Projected Costs of Generating Electricity - OECD Nuclear Energy ...

France
Summary of the DGEMP study of reference costs for power generation
The first part of the 2003 study of reference costs for power generation has been completed. It was carried
out by the General Directorate for Energy and Raw Materials (DGEMP) of the French Ministry of
the Economy, Finance and Industry, with the collaboration of power-plant operators, construction firms
and many other experts. A Review Committee of experts including economists (Forecasting Department,
French Planning Office), qualified public figures, representatives of power-plant construction firms and
operators, and non-governmental organization (NGO) experts, was consulted in the final phase. The study
examines the costs of power generated by different methods – i.e. nuclear and fossil-fuel (gas-, coal-, and
oil-fired) power plants – in the context of an industrial operation beginning in the year 2015.
The second part of the study is devoted to decentralised production methods (wind, photovoltaic, combined
heat and power).
Study approach
The study is undertaken mainly from an investor’s perspective and uses an 8% discount rate to evaluate
the expenses and receipts from different years.
In addition, the investment costs are considered explicitly in terms of interest during construction.
Plant operating on a full-time basis (year-round)
Figure 1 illustrates the main conclusions of the study for an effective operating period of 8 000 hours.
Figure 1 – Production costs (incl. tax), discounted at 8% and
including CO 2 costs, for a full-time operation in 2015 (company perspective)
€/MWh
50
40
30
Additional CO 2 costs at 20 €/t
CO 2 costs at 64 €/t
Basic costs (excluding CO 2 )
20
10
0
Nuclear Combined-cycle
gas turbine
Circulating
fluidised coal bed
Pulverised coal with
flue-gas treatment
It can be seen that nuclear is more competitive than the other production methods for a year-round
operation with an 8% discount rate applied to expenses. This competitiveness is even better if the costs
related to greenhouse-gas (CO 2 ) emission are taken into account in estimating the MWh cost price.
Integrating the costs resulting from CO 2 emissions by non-nuclear fuels (gas, coal), which will be
compulsory as of 2004 with the transposition of European directives, increases the total cost per MWh of
111