Addressing the decommissioning issues is vital to ensure a sustainable and effective process of such an essential part of the project life cycle. While there is a set of good practices and regulations that govern most of the decommissioning activities, the cable decommissioning issue is still in a big debate and often left abandoned at the seabed due to environmental concerns, as justified by most developers. This paper is aiming to understand the environmental and economic consequences of cable decommissioning. The available research papers and reports that are dealing with cable decommissioning issues have been reviewed. The cables are often decommissioned using similar methods to installation. However, there are no regulatory obligations to removing the cables in most countries. Cable installation will be associated with environmental impacts, but they are considered to be negligible. Additionally, Recycling cables’ copper is beneficial in both aspects environmentally and economically as copper prices are on the rise. A comparison between the ESs and decommissioning programs in a number of OWFSs have been conducted to understand the justification used for abandoning the cables. Most of the decommissioning reports have considered cable decommissioning to cause “considerable damage to seabed ecology”. However, that contradicts what was found in the ESs, where the impact level was considered negligible and anticipated to be similar to installation. It was unclear whether the abandonment of cables was driven by environmental considerations or not. A case study has been selected to compare cable and monopile decommissioning costs and the contribution of each component to the total decommissioning cost, including possible revenue generated from recycling. It was found that the cost-benefit of cable decommissioning is incomparable to monopile decommissioning as the latter is very costly, and the possible residual value is insignificant when compared to cables. Moreover, it is possible that the total cable decommissioning cost to be largely offset by the revenue generated from copper resell. Additionally, the cable decommissioning total cost can be almost paid by recycling cables if copper prices increase in the near future.

The diploma thesis examines the effect of decommissioning of nuclear power plants on the energy security of two European countries - Germany and the Czech Republic. First, the author focuses on theoretical anchoring of energy security. The practical part then examines both countries from the perspective of their energy mixes and policies and infrastructure interconnection. This is the starting point for the comparison of the effects of the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. Second, the author presents three scenarios to replace nuclear energy, exploring how German and Czech energy security will change. The first scenario is the use of renewable energy only. The second option is a combination of renewable energy and coal. Finally, the third option is again a certain proportion of renewable energy along with natural gas. Last but not least, the author concludes in the presented paper that, despite the various possible combinations of how to replace nuclear energy, both countries would be worse off within the framework of energy security.

O presente trabalho aborda uma questão ainda relativamente nova, mas de urgente reflexão: a reutilização de imóveis industriais, considerados hoje, áreas potencialmente contaminadas (AP) por atividades não industriais. Objetiva documentar a postura mais freqüentemente utilizada no Brasil quando da reocupação da implantação de novos usos em imóveis industriais desativados, adotando-se como parâmetro o município de São Paulo. Busca averiguar se, em algum momento deste processo, há qualquer consideração sobre a possibilidade da existência de passivo ambiental, dada a natureza industrial da atividade anteriormente desenvolvida no imóvel. Parte da hipótese que os agentes envolvidos nesse processo de mudança de uso (incorporadoras, construtoras, etc) ignoram ou desconsideram a possível existência de contaminação no imóvel. A metodologia consistiu na seleção dos imóveis, a partir de uma base cartográfica (4 cartas – escala 1: 25.000 da EMPLASA) que registrava o uso do solo em 1980. Posterior visita ao campo e registro do uso atual destes imóveis. Os que apresentaram um novo uso não industrial foram analisados e se dentro dos parâmetros desejados, sujeitos a uma entrevista. O resultado das entrevistas comprovou a hipótese inicial. Conclui-se que, a reincorporação destes imóveis ao tecido urbano dá-se sem qualquer preocupação quanto à existência de uma possível contaminação do solo, dos aqüíferos ou das instalações se reaproveitadas. Mesmo se, durante a construção do novo empreendimento, tenham sido observados indícios de uma provável contaminação. Não há qualquer interesse na investigação da qualidade do solo e água, além do usual, para execução das fundações. Do ponto de vista dos agentes envolvidos, somente a exigência de um órgão público justificaria tal atitude. / This research refers to a very new problem, which needs urgent reflection and response: the new land uses in industrial areas, considered potentially contaminated. The research intends to define which is the more common attitude in Brazil for redevelopment of decommissioning industrial plants areas, focused on São Paulo city. It aims to examine the process of redevelopment projects, in order to discover if there is any consideration about the environment quality during the land uses changes. It takes as hypothesis that the agent involved in land uses changes process ignore completely the existence of contaminated sites. The methodology was grounded and developed by using charts (4 charts- scale 1:25.000 –.EMPLASA), which indicated the industrial plants in 1980. Later visit on land to verify their current uses. The agents involved in the installation of new non-industrial establishments were interviewed about the process. In summary, one can say that the reintegration of these decommissioning industrial areas is done without any kind of deeply concerns about the contaminated sites, or the impact of the past industrial activities on the groundwater quality, or in the abandoned installations. There isn’t any further interest in order to investigate the possibility of environmental liabilities and consequent risks and hazards.

