ANALYSIS-Who will foot the nuclear power bill?

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Nuclear power may be close to a revival after two decades in the shadow of the Chernobyl reactor accident as governments search for clean sources of power to beat climate change.

But ask the industry who is going to foot the potentially massive bill and it becomes coy and mutters about governments, public/private partnerships and equity financing.

"There is a lot of talk about the nuclear renaissance, but in reality only China is really building," says Steve Kidd, director of strategy at the World Nuclear Association (WNA). "No one wants to go first."

According to the WNA -- the nuclear power industry's umbrella organisation -- there are 439 reactors operating globally, generating 371,000 megawatts of electricity or about 16 percent of total demand.

A further 34 are under construction, with 81 planned and 223 proposed -- 88 of which are in China.

The WNA estimates nuclear power could double over the next 30 years but, given the forecast surge in population and demand, it will still only account for about the same percentage.

Cost estimates vary depending on location and number of plants -- with economies of scale -- but the ballpark figure is around $2 billion for a standard 1 gigawatt nuclear plant.

"The first one will cost more than that. But get an order for three or four and the price drops sharply," said Kidd. "The best is 10 or more."