Abstract
The decommissioning of nuclear power plants and the storage of nuclear waste are major challenges for all nuclear countries. Both processes are technologically and financially challenging. We provide an analysis of the status quo of both processes in three major nuclear countries: Germany, France, and the U.K. Germany was able to gain some decommissioning experiences but not one large-scale reactor has been released from regulatory control. EDF was forced to cancel its target to immediately dismantle all GCRs by 2036 due to underestimated technological challenges, while in the U.K., decommissioning of the legacy fleet lasts well into the 22nd century. Until now, no scale effects could be observed, if EDF can reap scale effects due to the standardization of its fleet remains to be seen. The search for a deep geological disposal facility is the most advanced in France, where the start date is fixed by law to 2025. There are many uncertainties related to estimated future costs. In the three countries, three different funding schemes are implemented: Germany switched from internal non-segregated funds to an external segregated fund for waste management. In the U.K. the decommissioning of the legacy fleet will be paid by the taxpayer for the next 100 years while an external segregated fund was established for the current operational fleet. In France, an internal segregated fund finances the future liabilities of EDF.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Reference
Assemblée Nationale, 2017. “Rapport d’Information Déposé En Application de l’article 145 Du Règlement Par La Mission d’Information Relative à La Faisabilité Technique et Financière Du Démantèlement Des Installations Nucléaires de Base.” Paris.
Autorité de sûreté nucléaire, 2016a. “EDF: Des Retards Sur Le Programme de Démantèlement.” 2016. https://www.asn.fr/Informer/Dossiers-pedagogiques/Le-demantelement-des-installations-nucleaires/Les-strategies-de-demantelement-en-France/EDF-des-retardssur-le-programme-de-demantelement.
Autorite de surete nucleaire, 2016b. “Le Démantèlement Immédiat.” 2016. https://www.asn.fr/Informer/Dossiers-pedagogiques/Le-demantelement-des-installations-nucleaires/Les-etapes-du-demantelement/Le-demantelement-immediat.
Bredberg, Ines, Johann Hutter, Kerstin Kühn, Katarzyna Niedzwiedz, Frank Philippczyk, and Frank Thömmes, 2017. “Statusbericht Zur Kernenergienutzung in Der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2016.” Salzgitter: Bundesamt für kerntechnische Entsorgungssicherheit.
Cour des Comptes, 2014. Le Coût de Production de l’électricité Nucléaire – Actualisation 2014. Paris: Cour des Comptes.
DECC, 2014. “Implementing Geological Disposal.” London: Department of Energy and Climate Change.
EDF, 2017. “Consolidated Financial Statements at 31 December 2016.” Paris: Electricité de
France.
European Commission, 2013. “EU Decommissioning Funding Data – Commission Staff Working Document.” Brussels.
European Parliament, 2013. Nuclear Decommissioning: Management of Costs and Risks. Brussels: Policy Department on Budgetary Affairs.
Hitchin, Penny, 2010. “Excavating Chooz A.” Nuclear Engineering International Magazine. http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featureexcavating-chooz-a/.
Hocke, Peter, and Beate Kallenbach-Herbert, 2015. “Always the Same Old Story? Nuclear Waste Governance in Germany.” In Nuclear Waste Governance – An International Comparison, edited by Lutz Mez and Achim Brunnengräber, 177–201. Springer VS.
IAEA, 2017. Nuclear Power Reactors in the World. Vienna: IAEA.
Jänsch, Elisabeth, Achim Brunnengräber, Christian von Hirschhausen, and Christian Möckel, 2017. “Wer Soll Die Zeche Zahlen? Diskussion Alternativer Organisationsmodelle Zur Finanzierung von Rückbau Und Endlagerung.” GAIA, Jahrhundertprojekt Endlagerung, 26 (2): 118–20.
