Light water reactor nuclear power plant commodity cost driver analysis

Construction costs constitute the largest outlay of a nuclear power plant. Direct costs, such as the cost of materials and installation of materials and equipment, make up the majority of construction expenditures. The purpose of this study is to quantify the cost of the two most abundant materials: concrete and steel. This study shows that a 1% reduction in concrete installation rate results in a 0.6% reduction in concrete costs, and a 1% reduction in the steel installation rate creates a 0.3% reduction in steel costs. The additional cost paid for nuclear-quality concrete is shown to be 23% of total concrete budget. The additional cost paid for nuclear-quality steel is shown to be 41% of the total steel expenditures. These results show that focus on decreasing commodity expenditures (through increasing installation rate) can improve the cost of constructing nuclear power plants.