What ruined nuclear's reputation is corruption, and being the most expensive choice. (Although coal will end up overwhelmingly more costly, in the end!) Would it be so expensive without corruption? Who can say? Corruption is wired into the process.
We are purely lucky that, for structural reasons, corruption is minimal on solar and wind projects. Probably this is because what it ought to cost is readily visible from the outset. There just isn't enough fat to attract graft.
