6 Aug (NucNet): The total cost estimate of the proposed Yucca Mountain deep geological repository in the US has increased 38 percent before inflation since the last published estimate in 2001, the Department of Energy (DOE) has said.
The DOE said the new “total system life cycle cost estimate” includes the cost to research, construct and operate Yucca Mountain during a period of 150 years, from the beginning of the programme in 1983 until closure and decommissioning in 2133.
The programme is now expected to cost USD 96.2 billion (62 billion euro) in 2007 dollars over its 150-year life cycle, up 67 percent from a 2001 estimate of USD 57.5 billion. Excluding inflation, the new estimate is an increase of 38 percent to USD 79.3 billion.
In a statement yesterday the DOE said the updated estimate takes into account a “substantial increase” in the amount of waste to be shipped and stored at the repository and more than USD 16 billion for inflation. The DOE is not proposing a change in the fee paid by nuclear utilities for the disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel, the statement added.
The new cost estimate reflects a 30 percent increase in the amount of commercial spent nuclear fuel to be disposed of in the repository, from a 2000 estimate of 83,800 tonnes heavy metal to a 2007 estimate of 109,300 metric tonnes heavy metal. This increased amount would extend the transportation period by 16 years and the emplacement period by 25 years.
The increased amount of spent nuclear fuel is a result of existing and anticipated licence renewals at operating nuclear power plants throughout the US. Other factors contributing to the 2007 cost estimate include increases in raw material costs and a refinement of the repository design.
Edward Sproat, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, which is responsible for managing and disposing of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the US, said the increased cost estimate is “reasonable” given inflation and the expected increase in the amount of spent nuclear fuel from existing reactors with licence renewals.
The DOE said that although it is not considering increasing the fee paid by nuclear utilities for the disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel “at this time”, its estimates cannot be maintained unless there is “consistent and sufficient annual funding” for the construction and operation of the repository. “The administration has twice submitted legislation to Congress to ensure such funding and will continue to work with Congress on this important national issue,” the DOE said.
In June 2008, the application to construct the Yucca Mountain repository was submitted to nuclear regulators. The 8,600 page application describes the DOE’s plan to safely isolate spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste in tunnels deep underground at Yucca Mountain, a remote ridge on federally-controlled land in the Mojave Desert, about 145 kilometres north-west of Las Vegas. The waste is currently stored at 121 temporary locations in 39 US states.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
Regulator Says Yucca Mountain Licensing Faces ‘Inadequate Funding’ (News in Brief No. 20, 26 February 2008)
Energy Secretary Announces Yucca Mountain Licence Application (News No. 40, 3 June 2008)
Regulators Promise ‘Rigorous’ Examination Of Yucca Application (News in Brief No. 65, 5 June 2008)
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