World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2009

From the news release, "Nuclear decline set to continue, says report," by Nuclear Engineering International:

Nuclear will continue to decline according to a new report. At this point there is no obvious sign that the international nuclear industry could turn the decline into a promising future, it says. ...

The report says that there seems to be a “widening gap” between the industrial reality with its current trends and the "perception of some sort of nuclear renaissance”.

From the report:

The flagship EPR project at Olkiluoto in Finland, managed by the largest nuclear builder in the world, AREVA NP, has turned into a financial fiasco. The project is more than three years behind schedule and at least 55% over budget, reaching a total cost estimate of €5 billion ($7 billion) or close to €3,100 ($4,400) per kilowatt.

There are numerous ways by which governments have organized or tolerated subsidies to nuclear power. They range from direct or guaranteed government loans to publicly funded research and development (R&D). Direct ownership of subsidized nuclear fuel chain facilities, government funded nuclear decommissioning and waste management, generous limited liability for accidents and the transfer of capital costs to ratepayers via stranded cost rules or special rate-basing allowances are all common in many countries.