A comprehensive evaluation of the environmental external costs of a fusion power plant

All the damages that are not reflected in the market price are called external costs, The external costs of fusion were elaborated with the ExternE methodology. The external costs are in the range of a few mEuro/kWh depending on the plant model. The external costs are in general not dominated by the impacts due to radioactive emissions and releases. All stages of the life cycle contribute significantly to the external cost value. The external costs of fusion are in the same range as the external costs of photovoltaics and wind energy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.