The Economics of Nuclear Power: An Evaluation for Turkey

Countries, in which use nuclear power plants to generate electricity, have been questioning their future nuclear power generation and they have been looking for alternatives to meet their growing energy demand. In Turkey, there had not been installed any nuclear power plant in the golden age of nuclear power. And, the last attempt in 2000 had been also abandoned by the government, arguing that nuclear option was not cost-effective. In this study, the economics of nuclear power has been reviewed based on the existing studies. And, the main objective of the study is to clarify the confusion for public and to eliminate the disinformation, which is based on cost effectiveness and absence of external costs. The primary conclusion, throughout evaluation of the key determinants of nuclear economics, indicates to an unfeasible and an unattractive situation for private investors. High capital costs, long and uncertain construction periods discourage investors to invest in such a venture; without public subsidies.