Nuclear Energy Is Not Clean — And It Is More Expensive Than Solar and Wind
For decades, nuclear energy was promoted as a “clean” solution to climate change. But the reality is far more complicated. Nuclear plants produce radioactive waste that remains dangerous for thousands of years, and many countries still do not have permanent solutions for storing it safely. Communities and governments continue to struggle with where this waste should go and who should bear the long-term risk.
As one statement on nuclear waste explains:
“It’s a societal problem that has been handed down to us from our parents’ generation. And we are—more or less—handing it to our children.”
As nuclear waste piles up, scientists seek the best long-term storage solutions
This is the central problem of nuclear power. Even after electricity is produced, the radioactive waste remains a burden on future generations.
At the same time, nuclear energy is becoming increasingly expensive compared to renewable alternatives. New solar and wind power projects are now significantly cheaper in many parts of the world, while the cost of building nuclear plants continues to rise due to massive construction expenses, delays, safety systems, and waste management requirements. Solar and wind technologies have rapidly improved, becoming more affordable and scalable every year.
Lazard (2020-2023) estimates utility-scale solar and onshore wind at $24–$75 per MWh, whereas new nuclear is estimated at $141–$221 per MWh.
IRENA and IEA data show global weighted average costs for newly commissioned solar PV and onshore wind have dropped significantly (e.g., solar down 12% year-on-year), while nuclear LCOE has increased by approximately 23% over the past decade.
CSIRO (2024-2025) projects that by 2040, nuclear electricity will cost $145–$238 per MWh, compared to $22–$53 for solar and $45–78 for wind, making nuclear at least twice as expensive
Renewable energy also avoids many of the environmental risks linked to nuclear power, including radioactive contamination, mining impacts, accident risks, and long-term waste storage problems. Combined with energy storage technologies such as compressed air batteries, thermal sand batteries, and other grid innovations, renewable systems are becoming increasingly practical for large-scale energy needs.
Instead of investing trillions into costly nuclear infrastructure and passing radioactive waste problems to future generations, countries have an opportunity to accelerate cleaner, safer, and cheaper renewable energy systems.
Nuclear waste is reusable. Why aren’t we doing it?