Report on financing the disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel and processed high-level radioactive waste
The major conclusions and observations which emerge from an extensive analysis of the cost of implementing a nuclear waste disposal program are: Projected revenues generated from the 1.0 mill per kwhr fee mandated by the Act are sufficient to cover the full range of reference case program costs, assuming 3% annual inflation and nuclear installed capacity of 165 gigawatts-electric by the year 2000. Total estimated costs of the reference waste disposal program, encompassing either spent nuclear fuel disposal or reprocessing waste disposal, range between $18 to 20 billion in constant 1982 dollars. Sensitivity case analyses established upper and lower program cost bounds of $28 billion and $16 billion, respectively (in 1982 dollars). In terms of discounted levelized unit costs, the disposal of spent fuel equates to $122 to 125 per kilogram (uranium) compared with $115 to 119 per kilogram for the reprocessing waste equivalent. The levelized unit costs for reprocessing exclude the solidification of liquid wastes. Such costs are estimated to be $8 per kilogram. Discounted levelized unit costs corresponding to the upper and lower limits of the sensitivity cases equate to $176 per kilogram and $107 per kilogram. The 1.0 mill per kwhr fee will be reviewed annually and adjusted, if necessary, to accommodate changes in program costs due to inflation and program shifts. When adjustments are made for applicable discount rates, inflation, repository design changes, and other factors, levelized unit costs for the reference case presented in this analysis agree closely with the results of two previous Department of Energy (DOE) studies concerning charges for spent fuel storage and disposal services provided by the federal government.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Nuclear Waste Policy Act Project Office, Washington, DC
- OSTI ID:
- 6011992
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/S-0020/1; ON: DE83014886
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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