Search

Begin New Search
Proceed to Checkout

Search Results for All:
(Showing results 1 to 10 of 17)

Next 10 >>


Chapter 1 - The Place of Economics in Decommissioning Policy

Martin J. Pasqualetti

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-1
No Abstract



Chapter 3 - Utilities and Decommissioning Costs: The Meeting of Technology and Society

Kenneth P. Ballard, Margot E. Carl Everett, Willard C. Everett

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-3
View Abstract

Abstract:
Nuclear energy policy is impacted by several groups, including regulatory agencies, public interest organizations, private business, and academic research. As policy bends and changes, no group is affected more strongly than public utility companies. The principal reason for such sensitivity is that the utility companies, more than any of the other players in the decommissioning business, are the link between technology and society. This chapter presents the utility view of decommissioning within the context of PG&E's nuclear power stations at Diablo Canyon and Humboldt Bay. The discussion includes special utility problems, such as inherent uncertainties and the causes for over- and underestimating. Among the conclusions is that the overall discussion of decommissioning technology is developing outside the commercial marketplace and will likely lead to inefficiencies, and that the various social costs and ramifications of decommissioning need much more attention.



Chapter 4 - Federal Regulation of Decommissioning Economics

Robert Wood

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-4
View Abstract

Abstract:
As we move deeply into the new territory of large-scale decommissioning, countries around the world are looking to the United States for guidance and experience in establishing their own approaches. In the U.S., the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the lead agency responsible for public health and safety issues linked to commercial nuclear power. This responsibility includes assuring adequate funds for decommissioning. In this chapter, Robert Wood introduces us to the regulations and positions of the NRC regarding decommissioning financing. The issues include why the NRC chose external funding mechanisms, how the funds should be collected and invested, the relationship between the NRC and state agencies, and fund assurance in a variety of cases including possible accident and bankruptcy. While this discussion will serve as an overview of the most significant aspects of decommissioning financing, it also introduces us to other chapters which focus on the relationships of the NRC with the states and electric utility companies.



Chapter 5 - State Regulation of Decommissioning Costs

Peter M. Strauss and James Kelsey

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-5
View Abstract

Abstract:
Even though the NRC has jurisdiction over setting regulations governing financial assurance for decommissioning, the states have the specific responsibility of setting rates for fund accumulation. Each state must include many factors in determining the appropriateness of the rate requests from the utility companies under this jurisdiction, including plant size, date of decommissioning, and configuration of the nuclear component (single or multiple units). It also must decide on proper contingency factors, estimation methodology, the likelihood of early retirement, and whether fund accumulations will include amounts for the removal of nonradioactive components and site restoration. In this chapter the authors discuss the results of their survey of how 37 state utility commissions treat these factors.



Chapter 7 - The Cost of Decommissioning U.S. Reactors: Estimates and Experience

Gene R. Heinze Fry

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-7
View Abstract

Abstract:
Decommissioning is in its infancy, but our cost experience includes several dozen small, experimental reactors plus the 72 MWe Shippingport reactor. Decommissioning is only beginning at large reactors, but the insights already accumulated allow some use of this experience in future estimates. In this chapter, Gene Heinze Fry compares generic cost estimates plus the data for a total of 21 closed U.S. reactors. Despite the common assumption about the efficiencies that will come with more decommissioning experience, Fry finds a complete lack of scale economies. This could have implications for rates of collection, sufficiency of accumulated funds, and equity issues tied to future generations.



Chapter 9 - Greenfield Decommissioning at Shippingport: Cost Management and Experience

William Murphie

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-9
View Abstract

Abstract:
Although there are many indications that nuclear power plants are likely to stay on site for a period of 60 to 100 years after closure, there are also several reasons to remove the facility from the landscape, such as the desire to use the site for a new power plant or other purpose, safety, and aesthetics. Such removal is underway in several countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany. In this chapter, William Murphie gives us a unique look at the internal cost management and engineering planning experience acquired during the first U.S. commercialsize plant removal, recently completed at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station near Pittsburgh. The project was especially valuable as it provided a detailed comparison between estimated and actual costs. Some of the more important findings were that (1) detailed advance planning is cost effective, (2) labor costs can result in significant increases in total costs, (3) waste disposal costs can bring about substantial discrepancies between planned and realized costs, and (4) actual costs were within 10 percent of the estimated costs. Although there are several differences between the Shippingport reactor and other power plants, this project afforded the nuclear community an early opportunity to gain insights into many of the contingencies that may occur with full dismantlement.



