Nuclear energy: an analysis of the societal costs and benefits

The generation of nuclear energy is from a financial/economic point of view characterised by the high up-front costs (capital intensiveness) and the long duration (we use 60 years for our calculations) where (constant dispatchable) energy can be produced at very low marginal costs. Given the patience required, every private company will demand a clear commitment from the government. This usually will be difficult to make concrete, or in the case of guaranteed prices, will be very costly for the government/society. Many studies therefore arrive at high costs (i.e. inefficiency) for nuclear energy generation.

We believe that the Dutch government can provide commitment at relatively low cost by financing a large part of the initially required capital. Since the government is then "in the same boat" as the private operator, the latter can be assured that the government will not change its mind halfway through (i.e. after 30 years!). From a social point of view, such a commitment is desirable because of the CO₂ reduction that, certainly in later years, will generate a great deal of prosperity. After all, in the short term (10 years) we can still take major (efficient) steps with, for example, wind & solar energy, but in the medium term we also need an energy source that can deliver constantly & reliably. The costs in terms of emissions of the 'next best alternative' after nuclear (e.g. natural gas) will in the long term be so high that the (medium) long-term returns (in tCO₂eq) more than make up for the initial investment in terms of social return.