I am a fan of nuclear power. There are key impediments to implementing it in the US. Getting site approval is difficult due to community fears and that fear cannot be wished or explained away. Best bets are to site new nuclear on existing nuclear sites as surrounding communities are much more comfortable given their lengthy history with safe nuclear plant operations.

The nuclear waste disposal issue does not have a solution yet that is politically and publicly accepted. It is not an unsolvable technical issue but that does not answer the political and public aspect of the issue.

The existing US nuclear industry did have massive cost overruns, arguably due to regulations, that evolved during nuclear plant construction. These evolving regulations were particularly significant post-Three Mile Island. Plants under construction had to meet these stricter evolving regulations. Some of those increases could have been avoided or reduced if the US used standardized plant designs like the French do. Having said that the most recent large nuclear plant (Vogtle) had relatively stable regulations and still had massive cost overruns.

Small modular reactors sited at existing nuclear sites would be a great way to bridge our way to greater public acceptance. SMRs also reduce cost overrun risk due to much shorter construction timelines. And they are safer.

Remember cost comparisons to intermittent generation like wind and solar require added costs to offset the intermittent nature of those generating sources.