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Re:First New U.S. Nuclear Reactor in Two Decades to Begin Fu... by gh02t on Monday October 26, 2015 @09:36AM (#10451275)
Don't forget though that these plants are designed for a 50 year operating life, with some talk that they might be extended upwards to as much as 100 years, and with operating costs that are pretty low. Maintenance isn't that bad, fuel is hardly even a rounding error; waste disposal is the only significant cost long term.

Definitely a long term investment, which is why only large utilities are really interested in them. I think the direction for power generation in the US is solar/wind/hydro, but supported by nuclear in areas where solar and wind are much less attractive (like the Southeast). That's discounting the possibility of clean fusion energy (or other novel tech), which is likely inevitable but still a long way off.

Re:First New U.S. Nuclear Reactor in Two Decades to Begin Fu... by ScotterC on Monday October 26, 2015 @10:54AM (#10451847)
I've worked analysis related to extending reactor lifetimes. With correct maintenance, 100 years is going to be easy. Most of the analysis to getting them to 80 years required almost no changes.