Analysis of Nuclear Reactor Siting Policy Using Multiobjective Programming

Decisions on power plant sites have emphasized the minimization of location-dependent costs. Recent events, particularly the incident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, have led to calls for a nuclear reactor siting policy that would require reactors to be sited in more remote areas. Solutions from a multiobjective programming model of a regional power system indicate that remote sites can be found with little or no cost penalty. A previously suggested policy of expansion of existing reactor sites is shown to lead to an inferior location pattern.