Using the example of the planned construction of new units at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant, it can be estimated that the investment made will return at least fourfold over the lifespan of the nuclear power plant, even after deducting operating costs, which are relatively low per kWh produced (one-fifth of the kWh price). The cost of decommissioning the power plant is estimated to be around 10% of the construction cost, which is approximately 2% of the revenue.

Compared to all conventional sources of electricity (hydro, coal, wind, and photovoltaic power plants), the initial costs are the highest, but over their operating life, they have the second-highest return. Overall, hydropower plants are the most advantageous. While the construction costs are also high, they are not as high as for a nuclear power plant, and thanks to their longer lifespan, they have a return on investment up to 9 times higher.

Photovoltaic power plants have the worst return on investment among all the sources mentioned; their return is approximately double. A significant parameter for power plants is not only financial but also energy return on investment, meaning how many times more energy a power plant produces during its operational life than was needed for its construction. In this parameter, hydropower plants perform the best again (over their lifespan, they produce up to 300 times more energy than was used for their construction), followed by nuclear power plants (roughly 100 times more), and lastly, photovoltaic power plants — these produce about 20 times more energy than was consumed in their manufacturing.

The yield of nuclear power plants can also be increased by commercially utilizing waste heat, but this option is not being used on a larger scale (the power plant would have to be located near a large city). Because the efficiency of a nuclear power plant is around 30%, and the price of heat is roughly similar to the price of electricity, one could (very roughly) estimate that by utilizing an additional 30% of the total energy produced in the reactor, the revenue would be doubled.

And finally — when comparing different types of power plants, it can also be meaningful to consider the area the power plant occupies, for example, 1 MWh of energy produced. Here the most advantageous are nuclear power plants, which require 100 times less land area than hydroelectric plants and 1,000 times less land area than photovoltaic plants (the values provided are approximate — the actual values depend on other conditions, such as how much of the day the source is in operation).