Speaker
Dr
Viktor Dekusar
(Laboratory of Nuclear Fuel Cycle system analysis taking into account National and International tendencies)
Description
The fuel cost component (FCC) of electricity generation is defined as a specific indicator - the cost of 1 kWh of electricity produced. This value is obtained as the levelized (discounted) nuclear fuel cost value, generally beginning with natural uranium procurement and ending with spent fuel management, normalized to the total electric energy generated over the nuclear power plant lifetime. I.e. the result is the FCC average value over the entire lifetime.
The methodology of levelized FCC calculation is based on the concept of taking into account the disparity in the value of money, referring to different moments of time, and thus, the possibility of technical and economic comparison of projects with significant lifecycle. The nuclear fuel life cycle is known to normally cover a period of 50-100 years.
The paper describes the basic essential methodological and factual materials for the fuel component calculation for NPPs with fast and thermal reactors. However, these reactors are expected to be in the NE system, together with the nuclear fuel cycle facilities. In such a case, as is well known, plutonium is a link between thermal and fast reactors. The calculations were performed for the fast reactor BN-1200 in version with MOX-fuel, as well as for the WWER-TOI thermal reactor. The calculations have shown that at constant prices for natural uranium the values of levelized FCC with BN and WWER reactors are sufficiently close to each other. With regard to the escalation of prices for natural uranium, the levelized FCC for the entire life cycle of nuclear power plants with a natural uranium fuel thermal reactor significantly increases depending on the MOX fuel fraction in the core inventory, whereas for fast reactor NPPs it remains constant and much lower. The calculations have shown that for the fast reactor the fuel fabrication cost makes the main contribution to FCC, and for the thermal reactor – it is the cost of natural uranium and its enrichment.
Country/Int. Organization
Russia
Primary author
Dr
Viktor Dekusar
(Laboratory of Nuclear Fuel Cycle system analysis taking into account National and International tendencies)
