The Economics of Long-term Operation of Nuclear Power Plants [electronic resource] /
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
NEA.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentContributor
Paris : OECD Publishing,
2012.
Refurbishment and long-term operation (LTO) of existing nuclear power plants (NPPs) today are crucial to the competitiveness of the nuclear industry in OECD countries as existing nuclear power plants produce baseload power at a reliable cost. A number of nuclear power plants, most notably 73 units in the United States (up to 2012), have been granted lifetime extensions of up to 60 years, a development that is being keenly watched in other OECD countries. In many of these (e.g. France, Switzerland), there is no legal end to the operating licence, but continued operation is based on the outcomes of periodic safety reviews. This study analyses technical and economic data on the upgrade and lifetime extension experience in OECD countries. A multi-criteria assessment methodology is used considering various factors and parameters reflecting current and future financial conditions of operation, political and regulatory risks, the state of the plants’ equipment and the general role of nuclear power in the country’s energy policy. The report shows that long-term operation of nuclear power plants has significant economic advantages for most utilities envisaging LTO programmes. In most cases, the continued operation of NPPs for at least ten more years is profitable even taking into account the additional costs of post-Fukushima modifications, and remains cost-effective compared to alternative replacement sources.
Executive summary 9&nbsp; Chapter 1. Overview of long-term operation programmes in the world&nbsp;19&nbsp; -Introduction19&nbsp; -Lifetime-limiting factors 22&nbsp; -References 27&nbsp; Chapter 2. Regulatory and legal requirements for long-term operation in different countries 29&nbsp; -Typical regulatory approaches for assurance of safety in long-term operation 29&nbsp; -Safety level required for long-term operation 31&nbsp; -Scope of the regulatory assessment for long-term operation 32&nbsp; -Reference 36&nbsp; Chapter 3. Safety initiatives following the Fukushima Daiichi accident 37&nbsp; -Nuclear Energy Agency 37&nbsp; -European Union (EU) 38&nbsp; -United States 40&nbsp; -IAEA action plan&nbsp;42&nbsp; -Conclusions 42&nbsp; -References 43&nbsp; Chapter 4. Economics of long-term operation: figures of merit&nbsp; 45&nbsp; -Assessment criteria 45&nbsp; -Methodology of criteria evaluation&nbsp;46&nbsp; -Summary of the methodology 58&nbsp; -References 59&nbsp; Chapter 5. Assessment of long-term operation programmes in selected NEA countries: case studies&nbsp;61&nbsp; -Belgium 61&nbsp; -Finland 66&nbsp; -France 69&nbsp; -Hungary 75&nbsp; -Republic of Korea&nbsp; 79&nbsp; -Switzerland 84&nbsp; -United States 87&nbsp; -Comparison with other cases 94&nbsp; -Further plans for lifetime extension 96&nbsp; -References 96&nbsp; Chapter 6. Summary of LTO programmes for selected countries that have not participated in the questionnaire 97&nbsp; -Russian Federation&nbsp; 97&nbsp; -Ukraine 99&nbsp; -United Kingdom 100&nbsp; -References 103 Chapter 7. Summary and conclusions 105&nbsp; List of appendices -1. Glossary109&nbsp; -2. Members of the ad hoc expert working group 111
Refurbishment and long-term operation (LTO) of existing nuclear power plants (NPPs) today are crucial to the competitiveness of the nuclear industry in OECD countries as existing nuclear power plants produce baseload power at a reliable cost. A number of nuclear power plants, most notably 73 units in the United States (up to 2012), have been granted lifetime extensions of up to 60 years, a development that is being keenly watched in other OECD countries. In many of these (e.g. France, Switzerland), there is no legal end to the operating licence, but continued operation is based on the outcomes of periodic safety reviews. This study analyses technical and economic data on the upgrade and lifetime extension experience in OECD countries. A multi-criteria assessment methodology is used considering various factors and parameters reflecting current and future financial conditions of operation, political and regulatory risks, the state of the plants’ equipment and the general role of nuclear power in the country’s energy policy. The report shows that long-term operation of nuclear power plants has significant economic advantages for most utilities envisaging LTO programmes. In most cases, the continued operation of NPPs for at least ten more years is profitable even taking into account the additional costs of post-Fukushima modifications, and remains cost-effective compared to alternative replacement sources.
Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
Nuclear Energy
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Engineering & Applied Sciences
Electrical Engineering