The true cost of coal and nuclear

The true cost of coal and nuclear
2011-10-12 08:20
Andreas Späth

The day when the market price of electricity generated by using renewable energy sources will be on par with that produced by nuclear and coal-fired power plants is closer than you might think. In fact, if all of the behind-the scenes costs - the expenses not actually included in the price paid by consumers - were factored in, renewable energy would already be cost competitive.

In the case of atomic energy, for instance, the financial costs involved when nuclear reactors are shut down are only starting to become clear now. A study released at the end of September suggests that Germany’s efforts to decommission its fleet of nuclear plants will come at the expense of at least $24.5bn and that doesn’t even include the cost of long-term nuclear waste disposal. Analysts fear that the final bill may significantly exceed the sum the country’s nuclear power industry is legally required to put aside for the purpose.

In Japan, estimates for the economic damage done by the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the cost of the clean-up continue to increase. Elevated radiation levels in agricultural produce like rice, vegetables, beef, milk and tea have caused major losses in revenue and dealing with the contaminated soil in the region around the stricken power plant is turning out to be a gargantuan task.

Last week, a study reported very high levels of radioactivity - as much as 30 times above the legal limit - in soil samples from as far away as 60km. Yuichi Moriguchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo, estimates that as much as 100 million cubic metres of topsoil will have to be removed from a 2 000 square kilometre area. That’s the equivalent of a city block, 100 metres long on either side, piled with radioactive soil to a height of 10 000 metres!

The process of removing contaminated topsoil ...

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