Report challenges UK costs and plans for new nuclear waste

摘要

A Greenpeace-commissioned report based on a computernsimulation of the costs involved in disposing of nuclearnwaste from new UK reactors says the actual undiscountedncosts are three to eight times higher than government estimatesnexpressed as discounted costs.nIt also says the government’s plans to set a fixed pricenfor disposal costs and apply a discount rate on the utilitynpayments amounts to a public subsidy of new nuclearnpower plants. The utility payments would be discountednto cover costs stretching out 50 years or more after thengovernment takes title to the spent fuel and intermediatelevelnwaste, or ILW. The government’s proposal would savenutilities GBP1 billion (US$1.48 billion) per reactor, it said.nThe savings is represented by the difference betweennthe discounted costs the utilities would pay and the undiscountednor “real money” costs of disposal, according tonthe report