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate different repowering alternatives from the viewpoint of increasing power production from existing offshore wind farms (OWF), as some of the first commissioned OWFs are approaching the end of their expected lifetime. The thesis presents a literature review of components and financial aspects that are of importance for repowering of OWFs. In the literature review, risks and uncertainties regarding repowering are also lifted and analysed. The thesis contains a case study on Horns Rev 1 OWF, where three different repowering scenarios are evaluated by technical and financial performance, aiming to compare the cost of repowering alternatives. The design of the case study is based around previous studies of offshore repowering having focused mainly on achieving the lowest possible levelized cost of energy (LCoE) and highest possible capacity factor, often resulting in suggested repowering utilizing smaller wind turbines than the existing ones. In order to evaluate the financial viability of repowering alternatives, the software RETScreen Expert was used to estimate the annual energy production (AEP) after losses and calculate the net present value (NPV) and LCoE for lifetime extension and full repowering utilizing different capacity wind turbines. Input values from the literature as well as real wind resource measurements from the site was utilized to achieve as accurate results as possible. The result of the case study shows that repowering of OWFs have the possibility of providing a very strong business case with all scenarios resulting in a positive NPV as well as lower LCoE than the benchmarked electricity production price. Although the initial investment cost of the different repowering alternatives presented in this thesis still are uncertain to some extent, due to the lack of reliable costs for repowering alternatives, this thesis provides a base for further research regarding the repowering of OWFs.

The increasing share of renewable energies in the power sector influences the economic viability of investments in new conventional power plants. Many studies have investigated these issues by considering power plant operation or the long-term development of the power plant fleet. However, power plant decommissioning, investment and operation are intrinsically linked. This doctoral thesis therefore presents a modelling framework for an integrated consideration of power plant decommissioning, investment and operation. In a case study focusing on Germany, the effects of the integration of renewable energies on power plant decommissioning, investment and operation are evaluated in the context of different assumptions regarding the remaining lifetime of nuclear power plants. With regard to the use of nuclear power, a phase-out scenario and a scenario with lifetime extension of nuclear power plants (by on average 12 years) are considered. The results show that static decommissioning (i.e. considering fixed technical lifetimes) underestimates the capacity available in the power sector in the scenario without lifetime extension since retrofit measures (versus decommissioning) are not taken into account. In contrast, capacity available in the case of nuclear lifetime extension is overestimated since mothballing (versus regular operation) is not considered. If the impact on decommissioning decisions of profit margins accrued during power plant operation are considered (“dynamic decommissioning”), the electricity price reduction effect due to a lifetime extension is reduced by more than half in comparison to static decommissioning. Scarcity situations do not differ significantly between the scenarios with and without lifetime extension with dynamic decommissioning; in contrast, there is a significantly higher need for imports without lifetime extension with static decommissioning. The case study demonstrates that further system flexibility is needed for the integration of renewable energies. It can be further concluded that the share of flexible power plants is higher with the phase-out of nuclear power plants. With regard to the decommissioning dynamics, the phase-out can be considered as beneficial for the economic viability of fossil power plants. Furthermore, the phase-out does not, overall, lead to environmental disadvantages in the medium term, but may be beneficial in the long run since lock-in effects are avoided. Further research is required with regard to the consideration of future flexibility options and a new market design. / Der steigende Anteil erneuerbarer Energien beeinflusst die Wirtschaftlichkeit von Investitionen in neue konventionelle Kraftwerke. Zahlreiche Studien haben diese Aspekte in Bezug auf den Kraftwerksbetrieb oder die langfristige Entwicklung des Kraftwerksparks untersucht. Stilllegungen, Investitionen und Betrieb im Kraftwerkspark bedingen jedoch einander. Aus diesem Grund wird in dieser Doktorarbeit ein Modellierungsansatz für eine integrierte Betrachtung von Kraftwerksstilllegung, -investition und -betrieb vorgestellt. In einer Fallstudie für Deutschland werden die Auswirkungen einer