Monday, February 12, 2007

Study Says Yucca Mountain Too Costly

Nevada Study Shows Yucca Mountain Project Will Cost Much More Than Storing Nuclear Waste at Existing Reactor Sites
CARSON CITY, Nev., Feb 08, 2007 -- BUSINESS WIRE

A study released this week by the state of Nevada contradicts cost estimates from the U.S. Department of Energy and suggests the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository would actually cost billions more than storing the waste at existing nuclear reactor sites.

The analysis shows that (using that same 3 percent discount rate) it would cost $13.3 billion today to pay for the costs of dry storage at all 100 U.S. reactor sites - "for all perpetuity." Conversely, based on the same conditions, he found that it would cost $38.3 billion to build the Yucca repository by DOE's target date of 2025. The additional cost to store spent fuel until the repository is completed in 2025 is estimated at $5.8 billion.

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