16
However, in this case, fuel costs at nuclear power plants are (3-5) times lower than at other
types of power plants. For example, in the United States in 2018, fuel costs for nuclear power plants
were $ 0.0077 / kWh and (21% of variable costs), compared to $ 0.0294 / kWh for combined cycle
plants (75% variable costs) and 0.0371 USD / kW * h for a gas turbine (87%). The service life of
many operating nuclear power units is being extended, as a rule, from 40 to 60 years. Of the existing
453 units, 5% have been in operation for more than 40 years, and by 2040 about 30% of the currently
operating nuclear power plants are to be decommissioned.
The World Nuclear Association (WNA) has prepared the Harmony program - a concept for
the generation of electricity in the future. To implement the Harmonia program, the WNA has set the
following target: by 2050, 25% of the world's electricity should be generated at nuclear power plants,
for which, taking into account such factors as the decommissioning of old reactors and an increase in
electricity demand, construct 32 new nuclear power plants with an aggregate capacity of
approximately 1,000 GW (e). From an engineering point of view, the Harmony program is quite
feasible. At the same time, it is recommended that from 2016 to 2020 it is necessary to commission
10 GW of nuclear generation annually, from 2021 to 2025 - 25 GW per year, from 2025 to 2050 - 31
GW annually. In this case, by 2050, 1,000 GW of new nuclear power will be commissioned. This is
the main provisions of the "Harmony" program. Fig. 6. shows the proposed schedule for the
commissioning of new nuclear power units in the world to achieve the goals of the "Harmony"
program.