Integration erneuerbarer Energien auf Kraftwerksstilllegung, -investition und -betrieb im Zusammenhang mit unterschiedlichen Annahmen über die Restlaufzeit von Kernkraftwerken untersucht. Bezogen auf die Nutzung der Kernenergie wird hierbei ein Ausstiegsszenario sowie ein Laufzeitverlängerungsszenario (Verlän-gerung der Laufzeit um durchschnittlich 12 Jahre) betrachtet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die statische Stilllegung (d.h. die Betrachtung fester technischer Lebensdauern) im Fall eines Verzichts auf die Laufzeitverlängerung die im Kraftwerkspark verfügbare Leistung unterschätzt, da Retrofit-Maßnahmen (im Vergleich zur Stilllegung) nicht berücksichtigt werden. Die verfügbare Leistung im Falle einer Laufzeitverlängerung wird dagegen überschätzt, da die Möglichkeit der Kaltreserve (im Vergleich zum regulären Betrieb) vernachlässigt wird. Werden die Rückwirkungen der im Betrieb erwirtschaftbaren Deckungsbeiträge auf Stilllegungsentscheidungen (“dynamische Stilllegung”) betrachtet, so wird der strompreissenkende Effekt durch die Laufzeitverlängerung im Vergleich zur statischen Stilllegung mehr als halbiert. Knappheitssitutationen unterscheiden sich nicht wesentlich mit und ohne Laufzeitverlängerung im Fall der dynamischen Stilllegung, während bei statischer Stilllegung ohne Laufzeitzeitverlängerung ein deutlich größerer Importbedarf besteht. Die Fallstudie zeigt, dass weitere Systemflexibilitäten für die Integration erneuerbarer Energien benötigt werden. Der Anteil flexibler Kraftwerke ist größer im Fall des Kernenergieausstiegs. Der Kernenergieausstieg wirkt sich in Bezug auf die Stilllegungsdynamik positiv auf die Wirtschaftlichkeit fossiler Kraftwerke aus. Insgesamt führt der Kernenergieausstieg zu keinen mittelfristig nachteiligen Umwelteffekten, er kann sich jedoch langfristig positiv auswirken, da Lock-in-Effekte vermieden werden. Es besteht weiterer Forschungsbedarf in Bezug auf die Berücksichtigung künftiger Flexibilitätsoptionen und ein neues Marktdesign.

O presente trabalho aborda uma questão ainda relativamente nova, mas de urgente reflexão: a reutilização de imóveis industriais, considerados hoje, áreas potencialmente contaminadas (AP) por atividades não industriais. Objetiva documentar a postura mais freqüentemente utilizada no Brasil quando da reocupação da implantação de novos usos em imóveis industriais desativados, adotando-se como parâmetro o município de São Paulo. Busca averiguar se, em algum momento deste processo, há qualquer consideração sobre a possibilidade da existência de passivo ambiental, dada a natureza industrial da atividade anteriormente desenvolvida no imóvel. Parte da hipótese que os agentes envolvidos nesse processo de mudança de uso (incorporadoras, construtoras, etc) ignoram ou desconsideram a possível existência de contaminação no imóvel. A metodologia consistiu na seleção dos imóveis, a partir de uma base cartográfica (4 cartas – escala 1: 25.000 da EMPLASA) que registrava o uso do solo em 1980. Posterior visita ao campo e registro do uso atual destes imóveis. Os que apresentaram um novo uso não industrial foram analisados e se dentro dos parâmetros desejados, sujeitos a uma entrevista. O resultado das entrevistas comprovou a hipótese inicial. Conclui-se que, a reincorporação destes imóveis ao tecido urbano dá-se sem qualquer preocupação quanto à existência de uma possível contaminação do solo, dos aqüíferos ou das instalações se reaproveitadas. Mesmo se, durante a construção do novo empreendimento, tenham sido observados indícios de uma provável contaminação. Não há qualquer interesse na investigação da qualidade do solo e água, além do usual, para execução das fundações. Do ponto de vista dos agentes envolvidos, somente a exigência de um órgão público justificaria tal atitude. / This research refers to a very new problem, which needs urgent reflection and response: the new land uses in industrial areas, considered potentially contaminated. The research intends to define which is the more common attitude in Brazil for redevelopment of decommissioning industrial plants areas, focused on São Paulo city. It aims to examine the process of redevelopment projects, in order to discover if there is any consideration about the environment quality during the land uses changes. It takes as hypothesis that the agent involved in land uses changes process ignore completely the existence of contaminated sites. The methodology was grounded and developed by using charts (4 charts- scale 1:25.000 –.EMPLASA), which indicated the industrial plants in 1980. Later visit on land to verify their current uses. The agents involved in the installation of new non-industrial establishments were interviewed about the process. In summary, one can say that the reintegration of these decommissioning industrial areas is done without any kind of deeply concerns about the contaminated sites, or the impact of the past industrial activities on the groundwater quality, or in the abandoned installations. There isn’t any further interest in order to investigate the possibility of environmental liabilities and consequent risks and hazards.

