21 Sep (NucNet): Some progress has been made in the decommissioning of eight Soviet-built nuclear reactor units in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia since 2011, but a number of “critical” challenges remain to be tackled with financing gaps for all three countries and delays to key infrastructure projects, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the European Union’s budget watchdog.
Four units at Bulgaria’s Kozloduy, two units at Lithunia’s Ignalina, and two units at Slovakia’s Bohunice nuclear power stations were shut down to satisfy conditions for the three countries’ EU accessions in the early 2000s.
The shutdown and subsequent decommissioning of these reactors before the end of their design lifetimes brought about financial and economic burdens for the three countries and the EU agreed to provide financial support starting in 1999, the ECA said.
The ECA said that by 2020 the EU funding programme will have totalled €3.8bn ($4.2bn) with Lithuania receiving the biggest share, €1.8bn, or 48% of the total.
The estimated total cost of decommissioning will be at least €5.7bn, while the sum could double once the cost of final disposal of high-level waste is included.
Lithuania is estimated to exceed its decommissioning financing by €1.6bn, while the expected financing gaps for Bulgaria and Slovakia are at €23m and €92m respectively.
The European Commission has said it does not foresee any further extension of financial EU support beyond 2020, while there are no clear guidelines on cofinancing requirements, according to the report.
The report said the dedicated funding programmes “have not created the right incentives for timely and cost-effective decommissioning”.
Key infrastructure projects, such as waste management facilities, have experienced delays since 2011 and “critical challenges” related to working in the controlled areas, including the reactor buildings, are still present in all three countries, the ECA said.
The report includes recommendations including improvements to local project management practices, recognition of the role of national funding, and updating the conditions for co-funding after 2020 with the aim of strengthening decommissioning incentives.
In Bulgaria, Units 1 and 2 at Kozloduy were shut down in 2002 and units 3 and 4 in 2006. Slovakia shut down Bohunice-1 in 2006 and Bohunice-2 in 2009. All six reactors were of the Soviet-designed VVER V-230 type.
Lithuania’s Ignalina-1 and Ignalina-2, both Soviet-designed RBMK-1500 units, were shut down in 2004 and 2009 respectively.
The report is online: http://bit.ly/2cCuxzb
