Nuclear Energy Total Costs

I left the equation in the first post dialogue (Nuclear Energy in Utah: Facts and Figures Supporting Nuclear Energy) with 26 billion dollars still on the table and not having shown how to pay for workers and uranium for 40 years. I will be showing that here.

To refresh your memory, here is the equation from the first post: $.088 per kWh (Utah Residential Rate) is multiplied by 12.2 billion kWh (the average annual kWh production of a nuclear power plant). We take this number and multiply it by the 40 year estimated nuclear power plant life and the answer is $43 billion dollars gross income.

($.088 * 12,200,000,000 kWh) * 40 years = $43,000,000,000 gross income in 40 years

Construction, decommissioning, and loans taken out to pay for those will cost about $17 billion.

$43 billion - $17 billion = $26 billion

Outside of construction and decommissioning, the average nuclear power plant will have anywhere from 400-700 permanent workers. These workers will need to be paid for 40 years. Let's take high numbers to make sure we account for everything. The median income in the United States is currently about $50,000 a year, but to be fair, let's raise that to $100,000 or 200% more than the median US household income.

$50,000 * 2.00 = $100,000

Let's multiply them all together now.

700 workers * $100,000 * 40 years = $2,800,000,000 or about $3 billion.

$26 billion - $3 billion = $23 billion

Let's take out that gross income national government 30% tax on the $43 billion.

.3 tax * $43,000,000,000 = $13,000,000,000 or $13 billion

$23 billion - $13 billion = $10 billion

This $10 billion is used for maintenance and uranium which are hard to calculate: however, it is nowhere near this much. The workers working for 40 years were only -$3 billion. Let's say then, that uranium and maintenance cost $3 billion.

$10 billion - $3 billion = $7 billion surplus.

And do you honestly think the workers average pay is $100,000? I doubt it! And, I am calculating this with Utah's low kWh rate of 8.8 cents. The national average is 12 cents. If you use 12 cents to calculate at the beginning you end up with about $17 billion surplus.

I have tried my best to get these numbers to be as accurate as they can be. On the areas where I'm not sure I have tried to overestimate the cost. Despite all of these factors I have come up with a huge surplus at the end of 40 years of an operational nuclear power plant and it is evident that there is no economical reason why they should not be used more than they are currently being used.

This shows that Nuclear Energy does indeed have the capability of making a hefty sum. It is also great for stopping energy prices from rising any higher than they have.

Thank you for reading and, hopefully, following my math.
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Sources:

http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/documentlibrary/newplants/factsheet/nuclearindustrydevelopsworkforce/?page=2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States

http://www.synapse-energy.com/Downloads/SynapsePaper.2008-07.0.Nuclear-Plant-Construction-Costs.A0022.pdf

http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=104&t=2112.

http://www.rockymountainpower.net/about/rar/rpc.html

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