Submitted by Marcia Silva (marcia@latec.uff.br) on 2015-10-28T15:24:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissert Alberto Carlos Caldeira Costa Coelho.pdf: 2546235 bytes, checksum: fae999869b3111d56936cf27a91be586 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-28T15:24:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissert Alberto Carlos Caldeira Costa Coelho.pdf: 2546235 bytes, checksum: fae999869b3111d56936cf27a91be586 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-04 / Este trabalho tem por objetivo identificar e avaliar a gestão dos possíveis grandes riscos (de grandes consequências), existentes no descomissionamento realizado na indústria do petróleo em ambiente offshore de uma unidade marítima fixa de exploração e produção do tipo jaqueta, localizada na Bacia de Campos, com uma lâmina d`água aproximadamente de 150 metros. Serão contemplados os grandes riscos e os cenários que se desdobram, a partir da identificação dos mesmos visando segurança operacional, ambiental e saúde ocupacional. Segundo estimativas de 2001, existiam cerca de 8.000 plataformas de petróleo offshore e 700 sondas de perfuração de poços exploratórios em mais de 500 campos em desenvolvimento, situados em mais de 100 países diferentes. Nos próximos vinte anos, se espera que mais de 6.500 plataformas e instalações venham a ser descomissionadas a um custo estimado de 20 a 40 bilhões de dólares. Entretanto, é bom lembrar que operação de descomissionamento de uma unidade marítima fixa de mesma proporção da do escopo deste trabalho, e em situação de localização idêntica, ainda não foi realizada por nenhuma operadora em nosso país. / This work aims to identify and assess potential major risks (huge consequences), existing decommissioning performed in the petroleum industry in offshore environment of a fixed unit of maritime exploration and production of kind jacket located in the Campos Basin with water depths of 150 meters. Will be addressed major risks and scenarios that unfold from their identification. According to estimates by 2001 there were about 8,000 offshore oil platforms and 700 rigs drilling exploratory wells in over 500 fields under development in more than 100 countries. In the next twenty years is expected to more than 6,500 platforms and facilities will be decommissioned at an estimated cost 29-40 billion dollars. However, it is good to remember that decommissioning operation of a maritime unit fixed proportion to the scope of this work and in the same situation and location, has not yet to be performed by any operator in our country.

