Nuclear Power Plant Economics Calculator
Computes the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) for a nuclear power plant by combining capital investment, discounted O&M costs, plant capacity, capacity factor, and operational lifetime. Use it to compare nuclear economics against other generation technologies.
Last updated: September 2026
Formula below · 2 sources (nrc.gov, Wikipedia) · Updated Sep 2026
Compare with similar
About this calculator
The Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) is the constant price per MWh that recovers all costs over the plant's life at the chosen discount rate. With a capital cost C, annual operating and maintenance cost O&M, and the same output every year, it reduces to: LCOE = (C × CRF + O&M) / annual MWh, where the capital recovery factor CRF = r(1 + r)ⁿ / ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1) spreads the capital over n years at discount rate r (CRF = 1/n at r = 0), and annual MWh = capacity (MW) × capacity factor × 8,760 h. Include fuel cost in the O&M figure if you want it counted (typically $5–8/MWh for nuclear). The capital cost should be the overnight cost plus interest during construction; for long nuclear builds that interest can add 20–50%, which is the main reason published LCOEs for new plants ($120–200/MWh) are far above this simple overnight-cost figure.
How to use
Example: capital $6 billion, 1,000 MW, 92% capacity factor, 40-year life, $100 million/year O&M, 7% discount rate. Step 1: CRF = 0.07 × 1.07⁴⁰ / (1.07⁴⁰ − 1) = 0.07 × 14.974 / 13.974 = 0.07501. Step 2: annualised capital = 6,000,000,000 × 0.07501 = $450.1 million. Step 3: annual output = 1,000 × 0.92 × 8,760 = 8,059,200 MWh. Step 4: LCOE = (450.1 + 100) million / 8,059,200 = $68.26/MWh. The defaults ($8 billion, 1,200 MW, 60 years) give $71.33/MWh.
Frequently asked questions
What is LCOE and why is it used to evaluate nuclear power plant economics?
Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) is the net present value of all costs over a power plant's lifetime divided by the total lifetime electricity output, giving a single $/MWh figure. It allows fair comparison between technologies with very different cost structures — for example, nuclear has high upfront capital costs but low fuel costs, while gas has lower capital costs but significant ongoing fuel expenditure. LCOE is widely used by energy planners, investors, and regulators to assess the long-run competitiveness of different generation options. However, LCOE does not capture the value of dispatchability, grid services, or the social cost of carbon, so it should be considered alongside broader system-level analysis.
How does the capacity factor affect the levelised cost of electricity for a nuclear plant?
Capacity factor is the ratio of actual electricity output to maximum possible output at full capacity, expressed as a percentage. Nuclear plants typically achieve capacity factors of 88–93%, among the highest of any generation technology, because they run as baseload and have infrequent planned outages. Since the denominator of the LCOE formula is directly proportional to the capacity factor, increasing it from 80% to 92% reduces LCOE by about 13% while keeping all costs fixed. Even a few percentage points of improvement in capacity factor — achieved through better maintenance scheduling, fuel management, or refuelling optimisation — can save hundreds of millions of dollars over a plant's 40–60 year life.
Why does the discount rate have such a large impact on nuclear power plant economics?
Nuclear power plants are extremely capital-intensive with most costs incurred upfront during construction, which typically takes 5–15 years before a single kilowatt-hour is generated. A high discount rate reduces the present value of future revenues while the full capital cost must be paid today, dramatically worsening the economics. Conversely, operating costs and fuel costs occur far in the future and are relatively small, so discounting helps nuclear compared to fossil fuels in that regard. Studies show that reducing the discount rate from 10% to 5% can cut nuclear LCOE by 30–40%, which is why public financing, loan guarantees, and regulated utility models are often proposed to improve the investment case for new nuclear capacity.