ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the role of economics in determining the timing of the closure itself and examines the implications of decommissioning costs for the economic viability of nuclear power. The costs of decommissioning divide into two distinct operations: engineering work at the site, first sealing and later dismantling operations, and the management and disposal of the waste products thus created. ‘Overnight’ costs are those that would result if decommissioning could take place instantaneously, according to a defined plan, under technological and regulatory conditions. The conventional engineering response to an untested technology, such as reactor decommissioning, is to add a substantial fixed percentage to basic cost estimates: the less proven the technology, the higher the percentage. By comparison, the financial arrangements for decommissioning are about exactly who foots the bill and through what channels. The major nuclear countries do operate financial systems that, at least in appearance, set money aside for decommissioning.