This study examines the relationship between atomic energy production and community identity in Richland, Washington. Over the past fifty years, the identity of southeastern Washington has been intimately tied to production and industry at the Hanford Site. Today, however, environmental restoration and waste management programs have replaced plutonium production. The decline of the nuclear industry has influenced reinterpretations of local history and community identity through public display, commodity goods, and the re-scripting of historical texts. / Department of Anthropology

The increasing share of renewable energies in the power sector influences the economic viability of investments in new conventional power plants. Many studies have investigated these issues by considering power plant operation or the long-term development of the power plant fleet. However, power plant decommissioning, investment and operation are intrinsically linked. This doctoral thesis therefore presents a modelling framework for an integrated consideration of power plant decommissioning, investment and operation. In a case study focusing on Germany, the effects of the integration of renewable energies on power plant decommissioning, investment and operation are evaluated in the context of different assumptions regarding the remaining lifetime of nuclear power plants. With regard to the use of nuclear power, a phase-out scenario and a scenario with lifetime extension of nuclear power plants (by on average 12 years) are considered. The results show that static decommissioning (i.e. considering fixed technical lifetimes) underestimates the capacity available in the power sector in the scenario without lifetime extension since retrofit measures (versus decommissioning) are not taken into account. In contrast, capacity available in the case of nuclear lifetime extension is overestimated since mothballing (versus regular operation) is not considered. If the impact on decommissioning decisions of profit margins accrued during power plant operation are considered (“dynamic decommissioning”), the electricity price reduction effect due to a lifetime extension is reduced by more than half in comparison to static decommissioning. Scarcity situations do not differ significantly between the scenarios with and without lifetime extension with dynamic decommissioning; in contrast, there is a significantly higher need for imports without lifetime extension with static decommissioning. The case study demonstrates that further system flexibility is needed for the integration of renewable energies. It can be further concluded that the share of flexible power plants is higher with the phase-out of nuclear power plants. With regard to the decommissioning dynamics, the phase-out can be considered as beneficial for the economic viability of fossil power plants. Furthermore, the phase-out does not, overall, lead to environmental disadvantages in the medium term, but may be beneficial in the long run since lock-in effects are avoided. Further research is required with regard to the consideration of future flexibility options and a new market design. / Der steigende Anteil erneuerbarer Energien beeinflusst die Wirtschaftlichkeit von Investitionen in neue konventionelle Kraftwerke. Zahlreiche Studien haben diese Aspekte in Bezug auf den Kraftwerksbetrieb oder die langfristige Entwicklung des Kraftwerksparks untersucht. Stilllegungen, Investitionen und Betrieb im Kraftwerkspark bedingen jedoch einander. Aus diesem Grund wird in dieser Doktorarbeit ein Modellierungsansatz für eine integrierte Betrachtung von Kraftwerksstilllegung, -investition und -betrieb vorgestellt. In einer Fallstudie für Deutschland werden die Auswirkungen einer Integration erneuerbarer Energien auf Kraftwerksstilllegung, -investition und -betrieb im Zusammenhang mit unterschiedlichen Annahmen über die Restlaufzeit von Kernkraftwerken untersucht. Bezogen auf die Nutzung der Kernenergie wird hierbei ein Ausstiegsszenario sowie ein Laufzeitverlängerungsszenario (Verlän-gerung der Laufzeit um durchschnittlich 12 Jahre) betrachtet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die statische Stilllegung (d.h. die Betrachtung fester technischer Lebensdauern) im Fall eines Verzichts auf die Laufzeitverlängerung die im Kraftwerkspark verfügbare Leistung unterschätzt, da Retrofit-Maßnahmen (im Vergleich zur Stilllegung) nicht berücksichtigt werden. Die verfügbare Leistung im Falle einer Laufzeitverlängerung wird dagegen überschätzt, da die Möglichkeit der Kaltreserve (im Vergleich zum regulären Betrieb) vernachlässigt wird. Werden die Rückwirkungen der im Betrieb erwirtschaftbaren Deckungsbeiträge auf Stilllegungsentscheidungen (“dynamische Stilllegung”) betrachtet, so wird der strompreissenkende Effekt durch die Laufzeitverlängerung im Vergleich zur statischen Stilllegung mehr als halbiert. Knappheitssitutationen unterscheiden sich nicht wesentlich mit und ohne Laufzeitverlängerung im Fall der dynamischen Stilllegung, während bei statischer Stilllegung ohne Laufzeitzeitverlängerung ein deutlich größerer Importbedarf besteht. Die Fallstudie zeigt, dass weitere Systemflexibilitäten für die Integration erneuerbarer Energien benötigt werden. Der Anteil flexibler Kraftwerke ist größer im Fall des Kernenergieausstiegs. Der Kernenergieausstieg wirkt sich in Bezug auf die Stilllegungsdynamik positiv auf die Wirtschaftlichkeit fossiler Kraftwerke aus. Insgesamt führt der Kernenergieausstieg zu keinen mittelfristig nachteiligen Umwelteffekten, er kann sich jedoch langfristig positiv auswirken, da Lock-in-Effekte vermieden werden. Es besteht weiterer Forschungsbedarf in Bezug auf die Berücksichtigung künftiger Flexibilitätsoptionen und ein neues Marktdesign.