Vs. Direct Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE ECONOMICS OF REPROCESSING VS. DIRECT DISPOSAL OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL Final Report 8/12/1999-7/30/2003 Matthew Bunn Steve Fetter John P. Holdren Bob van der Zwaan December 2003 DE-FG26-99FT4028 PROJECT ON MANAGING THE ATOM BELFER CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS JOHN F. KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT HARVARD UNIVERSITY 79 JOHN F. KENNEDY STREET CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02138 © 2003 President and Fellows of Harvard University Printed in the United States of America This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. The authors of this report invite liberal use of the information provided in it for educational purposes, requiring only that the reproduced material clearly state: Reproduced from Matthew Bunn, Steve Fetter, John Holdren, and Bob van der Zwaan, The Economics of Reprocessing vs. Direct Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel (Cambridge, Mass.: Project on Managing the Atom, Harvard University, 2003). Project on Managing the Atom Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Fax: (202) 495-8963 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/bcsia/atom 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. iii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................iii List of Figures..............................................................................................................vii Acknowledgements.................................................................................................... viii Executive Summary .....................................................................................................ix 1. Introduction..............................................................................................................1 1.1. What Is Reprocessing? 1.2. Data and Sources 1.3. Cost vs. Price 1.4. Currency Conversion 1.5. Cost of Money, Discount Rate, and Taxes 1.6. Real vs. Nominal Dollars 1.7. Plan of the Report 2. Direct Disposal vs. Reprocessing and Recycling in Thermal Reactors.................13 2.1. How to Compare Costs of Different Fuel Cycles 2.2. Calculating Breakeven Prices 2.3. Breakeven Price Sensitivity Analysis 2.4. Contribution to the Cost of Electricity 2.5. Component Costs of the Fuel Cycle 2.5.1. Uranium Prices 2.5.2. Reprocessing Costs and Prices 2.5.3. Costs of Disposal of Spent Fuel and Reprocessing Wastes 2.5.4. Costs and Prices for Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication and Use 2.5.5. Costs of Interim Storage of Spent Fuel 2.5.6. Enrichment Prices 2.5.7. Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Fabrication Prices 2.5.8. Premiums for Handling Reprocessed Uranium 2.5.9. Conversion Prices 2.5.10. Non-Price Factors: Fuel Burnup, Discount Rate Sidebar: Volumes of Wastes From Direct Disposal and Reprocessing Sidebar: Reprocessing to Reduce the Need for Additional Repositories 3. Direct Disposal vs. Recycling in Fast-Neutron Reactors........................................67 3.1. Plutonium Breeding and Recycling in Fast Reactors 3.2. Breakeven Uranium Price for Recycling in Fast Reactors 3.3. Cost of Electricity for Fast Reactors and Once-Through Systems 3.4. Cost Parameters and Variations 3.4.1. Difference in Capital Cost 3.4.2. Reactor Ownership and Financing Arrangements 3.4.3. Reprocessing Costs v 3.4.4. Core and Blanket Fuel Fabrication Costs 3.4.5. Geological Disposal of Reprocessing Waste 3.4.6. Breeding Ratio 3.4.7. Depleted Uranium Price Sidebar: Thermal Neutron and Fast-Neutron Reactors Sidebar: Characteristics of the Model Fast Reactor 4. Conclusions.............................................................................................................87 Appendix A. Fuel Cycle Cost Calculations................................................................89 A.1. Direct Disposal vs. Reprocessing and Recycle in LWRs A.1.1. Direct Disposal A.1.2. Reprocessing-Recycle A.1.2.1. Value of Recovered Plutonium A.1.2.2. Value of Recovered Uranium A.1.3. Uranium Breakeven Price A.2. Direct Disposal vs. Recycling in Fast-Neutron Reactors A.2.1. Capital Cost A.2.1.1. Interest During Construction A.2.2.2. Fixed Charge Rate A.2.2. Operations and Maintenance Cost A.2.3. Fuel Cost A.2.3.1. LWR Fuel A.2.3.2. LMR Fuel A.2.4. Breakeven Uranium Price Appendix B. World Uranium Resources ................................................................. 105 B.1. Introduction B.2. Fallacy of the Traditional Economic Resource Model B.3. Estimates of Uranium Resources B.4. Uranium From Seawater B.5. Uranium Consumption vi List of Figures and Tables Figure 2.1. Breakeven uranium price as a function of the cost of reprocessing ..............18 Table 2.1. Estimates of fuel cycle costs (2003 dollars) and other parameters...............19 Table 2.2. Breakeven prices of selected parameters.....................................................20 Figure 2.2. Sensitivity of the uranium breakeven price..................................................20 Figure 2.3. Additional cost of electricity for the reprocessing-recycle option ................22 Figure 2.4. Uranium prices, 1972-2000.........................................................................24 Table 2.3. Notional cost reduction for disposal of reprocessing wastes........................42 Figure 3.1. Breakeven uranium price for government-owned reactors...........................69 Figure 3.2. Breakeven uranium price for utility-owned reactors....................................70 Figure 3.3. Breakeven uranium price for private venture ownership..............................70 Table 3.1. Sensitivity analysis for the breakeven uranium price...................................71 Table 3.2. Breakeven price of selected parameters ........................................................73 Figure 3.4. Difference in the cost of electricity between an FR with recycling and an LWR with direct disposal..............................................................................................74 Table A.1. Isotopic composition of fresh and spent LEU..............................................92 Table A.2. Isotopic composition of fresh MOX fuel.....................................................93 Table A.3. Optimum tails assay ...................................................................................95 Table A.4. Fixed charge rates..................................................................................... 101 Table B.1. Typical uranium concentrations ................................................................ 106 Table B.2. Exponential uranium resource estimates .................................................... 113 vii Acknowledgements This report was prepared with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), under Award No. DE-FG26-99FT40281. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors