Nuclear power plant dismantling cost estimation

Abstract

The decommissioning of nuclear power plants is an ever-increasing need as more power plants permanently shut down. The decommissioning of such plants is a complex project requiring years of planning and work to complete. Planning for how the decommissioning should be conducted include such questions as whether to start dismantling immediately after shutdown or defer for later, how to segment process components or to remove them intact and what is end state for decommissioning. All these aspects of the project lead to costs in the hundreds of millions if not over billions of euros.

In this thesis the process of decommissioning and more specifically the dismantling of pressurised and boiling water reactor power plants is reviewed. The aim was to collect information from publicly available sources on the different methods, strategies, and costs for dismantling activities as well as for the general decommissioning process. General summaries on certain core decommissioning activities such as dismantling, decontamination techniques and cost estimate production were written, based on the gathered information. Additionally cost estimates from the United States and Sweden were reviewed and compared. From the comparison, it could be made clear that costs between different sites vary vastly, though certain similarities and cost drivers may be observed.

The thesis also looks into potential future developments to help decommissioning, dismantling and cost estimation. New technology such as modularity in nuclear design as well as potential for reuse and recycling of nuclear power plant facilities and materials are concepts to be evaluated for future.