Nuclear Decommissioning – Costs and risks

The decommissioning of the shut down reactors in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slowakia is financially supported by the European Commission and, according to the European Court of Auditors, is associated with serious delays and cost overruns.

The Budgetary Commission of the European Parliament has commissioned Oeko-Institute with a study that analyses the best practice of selected european decommissioning projects and contrasts those with the project management in the three eastern european cases. From this comparison recommendations for upgrading those projects shall be derived.

The investigation identified best practices in the organization of the decommissioning projects of Energiewerke Nord (Germany) and at Electricité de France. The comparison with the three eastern European countries identified several areas where the process organization should be urgently improved and a clearer attribution of responsibilities is required. Seven recommendations propose such changes.