KFK – Kommission zur Überprüfung der Finanzierung des Kernenergieausstiegs, 2016. Verantwortung Und Sicherheit – Ein Neuer Entsorgungskonsens. Berlin
Kommission Lagerung hoch radioaktiver Abfallstoffe, 2016. Abschlussbericht Der Kommission Zur Lagerung Hochradioaktiver Abfälle. Berlin.
Laurent, G, 2011. “EDF Nuclear Plant under Decommissioning Programme CIDEN Organization Projects Achievement.” presented at the Special Seminar on the 12th meeting of the WPDDD Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the working party on the management of materials from decommissioning and dismantling (WPDD), NEA Office France.
Lehtonen, Markku, 2015. “Megaproject Underway – Governance of Nuclear Waste Management in France.” In Nuclear Waste Governance – An International Comparison, edited by Lutz Mez and Achim Brunnengräber, 117–38. Berlin: Springer VS.
MacKerron, Gordon, 2015. “Multiple Challenges – Nuclear Waste Governance in the United Kingdom.” In Nuclear Waste Governance – An International Comparison, edited by Luz Mez and Achim Brunnengräber, 101–16. Berlin: Springer VS.
Martelet, Bertrand, 2016. “EDF’s Expertise and Position in Nuclear Decommissioning.” presented at the World Nuclear Decommissioning & Waste Management Congress (Europe) 2016, London, UK.
McIntyre, P.J., 2012. “Nuclear Decommissioning – Planning, Execution and International Experience.” In Nuclear Decommissioning – Planning, Execution and International Experience, edited by Michele Laraia, 33–48. Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing.
Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, 2014. French National Plan for the Management of Radioactive Materials and Waste 2013–2015. La Défense Cedex: Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy.
NDA, 2015. “An Overview of NDA Higher Activity Waste.” Cumbria: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
NDA, 2016a. “Explained: The New Model for Managing Sellafield – GOV.UK.” Corporate Report. Cumbria: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-model-for-managing-sellafield/explained-the-new-model-for-managing-sellafield.
NDA, 2016b. “Integrated Waste Management – NDA Higher Activity Waste Strategy.” Cumbria: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
NDA, 2016c. “Strategy – Effective from April 2016.” Cumbria: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
NDA, 2017. “Annual Reports & Accounts 2016/2017.” Cumbria: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
NLF, 2015. “Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2015.” Nuclear Liabilities Fund.
OECD/NEA, 2016a. “Costs of Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plants.” Paris: OECD/ NEA Publishing.
NDA, 2016b. “Radioactive Waste Management Programmes in OECD/NEA Member Countries – France.” Paris: OECD/NEA Publishing.
Seidel, Jan-Paul, and Ben Wealer, 2016. “Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants and Storage of Nuclear Waste – International Comparison of Organizational Models and Policy Perspectives.” Germany: TU Berlin.
Thomauske, Bruno, 2015. “Current Status of the Final Disposal of High-Level Waste in Germany.” presented at the ICOND – International Conference on Nuclear Decommissioning 2015, Bonn.
Warth & Klein Grant Thornton AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, 2015. Gutachtliche Stellungnahme Zur Bewertung Der Rückstellungen Im Kernenergiebereich. Berlin.
Wealer, Ben, Christian von Hirschhausen, Jan Paul Seidel, and Clemens Gerbaulet, 2015. “Stand Und Perspektiven Des Rückbaus von Kernkraftwerken in Deutschland (»Rückbau- Monitoring 2015«).” DIW Berlin, Data Documentation 81. Berlin, Germany: DIW Berlin, TU Berlin.
World Nuclear Association, 2017. “Nuclear Power in France.” 2017. http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/france.aspx.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wealer, B., Seidel, J.P., von Hirschhausen, C. (2019). Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants and Storage of Nuclear Waste. In: Haas, R., Mez, L., Ajanovic, A. (eds) The Technological and Economic Future of Nuclear Power. Energiepolitik und Klimaschutz. Energy Policy and Climate Protection. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25987-7_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25987-7_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden
Print ISBN: 978-3-658-25986-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-658-25987-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)