Environmental Matters in the Commonwealth of Kentucky

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a revised estimate of the total system life cycle cost for a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.  The 2007 total system life cycle cost estimate includes the cost to research, construct and operate Yucca Mountain during a period of 150 years, from the beginning of the program in 1983 through closure and decommissioning in 2133.  The new cost estimate of $79.3 billion, when updated to 2007 dollars comes to $96.2 billion, a 38 percent increase from the last published estimate in 2001 of $57.5 billion.  This updated estimate takes into account a substantial increase in the amount of waste to be shipped and stored at the repository and more than $16 billion for inflation.  The Department is not proposing a change in the fee paid by nuclear utilities for the disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel at this time.

The new cost estimate reflects a 30 percent increase in the amount of commercial spent nuclear fuel to be disposed of in the repository, from a 2000 estimate of 83,800 metric tons heavy metal to a 2007 estimate of 109,300 metric tons heavy metal.  This increased amount would extend the transportation period by 16 years and the emplacement period by 25 years.  The increased amount of spent nuclear fuel is a result of existing and anticipated license renewals at operating nuclear power plants throughout the United States.  Other factors contributing to the 2007 cost estimate include increases in raw material costs and a refinement of the repository design.

The following is breakdown of the $96.2 billion estimate:

• Approximately $13.5 billion incurred from 1983 to the present
• $54.8 billion estimated for the construction, operation, and decommissioning
• $19.5 billion estimated for transportation
• $8.4 billion estimated for the balance of program activities

The total cost of building and operating the repository is divided between utility ratepayers and taxpayers, with ratepayers estimated to pay a little more than 80 percent, or $77.3 billion.