Rusatom Overseas: The lifespan of a nuclear power plant is 80 years

The working lifespan of a nuclear power plant is 80 years, said Mr Sergei Boyarkin, advisor of the Russian company Rusatom Overseas, during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 22 March.

“The working lifespan of the main equipment is 60 years. After the power plant has worked for 60 years without replacing the main equipment and with modernizing the auxiliary system, the lifespan can be extended by another 20 years. Thus, as a matter of principle, we can talk about the working lifespan of 80 years,” explained Sergei Boyarkin.

The specialist said that after the 80 years, the nuclear power plant is rendered nuclear-safe, fuel is removed as well as other parts that have become radioactive over the years. “The cost of the rehabilitation of the area depends on what we want to have at the site,” he said. “For instance, it is not pragmatic to return it to the greenfield state. Power lines and the infrastructure are already available. It is advisable to build another energy installation nearby after decommissioning the nuclear reactor. It is difficult to predict what kind exactly. Technologies that will exist in 80 years will determine it”.

The internationally accepted practice advises building an energy installation that uses the existing infrastructure if a power-generating unit has to be decommissioned. If the site is still used for production purposes, then the cost of rehabilitation will be 20-25% of the cost of a new installation.

“For instance, in Russia electricity tariffs include special deductions for decommissioning nuclear power plants in the future. They stand at 1.3%. The money is accumulated in a special fund and cannot be used for purposes other than decommissioning,” explained Sergei Boyarkin. “These sums cover the cost of decommissioning a power-generating unit many times over”.

As far as the territory is concerned, two so-called nuclear islands as large as 1.5 hectares each are subject to rehabilitation. The relevant territory rehabilitation technologies are available as well as specialists.