The Economics of Reprocessing vs. Direct Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel

Fetter, Steve; Bunn, Matthew; Holdren, John P.; van der Zwaan, Bob

The Economics of Reprocessing vs. Direct Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel

dc.contributor.author	Fetter, Steve
dc.contributor.author	Bunn, Matthew
dc.contributor.author	Holdren, John P.
dc.contributor.author	van der Zwaan, Bob
dc.date.accessioned	2007-01-26T16:55:59Z
dc.date.available	2007-01-26T16:55:59Z
dc.date.issued	2003-12
dc.description	Excel spreadsheets used to calculate the breakeven uranium price and the cost of electricity also available. (See appendix A for details)	en
dc.description.abstract	This report assesses the economics of reprocessing versus direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The breakeven uranium price at which reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from existing light-water reactors (LWRs) and recycling the resulting plutonium and uranium in LWRs would become economic is assessed, using central estimates of the costs of different elements of the nuclear fuel cycle (and other fuel cycle input parameters), for a wide range of range of potential reprocessing prices. Sensitivity analysis is performed, showing that the conclusions reached are robust across a wide range of input parameters. The contribution of direct disposal or reprocessing and recycling to electricity cost is also assessed. The choice of particular central estimates and ranges for the input parameters of the fuel cycle model is justified through a review of the relevant literature. The impact of different fuel cycle approaches on the volume needed for geologic repositories is briefly discussed, as are the issues surrounding the possibility of performing separations and transmutation on spent nuclear fuel to reduce the need for additional repositories. A similar analysis is then performed of the breakeven uranium price at which deploying fast-neutron breeder reactors would become competitive compared with a once-through fuel cycle in LWRs, for a range of possible differences in capital cost between LWRs and fast-neutron reactors. Sensitivity analysis is again provided, as are an analysis of the contribution to electricity cost, and a justification of the choices of central estimates and ranges for the input parameters. The equations used in the economic model are derived and explained in an appendix. Another appendix assesses the quantities of uranium likely to be recoverable worldwide in the future at a range of different possible future prices.	en
dc.description.sponsorship	Project on Managing the Atom, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University	en
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dc.identifier.citation	Matthew Bunn, Steve Fetter, John P. Holdren and Bob van der Zwaan, The Economics of Reprocessing vs. Direct Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel (Cambridge, MA: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, December 2003), 127 pgs	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1903/4043
dc.language.iso	en_US	en
dc.publisher	Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University	en
dc.relation.isAvailableAt	School of Public Policy	en_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAt	Public Policy	en_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAt	Digital Repository at the University of Maryland	en_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAt	University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)	en_us
dc.subject	reprocessing spent nuclear fuel	en
dc.subject	spent nuclear fuel	en
dc.subject	light-water reactors	en
dc.subject	nuclear fuel cycle	en
dc.title	The Economics of Reprocessing vs. Direct Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel	en
dc.type	Article	en