The cost of decommissioning nearly 200 of the world’s 434 first-generation nuclear reactors by 2040 could be twice the International Energy Agency’s initial estimate of $100 billion, not including waste disposal costs, the agency’s head of power generation analysis acknowledged earlier this month.
Marco Baroni said the earlier estimate “was indicative, and that the final cost could be as much as twice as high,” Reuters reports. “He added that decommissioning costs per reactor can vary by a factor of four.”
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The IEA estimate “is, without question, just a figure drawn out of the air. The reality is, the costs are quite phenomenal,” said Paul Dorfman, honorary senior research associate at the Energy Institute, University College London. “Half a billion dollars per reactor for decommissioning is no doubt vastly underestimated,” agreed Paris-based nuclear analyst Mycle Schneider. (h/t to the Ontario Clean Air Alliance for pointing us to this story)
