I don't think people understand the conflicting motives around the civil nuclear power system: For 1) Eisenhower needed Atoms for Peace to quell the rising hys

I don't think people understand the conflicting motives around the civil nuclear power system: For 1) Eisenhower needed Atoms for Peace to quell the rising hysteria about nuclear weapons For 2) Rickover and the weapons labs needed a civil reactor industry for their people to switch too. the US military has a strategic interest in maintaining nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines. One needs breeder reactors, they both need trained operators. Ensuring a life-long source of employment is necessary to maintain incoming classes of nuclear engineers, plant operators, etc. Against 1) But you can't train enough of these folks to grow the industry for the same reason the industry is somewhat unsustainable now: the replacement rate is sooooo long. A nuclear reactor's fuel lifespan is on the order of 25 years. The replacement rate for reactors is even longer. Against 2) There is still enough hysteria that people have allowed all sorts of inspection and credentialing requirements to creep into the process so the cost of bringing a reactor to market exceeds the value proposition.