Uraniumand ThoriumResources. Table 5 Impact of uranium costs on the cost of electricity
Impact of uranium costs on the cost of electricity | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â | Current uranium prices | Uranium from unconventional sources | Â | ||||
Optimistic: $500/kg | Pessimistic: $1,000/kg | Â | |||||
UO2 fuel 45 MWd/kg | UO2 fuel 60 MWd/kg | UO2 fuel 45 MWd/kg | UO2 fuel 60 MWd/kg | UO2 fuel 45 MWd/kg | UO2 fuel 60 MWd/kg | Units | |
Specific power | 37.9 | 37.9 | 37.9 | 37.9 | 37.9 | 37.9 | kWth/kg |
Cycle parameters | |||||||
Total cycle length | 3.6 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 4.8 | years |
Capacity factor | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | Â |
Effective full power days | 1183 | 1578 | 1183 | 1578 | 1183 | 1578 | efpd |
Burnup | 45 | 60 | 45 | 60 | 45 | 60 | MWd/kg ihm |
Feed U-235 content | 0.711% | 0.711% | 0.711% | 0.711% | 0.711% | 0.711% | wt% |
Product U-235 enrichment | 4.00% | 5.34% | 4.00% | 5.34% | 4.00% | 5.34% | wt% |
Tails U-235 content | 0.25% | 0.25% | 0.20% | 0.20% | 0.10% | 0.10% | wt% |
Separative work | 5.874 | 8.692 | 6.546 | 9.636 | 8.953 | 13.020 | kg-SWU/kg fuel |
Natural uranium | 8.089 | 10.964 | 7.439 | 10.050 | 6.385 | 8.569 | kg/kg fuel |
0.180 | 0.183 | 0.166 | 0.168 | 0.142 | 0.143 | kg/MWd | |
Rates | |||||||
Interest rate | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | /year |
Natural uranium | $140 | $140 | $500 | $500 | $1,000 | $1,000 | /kg U |
Conversion U3O8 to UF6 | $54 | $54 | $193 | $193 | $385 | $385 | /lb U3O8 |
$11 | $11 | $11 | $11 | $11 | $11 | /kg natural U | |
Separative work | $150 | $150 | $150 | $150 | $150 | $150 | /kg-SWU |
Costs | |||||||
Natural uranium | $1,132 | $1,535 | $3,719 | $5,025 | $6,385 | $8,569 | /kg fuel |
Separative work | $881 | $1,304 | $982 | $1,445 | $1,343 | $1,953 | /kg fuel |
Conversion | $89 | $121 | $82 | $111 | $70 | $94 | /kg fuel |
Fabrication | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | /kg fuel |
Total cost | $2,602 | $3,459 | $5,283 | $7,081 | $8,298 | $11,116 | /kg fuel |
Interest during use | $234 | $415 | $475 | $850 | $747 | $1,334 | /kg fuel |
Total fuel cost | $2,837 | $3,874 | $5,758 | $7,931 | $9,045 | $12,450 | /kg fuel |
$63.19 | $64.73 | $128.27 | $132.50 | $201.48 | $208.00 | /MWth-day | |
$0.772 | $0.790 | $1.566 | $1.618 | $2.460 | $2.540 | /million BTU | |
$7.81 | $8.00 | $15.86 | $16.38 | $24.91 | $25.72 | /MWe-h | |
COE increase due to high uranium prices | Â | $8.05 | $8.38 | $16.91 | $17.71 | /MWe-h | |
0.8 | 0.84 | 1.69 | 1.77 | cents/kWe-h | |||