Solar Power Gains Cost Advantage Over Nuclear

Parity was reached at 16 cents per kilowatt hour. Solar electricity costs have been decreasing, while the costs of building new nuclear reactors has been rising "inexorably over the last eight years," said Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis at Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and Environment.

"Despite the economic challenges, the nuclear power industry remains unfazed."

"This is not a hospitable environment in which to commission any large base-load power plant," said Marvin Fertel, president and chief executive of the Nuclear Energy Institute, in a briefing to the financial community. Still, he said: "Fortunately new nuclear plants won't be in service until 2016 or later, so today's market conditions are not entirely relevant."