Ground was broken on the world’s first potential coal-to-nuclear power plant transition in June. Existing transmission lines and water infrastructure (necessary for cooling both coal-fired power equipment and nuclear reactors) mean developers could cut significant time and costs off of plant construction.

The World Nuclear Association finds costs associated with the lifespan of nuclear plants are heavily weighted toward the capital required to construct the facility, making up at least 60 percent of their levelized cost of electricity. A 2022 Department of Energy report found new nuclear power plants could cut construction costs by more than one-third.

There has been discussion in recent years about the potential for idle coal-fired power plants to serve as the foundation for new nuclear capacity. Nuclear power company TerraPower was evaluating four coal plants owned by PacifiCorp’s Rocky Mountain Power unit as potential sites for its first 345-megawatt demonstrati