Nuclear Fuel Cost Calculator
Nuclear's cost structure inverts the typical power plant story: fuel is a remarkably small share of total generation cost, while capital recovery and financing dominate. This calculator takes a nuclear plant's capacity (MW), capacity factor (%), fuel cost ($/MWh), and an illustrative wholesale price ($/MWh), then reports the annual generation, the annual fuel cost, and fuel cost as a percentage of illustrative revenue. It pairs naturally with our Nuclear Plant Capacity Factor & Output Calculator for the generation side of the same plant, and with our planned SMR Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) Calculator for the full capital-cost side of nuclear economics.
1,100 MW is representative of a large single-unit nuclear reactor.
The U.S. nuclear fleet has averaged 92-93% capacity factor in recent years -- the highest of any major generation source.
Nuclear fuel cost is commonly cited at $5-7/MWh -- remarkably low compared to fossil fuels, since uranium contains an enormous amount of energy per unit of mass.
Used only to illustrate fuel cost as a share of revenue -- adjust to your specific market's typical wholesale or PPA price.
plant capacity (MW) × 8760 × (capacity factor (%) ÷ 100)
annual generation (MWh/year) × fuel cost ($/MWh)
(annual fuel cost ($) ÷ illustrative annual revenue ($)) × 100
Results update live as you type. For planning and field-check estimates — always verify against applicable standards and equipment ratings.
How we calculate this →Nuclear's cost structure inverts the typical power plant story: while natural gas fuel often represents 60-70% of LCOE, nuclear fuel costs just $6/MWh -- roughly 12% of illustrative wholesale revenue in this example. The other ~88% goes toward capital recovery, operations, and maintenance, which is exactly why nuclear economics live and die by construction cost and financing, not fuel price volatility. This is also why nuclear plants are remarkably insulated from the kind of fuel-price swings that affect natural gas generation.
How nuclear fuel cost is calculated
This calculator converts a nuclear plant's nameplate capacity, capacity factor, fuel cost per MWh, and an illustrative wholesale price into annual generation, annual fuel cost, and fuel cost as a share of illustrative revenue. Three quantities tie the calculation together.
Annual Generation (MWh/year) = Plant Capacity (MW) × 8760 × (Capacity Factor (%) ÷ 100). Multiplying the nameplate capacity by the 8,760 hours in a year gives the theoretical maximum energy if the plant ran at full output continuously; the capacity factor converts that into real annual production. At the defaults — 1,100 MW and 92.5% capacity factor — that is 1,100 × 8,760 × 0.925 = 8,913,300 MWh/year.
Annual Fuel Cost ($) = Annual Generation (MWh/year) × Fuel Cost ($/MWh). The fuel cost per MWh captures the full uranium supply chain — mining/purchase, conversion, enrichment, and fabrication into finished fuel assemblies — expressed as a levelized cost per unit of electricity generated. At the defaults — 8,913,300 MWh/year and $6/MWh — that is 8,913,300 × $6 = $53,479,800/year.
Fuel Cost as % of Illustrative Revenue (%) = (Annual Fuel Cost ($) ÷ Illustrative Annual Revenue ($)) × 100, where Illustrative Annual Revenue ($) = Annual Generation (MWh/year) × Illustrative Wholesale Price ($/MWh). This ratio shows how small a share fuel represents of the revenue a nuclear plant's output could earn at a representative market price — a stark contrast to fossil plants, where fuel often dominates. At the defaults — $53,479,800 fuel cost against 8,913,300 × $50 = $445,665,000 illustrative revenue — that is (53,479,800 ÷ 445,665,000) × 100 = 12.0%.
Two notes on the model. First, the illustrative wholesale price is not a forecast or a plant's actual revenue — it is a reference price used only to express fuel cost as a share of revenue; a nuclear plant's real economics depend on its financing structure, regulated rate recovery, or PPA terms, not spot wholesale prices. Second, this calculator covers only fresh fuel cost; spent fuel storage and eventual disposal are separate cost categories addressed through dedicated funds (in the U.S., historically via the Nuclear Waste Fund) rather than counted in ongoing fuel cost. Data sources: Nuclear fuel cost benchmarks from EIA (Energy Information Administration) and EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute); uranium supply chain and enrichment costs from World Nuclear Association and U.S. uranium industry data; natural gas fuel cost as share of LCOE from EIA LCOE analysis and NREL studies; nuclear plant economics and fuel cost sensitivity from NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and industry technical documentation; wholesale electricity price ranges from EIA and regional grid operator data. Verification: with defaults (1,100 MW, 92.5% CF, $6/MWh fuel, $50/MWh wholesale), Annual Generation = 8,913,300 MWh/year, Annual Fuel Cost = $53,479,800, Fuel Cost as % of Illustrative Revenue = 12.0%.