Chapter 10 - Estimating the Costs for Japan's JPDR Project

Satoshi Yanagihara and Mitsugu Tanaka

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-10
View Abstract

Abstract:
There has been an international flavor of cooperation in the commercial development of nuclear power. This cooperation is most strongly established with the development of strategies for decommissioning. Many countries are beginning this phase at about the same time; Japan, Canada, Germany, and the United States all are involved in dismantlement projects. This chapter, along with the next four chapters, addresses various aspects of the methodological approaches being developed to estimate decommissioning costs. Each country has adopted a different strategy for reactor decommissioning, taking its political and technical situations into consideration.Japan also has its own strategy of reactor decommissioning, reflecting the geographic and economic positions peculiar to Japan. The Japan Power Demonstration Reactor (JPDR) decommissioning program is in the process of establishing a decommissioning data base and a cost estimation methodology, as well as developing new technology for reactor decommissioning. Various information about the JPDR dismantling has been accumulated in the decommissioning data base, which will be used for: (1) planning future decommissioning of commercial nuclear power reactors; (2) verifying the developed code system for management of reactor decommissioning; and (3) managing the ongoing JPDR dismantling. The computer code system developed in this program is expected to contribute to studying cost estimation and the optimization of decommissioning plans for commercial nuclear power reactors.



Chapter 11 - Generic Approaches to Estimating U.S. Decommissioning Costs

Richard I. Smith

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-11
View Abstract

Abstract:
The estimation of decommissioning costs has certain common features, regardless of country or state. In the U.S., the NRC has taken this into account as they worked on the development of generic estimates. The author of this chapter, Richard Smith, has been at the center of this effort for more than a decade. In this chapter, he summarizes three principal methods that have been used in cost estimates in lite U.S.: the linear extrapolation approach, the unit cost factor approach, and the detailed engineering approach which he helped to develop at Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Washington state.



Chapter 12 - A Private Contractor's Approach to Decommissioning Costs

Thomas LaGuardia

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-12
View Abstract

Abstract:
Generic cost estimates are important in giving a general impression about the magnitude of the overall task of decommissioning. Site-specific cost estimates, however, are necessary for each individual power plant so that differences in design, site, and history will be reflected as accurately as possible. Thomas LaGuardia has more experience in preparing such estimates than anyone else in the U.S. In this chapter he gives an insider's view of cost estimates which will be valuable to the utility operator who wants to know whether an estimate is adequate without being overinflated, to the regulator who is responsible to the citizens, and to the public who ultimately will pay the bills. He discusses various types of contracts such as fixed price, time and materials, cost-plus -fixed-fee, and utility-to-DOC fixed price, recommending the use of fixed-price contracts for subcontractors and a cost-plus-fixed or incentive fee for the primary contractor. He stresses the need for site-specific estimates.



Chapter 13 - Decommissioning Plans and Costing in Germany

Ulrich Losch horn and Herbert Hollmann

Year: 1991
Volume: Volume 12
Number: Special Issue
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-13
View Abstract

Abstract:
Prior to reunification, within the borders of the Federal Republic of Germany there were seven reactors of different types and at various stages of decommissioning or planning. In this chapter, Ulrich Loschhorn and Herbert Hollmann highlight several factors which influence economic costs, including timing of dismantlement, site-specific features, lack of final repository, licensing framework, and political scenarios. It is apparent from this discussion that procedures, timing, key considerations, reasoning, and ultimate goals regarding decommissioning are similar from one country to another, with most countries facing similar challenges at about the same time. Although this means that each country can learn from the others' experience, there is also little experience to use as signposts along the way.




Next 10 >>

Begin New Search
Proceed to Checkout

 

© 2024 International Association for Energy Economics | Privacy Policy | Return Policy