FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF EARLY DECOMMISSIONING

James G. Hewlett

The Energy Journal, 1991, vol. 12, issue 1_suppl, 279-291

Abstract: There are three generalized timing possibilities for decommissioning: at the end of the original operating license, after some period of life extension, or sometime before the end of normal service. In this companion piece to his discussion of life extension in Chapter 20, James Hewlett addresses the third option. Premature decommissioning can arise—as it did for Unit 2 of Three Mile Island—from an accident, or—more commonly— because it may be cheaper to close the facility than to have it continue in operation. The economic implication of premature closure is one of potentially insufficient fund accumulation. As Hewlett points out, the decision to close a plant is complicated by decommissioning considerations; for example, the decision could depend in part on the status of the accumulated funds. Such a decision also can influence plans for new construction since it may delay the time of closure for existing plants. State regulatory bodies in the United States influence such decisions through their control over rates of return. In the end, decommissioning cost considerations often influence decommissioning timing.

Keywords: Nuclear plant early retirement; Decommissioning timing; Operating costs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1991
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-22 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:enejou:v:12:y:1991:i:1_suppl:p:279-291

DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol12-NoSI-22

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in The Energy Journal
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().