I will see it when I believe it: Justifying nuclear energy development projects in Europe

The IEA's Net Zero Scenario calls for the nuclear power industry to nearly double its installed capacity by 2050 (IEA 2022). However, the industry continues to be plagued by delays and cost overruns, deterring private investors and necessitating government involvement. Evidence from recent projects suggests that governments' ability to properly assess and justify investment is limited and that some nuclear projects are based on dubious assumptions. As a result, they are more vulnerable to the very problems that government involvement was intended to address. This paper looks at government involvement in nuclear projects and examines (1) how governments arrived at the decision to develop new nuclear power plants, (2) what tools and procedures they used to evaluate the projects, and (3) how they justify their decisions.