Cost of Electricity from Molten Salt Reactors

The cost of electricity is estimated for a molten salt reactor based on evaluations at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and compared to the ORNL pressurized water reactor and coal plant estimates of the same pre-1980 vintage plants. The results were 3.8, 4.1, and 4.2 ¢/kWh for the molten salt reactor, pressurized water reactor, and coal. Surprisingly, such cost estimates have never before been published for the molten salt reactor.