The FuTure oF nuclear Fuel cycle - MIT Energy Initiative

should not be changed to reflect changes in who bears these
risks. The use of a lower cost of capital for certain activities
artificially lowers the calculated cost and skews the comparison
of costs across fuel cycles.
levelized CoSt reSultS
Table 7.1 lists our key assumptions for the many inputs
to the levelized cost calculations for each cycle examined
here. The methodology is explained more fully in the Appendix
together with a number of other assumptions employed.
Full detail on the calculations is available in an
on-line research report. 2
Table 7.2 The LCOE for the Once-Through Cycle
(mill/KWh)
[1] raw uranium 2.76
[2] Fuel Production 4.35
[3] Front-end Fuel cycle 7.11
[4] capital charge 67.68
[5] o&M costs (non-fuel) 7.72
[6] Back-end Fuel cycle 1.30
[7] lcoe Total 83.81
notes:
[3]=[1]+[2].
[6] incorporates interim storage and ultimate disposal in a geologic
repository.
[7]=[3]+[4]+[5]+[6].
Once-Through Cycle
Table 7.2 shows the levelized cost for the Once-Through
Cycle. The levelized cost is broken down into four main
components: the front-end fuel cycle costs, the reactor
capital costs, the reactor non-fuel operating and maintenance
costs, and the back-end fuel cycle costs. The
front-end fuel cycle cost is further broken down into
two elements: the cost of the raw uranium and the cost
of manufacture, which is defined here to include conversion,
enrichment and fabrication. The total levelized cost
for the Once-Through Cycle is 83.81 mill/kWh (equivalently
8.381¢/kWh or $83.81/MWh). 3 Of this, the frontend
fuel costs in total account for 8% or 7.11 mill/kWh.
The cost of raw uranium is only 2.76 mill/kWh, or 3% of
the total levelized cost of electricity, which already makes
clear that savings on the purchase of raw uranium, given
the input price of uranium, will have little impact on the
total cost of electricity. The reactor capital costs account
for 81% of the cost, or 67.68 mill/kWh. This is the constant
charge for electricity produced by a reactor operating
at 85% capacity for 40 years that would just cover the
$4,000/kW overnight cost of building the reactor as well
as the maintenance capital expenditures over time and
the decommissioning cost. The non-fuel operating and
maintenance costs account for another 9% of the cost, or
7.72 mill/kWh. Finally, the back-end fuel cycle cost is 1.30
mill/kWh. This is the fee per unit of electricity produced
that would be sufficient to cover the cost of interim aboveground
storage of the spent fuel plus the cost of ultimate
disposal in a geologic repository.
Table 7.3 The LCOE for the Twice-Through Cycle
first pass — uoX fuel in a lWR
(mill/KWh)
[1] raw uranium 2.76
[2] Fuel Production 4.35
[3] Front-end Fuel cycle 7.11
[4] capital charge 67.68
[5] o&M costs (non-fuel) 7.72
[6] reprocessing 2.36
[7] hlW disposal 0.40
[8] reprocessed uranium -0.14
[9] Plutonium 0.25
[10] Back-end Fuel cycle 2.87
[11] lcoe Total 85.38
second pass — moX fuel in a lWR
(mill/KWh)
[12] depleted uranium 0.03
[13] Plutonium -4.39
[14] Fuel Production 7.38
[15] Front-end Fuel cycle 3.02
[16] capital charge 67.68
[17] o&M costs (non-fuel) 7.72
[18] Back-end Fuel cycle 6.96
[19] lcoe Total 85.38
[20] Price of plutonium, $/kghM -15,734
notes:
[3]=[1]+[2].
[10]=[6]+[7]+[8]+[9].
[11]=[3]+[4]+[5]+[10].
[15]=[12]+[13]+[14].
[18] incorporates interim storage and ultimate disposal of the spent
MoX geologic repository.
[19]=[15]+[16]+[17]+[18].
[20] is determined to set [11]=[19].
[20] enters into [9] and [13].
chapter 7: economics 103