I’m not entirely sure about the history here, but I suspect the 3-mile island partial meltdown is a big reason why. Regulators realized that the current framewo

I’m not entirely sure about the history here, but I suspect the 3-mile island partial meltdown is a big reason why. Regulators realized that the current framework was too lax and too risky so they tightened it. They also retrofitted existing powerplants with newer and better standards which must have cost a lot, popular opinion shifted away from these plants so they weren’t politically popular any more, construction knowledge was lost, and has to be re-learned now in a stricter framework. The job market is also a lot more diverse now then in the 70s. There used to be a lot of highly skilled construction workers back then. Generally large infrastructure projects take longer and cost more, regardless of the project type.