http://www.enn.com/press_releases/2697
The Flawed Economics of Nuclear Power
"Over the last few years the nuclear industry has used concerns about
climate change to argue for a nuclear revival. Although industry
representatives may have convinced some political leaders that this is
a good idea, there is little evidence of private capital investing in
nuclear plants in competitive electricity markets," says Lester R.
Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, in a recent release,
"The Flawed Economics of Nuclear Power". "The reason is simple:
nuclear power is uneconomical.
In a recent analysis, "The Nuclear Illusion," Amory B. Lovins and
Imran Sheikh put the cost of electricity from a new nuclear power
plant at 14¢ per kilowatt hour and that from a wind farm at 7¢ per
kilowatt hour. This comparison includes the costs of fuel, capital,
operations and maintenance, and transmission and distribution. It does
not include the additional costs for nuclear of disposing of waste,
insuring plants against an accident, and decommissioning the plants
when they wear out.
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The United States, which leads the world with 101,000 megawatts of
nuclear-generating capacity, proposes to store radioactive waste from
its 104 reactors in the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository,
northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. The cost of this repository,
originally estimated at $58 billion in 2001, climbed to $96 billion by
2008. This comes to a staggering $923 million per reactor, assuming no
further repository cost increases. (See additional data.)
In the event of a catastrophic accident, every nuclear utility would
be required to contribute up to $95.8 million for each licensed
reactor to a pool to help cover the accident's cost. The collective
cap on nuclear operator liability is $10.2 billion. Anything above
this would be covered by taxpayers.
Another huge cost of nuclear power involves decommissioning the plants
when they wear out. Recent estimates show decommissioning costs can
reach $1.8 billion per reactor. In addition, the industry must cope
with rising construction and fuel expenses. Two years ago, building a
1,500-megawatt nuclear plant was estimated to cost $2—4 billion. As of
late 2008, that figure had climbed past $7 billion, reflecting the
scarcity of essential engineering and construction skills in a fading
industry.
Nuclear fuel costs have risen even more rapidly. At the beginning of
this decade uranium cost roughly $10 per pound. Today it costs more
than $60 per pound. The higher uranium price reflects the need to move
to deeper mines, which increases the energy needed to extract ore, and
shift to lower-grade ore.
The high cost of nuclear power also explains why so few plants are
being built compared with a generation ago. In a Bulletin of the
Atomic Scientists article, nuclear consultant Mycle Schneider projects
an imminent decline in world nuclear generating capacity. He notes
there are currently 439 operating reactors worldwide. To date, 119
reactors have been closed, at an average age of 22 years. If we assume
a longer average lifespan of 40 years, then 93 reactors will close
between 2008 and 2015. Another 192 will close between 2016 and 2025.
The remaining 154 will close after 2025.
Only 36 nuclear reactors are currently under construction worldwide—31
of them in Eastern Europe and Asia. Although there is much talk of
building new nuclear plants in the United States, there are none under
construction.
Despite all the industry hype about a nuclear future, investors are
pouring tens of billions of dollars into wind farms each year. And
while the world's nuclear generating capacity is estimated to expand
by only 1,000 megawatts this year, wind generating capacity will
likely grow by 30,000 megawatts.
For full report visit
http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update78.htm.
Contact Info: Media & Permissions to Reprint Contact:
Reah Janise Kauffman
Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 12
E-mail: rjk (at) earthpolicy.org
Research Contact:
Janet Larsen
Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 14
E-mail: jlarsen (at) earthpolicy.org
Earth Policy Institute
1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 403
Washington, DC 20036
Web: www.earthpolicy.org
posted to ClimateConcern
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