Birzhan Chukin, analyst from Kyrgyzstan argues why the history of operation of nuclear power plants questions their economic effectuality.
Literal translation below:
“On 13 November 1960, FRG commissioned their first nuclear power plant. On 15 April 2023, FRG de-commissioned their last nuclear power plant. 63-year history of the Federative Germany’s nuclear industry came to the end. That was the end of a whole industrial epoch, and the beginning of problems. The handling of those problems shall extend for decades and shall cost endless billions of Euros.
The problem is that the de-commissioning and the abandoning of a nuclear power plant is inclusive of disassembly and secure utilization of highly radioactive materials and equipment. That process will last for decades.
The Mulheim nuclear power plant was de-commissioned in 2004. Its construction lasted for 10 years. Its disassembly is still in process. It is unknown, how much more time it will take to finish the process. And, they have been disassembling the nuclear power plant in Greifswald since 1995 – for 28 years now.
The cost of disassembly and utilization should not be discussed, to avoid disappointment. Secure utilization and storage of nuclear wastes shall last for thousands of years. In other words, we are looking at endless expenditures.
We are facing a paradox – the disassembly and utilization of a nuclear power plant will be more expensive, compared to revenues from operation of same.
One disappointed German MP said, as follows: If we had known in the very beginning about the problems with waste storage and utilization of nuclear power plants, we would have never started their construction”.
