Nuclear power is also competitive economically — high capital...

Nuclear power is also competitive economically — high capital costs (2–3 times as
high as coal–fired and 5–6 times as high as gas–fired) are offset by low ongoing fuel,
operating, and maintenance costs. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute in the
U.S. (2007 figures), an average cost of US$1.76/kWh for nuclear power compares to
US$2.47/kWh for coal–fired and US$6.78/kWh for gas–fired. Importantly, unlike the
alternatives, nuclear plants are fairly insensitive to feedstock pricing, as the cost of
uranium accounts for less than 10% of the cost of producing electricity.
Globally there are 436 reactors in operation today, annually consuming some 168 million