Building a power plant costs anywhere from roughly $1 million per megawatt for a natural gas facility to over $5 million per megawatt for a nuclear reactor, with solar, wind, and battery storage falling in between. The total price tag depends on the type of fuel, the plant’s generating capacity, and where it’s built. Here’s what each major type actually costs.
Natural Gas: The Lowest Upfront Cost
Natural gas combined-cycle plants are the cheapest large-scale power plants to build. The U.S. Energy Information Administration puts the overnight capital cost (the construction cost before financing charges) at roughly $870 to $920 per kilowatt in 2023 dollars, depending on the plant configuration. For a standard 1,200-megawatt combined-cycle facility, that translates to about $1 billion to $1.1 billion before financing.
Adding carbon capture technology roughly triples the construction cost, pushing it to around $2,365 per kilowatt. That premium reflects the additional equipment needed to strip carbon dioxide from exhaust gases before they reach the atmosphere.
Once running, gas plants are also cheap to maintain. Variable operating costs sit at about $0.17 to $0.38 per megawatt-hour, which is among the lowest of any fuel type. The tradeoff, of course, is ongoing fuel costs and exposure to volatile natural gas prices, neither of which show up in the construction budget.
Nuclear: Expensive to Build, Decades of Output
Nuclear power is the most capital-intensive option. The EIA estimates an overnight construction cost of about $5,339 per kilowatt, meaning a single 1,000-megawatt reactor costs around $5.3 billion before financing. But that number rarely tells the whole story. Long construction timelines, interest on borrowed money, and cost overruns routinely push final price tags much higher.
A real-world example: the proposed Turkey Point Units 6 and 7 in Florida, with a combined capacity of about 2,200 megawatts, carried a total project estimate between $12.8 billion and $18.7 billion. That works out to roughly $5,700 to $8,400 per kilowatt once financing and escalation are included.
Construction timelines are a major reason costs balloon. An analysis of 268 pressurized water reactors operating worldwide found the typical build took 5 to 6 years, and 80% were completed in under 10 years. Recent Western projects have fared worse. Plant Vogtle in Georgia, the only new U.S. nuclear plant completed in decades, took roughly 12 years from groundbreaking to full operation and more than doubled its original budget. Variable maintenance costs for nuclear plants run about $1.87 per megawatt-hour, moderate compared to other fuel types.
Solar Farms: Falling Prices, Fast Construction
Utility-scale solar has become dramatically cheaper over the past decade. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the overnight capital cost for a large 100-megawatt tracking solar farm was about $1.56 per watt (AC) in 2023. That means a 100-megawatt solar installation costs roughly $156 million, or $1,560 per kilowatt.
Solar panels have essentially no variable operating costs. There are no consumables, no waste to dispose of, and no fuel to purchase. Fixed maintenance (cleaning panels, replacing inverters over time) still applies, but the per-megawatt-hour cost of actually generating electricity is near zero once the plant is built.
Construction timelines are another advantage. A utility-scale solar farm typically takes 1 to 2 years from permitting to operation, a fraction of the time required for gas or nuclear. The main limitation is that a 100-megawatt solar farm doesn’t produce 100 megawatts around the clock. Capacity factors for solar hover around 20% to 30% in most locations, meaning you need more installed capacity to match the annual output of a gas or nuclear plant running at full power.
Wind Power: Onshore vs. Offshore
Land-based wind turbines cost roughly $850 to $950 per kilowatt as of 2022, according to the Department of Energy. That’s a 50% drop from 2008 prices. A 200-megawatt onshore wind farm would run approximately $170 million to $190 million in turbine and installation costs.
Offshore wind is a different story entirely. Capital costs range from $3,500 to $4,000 per kilowatt, roughly four times the onshore price. The premium comes from specialized foundations anchored to the seabed, marine-grade materials, underwater cabling, and the logistical challenge of building in open water. A 800-megawatt offshore wind project, a common size for recent U.S. proposals, would cost $2.8 billion to $3.2 billion.
Like solar, wind turbines have no fuel costs and no variable maintenance expenses under standard definitions. Fixed maintenance (inspecting blades, servicing gearboxes) adds ongoing expense, but nothing that scales with how much electricity the turbines actually produce.
Battery Storage: The New Add-On Cost
Solar and wind projects increasingly pair with battery storage to deliver power after sundown or during calm periods. NREL estimates the capital cost of a 4-hour lithium-ion battery system at about $334 per kilowatt-hour in 2024. For a 100-megawatt system that can discharge for 4 hours (400 megawatt-hours of storage), that works out to roughly $134 million.
These costs are projected to fall significantly. Mid-range estimates put 4-hour storage at $243 per kilowatt-hour by 2035 and $178 per kilowatt-hour by 2050. If the most optimistic projections hold, costs could reach $147 per kilowatt-hour by 2035, cutting today’s price by more than half.
Grid Connection: The Hidden Line Item
Every power plant needs to connect to the electrical grid, and that cost is often overlooked in headline figures. Connecting a new plant involves three pieces: a spur transmission line running from the plant to the nearest grid infrastructure, a point-of-interconnection substation, and any upgrades the existing grid needs to handle the new power flow.
Spur line costs are relatively modest, typically $1 to $10 per kilowatt per mile. But bulk transmission upgrades vary wildly. Conventional new plants connecting in areas with existing grid capacity might add $50 to $170 per kilowatt. Remote renewable energy projects can face much steeper bills. The Competitive Renewable Energy Zones project in Texas, which built high-voltage lines to connect wind farms in the western part of the state to population centers, cost $6.9 billion total, or about $600 per kilowatt of generation capacity. In some cases, plants built on previously developed sites (brownfield projects) need no bulk transmission upgrades at all.
Who pays for these costs also varies. In Texas, for example, the plant developer covers the spur line and interconnection equipment, while bulk system upgrades get passed along to electricity customers through their retail bills.
How the Costs Compare Side by Side
For a quick reference, here’s what you’d expect to pay per kilowatt of capacity for each major plant type:
- Natural gas combined-cycle: $870 to $920/kW ($1 billion to $1.1 billion for a 1,200 MW plant)
- Onshore wind: $850 to $950/kW ($170 million to $190 million for a 200 MW farm)
- Utility-scale solar: roughly $1,560/kW ($156 million for a 100 MW farm)
- Offshore wind: $3,500 to $4,000/kW ($2.8 billion to $3.2 billion for an 800 MW project)
- Nuclear: $5,339/kW overnight, often $8,000+ after financing ($5.3 billion+ for a 1,000 MW reactor)
These are overnight capital costs in most cases, meaning they reflect the price of materials, labor, and equipment without accounting for interest payments during construction. For projects that take a year or two to build, the difference between overnight cost and total cost is small. For nuclear plants that take a decade, financing can add billions.
Construction cost is also just one part of the total cost of electricity. A gas plant is cheap to build but expensive to fuel. A solar farm costs more upfront but generates power for 25 to 30 years with minimal ongoing expense. The right comparison depends on whether you’re looking at initial investment or the lifetime cost of every kilowatt-hour the plant produces.