 전기 생산 시의 비용 추세와 산업계의 무탄소 전력의 가치에 대해 설명합니다.
In 2021, the average total generating cost for nuclear energy was $29.13 per megawatt-hour (MWh). The 2021 total generating costs were not only 4.8 percent lower than in 2020, but also were nearly 38.9 percent below 2012 costs, surpassing the nuclear industry’s Delivering the Nuclear Promise (DNP) initiative. Total generating costs include capital, fuel, and operating costs – all the costs necessary to produce electricity from a nuclear power plant, but not to own and operate a nuclear power plant. Cost information for the U.S. nuclear fleet is collected by EUCG, with prior years converted to 2021 dollars for accurate comparisons.
The intent of the cost data, collected by EUCG, is to perform benchmarking comparisons on operating and maintenance and capital costs among nuclear power plant operators. The total generating costs presented in this paper do not represent the full costs of operations, as it does not include market and operational risk management, property taxes, depreciation and interest costs, spent fuel storage costs or returns on investment that would be key factors in decision-making about continued operation of a nuclear plant. Risk is a significant cost component of operating a nuclear power plant. As baseload power suppliers, nuclear power plants do not respond to market signals in the same way peaking power plants do and may incur losses based on market price volatility that does not affect other generating technologies. The immense amount of power that nuclear plants produce also amplifies the potential losses due to changes in electricity market prices. This type of risk is known as market risk, which is the risk borne by nuclear power plant operators due to volatility in electricity market prices. Nuclear power plants also face operational risks. Because nuclear power plants are fixed cost assets, meaning their costs do not vary proportionally to their electricity output, any unforeseen loss in contracted generation due to equipment failures or forced outages will increase the plant’s cost per MWh dramatically. Additionally, when a plant experiences an unplanned outage, it must also procure additional power for the grid due to contractual obligations, which due to market dynamics is typically higher for nuclear plants than the payments they would have received if operating. In order for owners to sustain the operation of a nuclear power plant, the cost of the associated risk must be covered. Recent legislation at the state and federal level recognizes nuclear power for its positive externalities related to carbon-free electricity generation at a level that also accounts for inherent market and operational risks.