That's not the point, construction costs should be ~< 8 billion. current mini reactors cost 1 billion per unit (although I expect those costs to shrink) However 2000 employee is absurd and only a result of insane paranoid regulation and also because those plants were designed before modern computer science, therefore they probably underexploit sensors, and semi-autopilot abilities or autotuning. Russian models are actively reducing the needed number of employee for maintenance: construction cost: Specifications include a $1,200 per kW overnight construction cost 54 month planned

requiring about 35% fewer operational personnel than the VVER-1000

This was for VVER 1200 however the new VVER TOI will be the first to use software? > United information space is a multi-platform software and hardware complex intended for control of the engineering data for engineering, designing, as well as arranging communication between territorially-distanced project participants.

edit: can someone help me calculate the construction costs of a VVER 1200 ? it output ~1200MWe of energy Specifications include a $1,200 per kW overnight construction cost if 1 MWe is 1000Kwh (don't know if we're talking per hour..) then total construction cost would be 1200 * 1000 == 1200000 dollars 1200000 is a mere million, that doesn't make any sense, how to calculate? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VVER#:~:text=Specifications%20... edit I was dumb the equation is 1200 * 1000 * 1200 == 1440000000. Therefore, if that is to be believed, a VVER 1200 produce 1200MWe and only cost 1.4 billion in construction costs (without the small interest rate and the operating cost) That is extremely cheap, the pathetic and hyped small reactors from rolls royce cost 1 Billion per unit and produce < 200 MWe... That makes the VVER 1200 6 times cheaper and probably the cheapest energy source on earth (again assuming those numbers are true), and the VVER TOI successor should be even cheaper given it is constructed in 17 months less.