The U. S. Department of Energy and the Privatization of the Hanford Tank Waste Remediation System—A Financial Perspective

Abstract

In May 2000, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it would not go forward under a privatization contract with BNFL, Inc., the U.S. affiliate of U.K.-based British Nuclear Fuel, plc, because the final bid price had escalated by more than 120%. BNFL was bidding to complete the final design, construction, and operation of a large-scale nuclear waste vitrification facility to be located in Hanford, Washington, the site of DOE's largest concentration of nuclear waste. This article examines, from a financial perspective, the lessons learned in structuring a privatized contract with a U.S. Federal agency, including the issues that were encountered throughout the negotiation in order to enable private financing for one of the largest nuclear waste disposal facilities in operation. It identifies both the necessary ingredients for successful public-private-partnerships and some critical issues that should be addressed to enable future federal privatizations to succeed.