1. General issues

1.1 Operating time concepts

The notion of the operating life of a nuclear power plant can cover very different realities:

• a technical operating time beyond which the plant can no longer produce under acceptable safety conditions (e.g. due to excessive ageing of non-replaceable components);

• an economic operating period beyond which production costs would become prohibitive compared with other available means of production;

• a statutory operating period when the operating permit is granted for a limited time, or when new legislation requires the plant to be shut down;

• an accounting useful life corresponding to the depreciation of investments;...