Japan:Nuclear accident could raise power cost by 1 yen
Laaska News Oct. 25,2011
Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission says a nuclear accident could raise the cost of power generation by up to 1 yen per kilowatt-hour, but the total cost would still be lower than other forms of power generation.
The commission released on Tuesday new estimates on the cost of nuclear power generation calculated by a research panel set up in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
The estimates cover the costs that would stem from a serious nuclear accident and include outlays for evacuation, compensation and decommissioning of reactors.
But the panel says spending for cleaning radiation-contaminated areas and the long-term storage of radioactive debris was not included.
Based on the Fukushima crisis, the panel says the damage cost of a future nuclear plant accident will be more than 3.8 billion yen, or about 51 billion dollars.
This could raise the cost of power generation by up to 1 yen, or about 1.3 cents, per kilowatt-hour.
The report concludes that nuclear power generation costs can be calculated as from 6 to 7 yen, or about 8 to 9 cents, per kilowatt hour, and that this is still cheaper than other sources of energy.
But one member of the panel insisted that the damage cost estimates are too low, and that total losses would be about 12 times higher if decontamination spending is included. But the panel did not adopt his calculation.
NHK.
Laaska News.
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