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The impact of privatisation and deregulation
of the energy sector on cost competitivity and safety of nuclear power
was a major focus of the
Nuclear Energy Agency in 1998
1998 marked the fortieth anniversary
of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and an important milestone in the
overall reassessment of its objectives and strategies. A new Strategic
Plan and a greater integration of the Agency’s work into OECD activities
are strengthening its role as an international forum for the exchange
of information and experience amongst its members, a centre of nuclear
competence, and a provider of nuclear policy analyses.
The 1998 Annual Report reviews
the NEA’s achievements across the full range of its programmes, including
nuclear safety and regulation, radiation protection, radioactive waste
management, economic and resource issues, nuclear science and the
NEA Data Bank, as well as nuclear law and liability, and public information.
Some 345 nuclear power units provided
approximately 24% of the total electricity supply in OECD countries.
At the same time, economic deregulation, privatisation of the power
sector, and environmental and political factors, influenced nuclear
power programmes. In the continuing search for comprehensive international
solutions to climate change, there was increasing recognition of the
need for concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
the energy sector. In the context of international efforts to implement
the Kyoto Protocol, a number of countries acknowledged that nuclear
power, which generates electricity without producing greenhouse gases,
could play a key role in sustainable energy supply strategies in the
medium and long-term.
Within this broad context, the NEA
has been involved, as part of a major OECD project on sustainable
development, in an analysis of the sustainability of nuclear energy
from the social, environmental and economic viewpoint.
The NEA published a number of reports
which clarify the issues: Nuclear Power and Climate Change
studies the economic, financial, industrial and environmental effects
of three alternative nuclear development paths to 2050; Projected
Costs of Generating Electricity, published jointly with
the International Energy Agency (IEA), is the fifth in a series of
comparative studies on base-load electricity generation costs; Low-Level
Waste Repository Costs analyses the cost of such repositories
and investigates ways to reduce that cost while continuing to ensure
the highest level of safety.
Nuclear safety authorities faced
new challenges from the increasingly competitive economic climate
of the energy sector. The nuclear industry was pushed to optimise
output from existing reactors and fuel cycles, minimise outages and
uprate power, while at the same time it was pressured to cut staff
and reduce unnecessarily conservative safety margins. In addition,
the need was emphasised for continued national and international support
for both existing and new experimental facilities to address quickly
and efficiently future safety issues and support operating reactors
and the development of new designs. In 1998, NEA Members reiterated
the importance of safety research as an essential contribution to
the continued safe operation of nuclear plants, and the NEA assisted
its Member countries in addressing this issue.
The Agency’s work in nuclear safety
focused on operating experience and human factors, the behaviour of
the primary coolant system in nuclear reactors, the confinement of
accidental radioactive releases and risk assessment. The possible
consequences of Y2K-related computer failures were extensively reviewed
and an international exchange of experience on ways to prevent these
difficulties was put in place. A special meeting was held to consider
the regulatory aspects of ageing reactors and deal with ageing management
issues.
The safe management of radioactive
waste continues to be a key requirement for nuclear energy authorities.
The NEA Annual Report notes that, in 1998, national waste management
strategies focused on the development of deep repository systems for
long-lived high-level waste, with increasing consideration being given
to public involvement in the decision-making process. The NEA considered
the growing influence of societal and economic concerns in waste management,
and identified several areas for cross-sectorial co-operation, including
the process of repository development, public perception and confidence,
and the management of wastes from decommissioning.
The 1998 Annual Reportof
the Nuclear Energy Agency is available free on request from the NEA
Publications Office, Le Seine St Germain,12 boulevard des Iles, 92130
Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, and from the OECD Publications and Information
Centres:
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