Operational Cost
About
Operational Cost captures the ongoing expenses required to operate, maintain, fuel, and ultimately retire a nuclear reactor over its lifetime. These costs directly affect electricity prices, long-term affordability, and operator viability. The tool does not assess the unit cost of the reactor; it accounts for site-specific aspects, such as the cost of labor, grid characteristics, and local taxes and fees.
This criterion differentiates between designs based on technology choices, such as fuel type, passive safety features, and choice of moderator, which affect operational costs. It evaluates operational cost across indicators that reflect both routine operating expenses and long-term liabilities, using standardized assumptions to enable comparison across reactor designs. These are estimates and projections; actual costs depend on deployment conditions, technical requirements, scale, and other implementation-specific factors.
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Indicator Breakdown
Weight 15%
Fuel Cost
Core question
What is the estimated cost of nuclear fuel per unit of electricity generated, including enrichment, fabrication, and back-end costs?
Fuel Cost is the estimated cost (in U.S. dollars) of nuclear fuel per unit of electricity generated, including enrichment, fuel fabrication, fuel use efficiency, and back-end handling or treatment costs. This indicator captures both fuel-cycle complexity and sensitivity to enrichment and fabrication infrastructure availability.
Coding rules
- 1 — More than $20/MWh
- 2 — $9-$20/MWh
- 3 — Less than $8/MWh
Weight 25%
Maintenance Cost
Core question
What is the expected annual maintenance cost for the reactor and balance of plant systems, including consumables?
Maintenance Cost is the annual cost (in U.S. dollars) to maintain the reactor and balance-of-plant systems, including routine inspections, component replacement, and consumables. This indicator reflects mechanical and thermal complexity, automation level, operating conditions, and labor intensity of maintenance activities.
Coding rules
- 1 — Greater than or equal to $55 million
- 2 — $30 million to less than $55 million
- 3 — $5 million to less than $30 million
- 4 — Less than $5 million
Weight 40%
Staffing Level
Core question
How many full-time personnel are required to safely operate and maintain the reactor unit?
Staffing Level is the estimated number of full-time personnel required to operate and maintain a single reactor unit, including security, control room, engineering, and support staff. This indicator captures operational simplicity, automation, regulatory staffing requirements, and the extent of centralized or remote operations.
Coding rules
- 1 — More than 500 staff
- 2 — 301-500 staff
- 3 — 101-300 staff
- 4 — 50-100 staff
- 5 — Fewer than 50 staff
Weight 10%
Spent Fuel & Radioactive Waste Management Cost
Core question
What are the expected operational costs associated with managing spent fuel, including interim storage, transport, disposal, or recycling?
Spent Fuel & Radioactive Waste Management Cost captures operational costs associated with managing spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste over the reactor lifetime, including interim storage, transportation, and final disposal. It reflects waste form characteristics, handling and storage complexity, storage duration, and back-end infrastructure.
Coding rules
Indicator score drawn from the reactor’s Spent Fuel & Radioactive Waste Management criterion score.
Weight 10%
Decommissioning Cost
Core question
What are the total lifetime contributions required for decommissioning, regardless of funding mechanism?
Decommissioning Cost reflects the total lifetime contributions (in U.S. dollars) required for reactor decommissioning, regardless of funding mechanism or timing. This indicator reflects plant size, contamination and activation levels, dismantlement complexity, and long-term site remediation requirements.
Coding rules
- 1 — Greater than or equal to $700 million
- 2 — $500 million to less than $700 million
- 3 — $300 million to less than $500 million
- 4 — $100 million to less than $300 million
- 5 — Less than $100 million
