Atom Watch

Energy Northwest Trying To Improve; Low Rating From Nuclear Non-Profit

2010-11-04T20:55:00.003+01:00

[What is interesting about this story is that, in the past, INPO assessment results are confidential. There was a news report a few months back on San Onofre that also included INPO assessment information. Perhaps the media is delving more into the INPO assessments and we may see more INPO related information become public?]

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1721563/KPLU.Local.News/Energy.Northwest.Trying.To.Improve.Low.Rating.From.Nuclear.Non-Profit

Anna King (2010-11-04)

RICHLAND, WA (N3) - Energy Northwest's nuclear power plant in southcentral Washington ranks as one of the two worst in the country for operations and staff. KPLU's Anna King reports.

The critical review was by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. This non-profit was formed after the Three Mile Island accident in the late 70s to watch over nuclear power producers and is funded by the nuclear power industry itself. The report criticized Energy Northwest for six unplanned plant shutdowns in the past two years. Energy Northwest's Rochelle Olson says a string of equipment issues prompted the shutdowns but things have changed.

Rochelle Olson: "The improvement plans we've put in place in 2009 have started to work. And we will continue focusing on that to insure operations remain reliable for the region."

The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations' next review of Energy Northwest will be in 2012.

I'm Anna King in Richland.

IChemE nuclear experts back new build study

2010-10-30T00:40:00.002+02:00

[I read through this study and it was an interesting comparison of the recent new nuclear builds going on across the globe. Some excellent operating experience (OE as it is called in the industry) going forward.]

http://cms.icheme.org/mainwebsite/general-barafc3d75d.aspx?map=3efb334e182335d9c3c5d0956329d5c5

28 October 2010

IChemE nuclear experts back new build study
Bill Harper, chair of IChemE’s Nuclear Technology Subject Group has welcomed a new report published today, bringing together lessons learnt from past and current nuclear projects to help ensure the success of future UK nuclear new build.

The Nuclear Lessons Learnt study was conducted by Engineering the Future (Etf), an alliance of professional engineering organisations with a combined membership of over 450,000.

Harper said: “This report is a formidable initial step, which furthermore strengthens the UK’s position in becoming recognised as a world leader in the effective mobilisation of national and international expertise to deliver world-class nuclear new build.

“As a global organisation, IChemE is acutely aware of the huge upsurge in international interest in nuclear new build, and the consequent pressure on the need to develop approaches which will deliver nuclear generating time, cost and quality.”

The study aims to demonstrate that despite the long intervals between domestic new build programmes, lessons have been learnt that will significantly reduce risks and delays in UK new nuclear build programmes. Six of the most relevant projects in recent history were examined, and the outcomes and recovery of unforeseen issues that arose were documented to identify the common lessons learnt.

Five high level common lessons that can be applied to the current and future UK new build programme to help ensure smooth and economically efficient delivery were identified:

Follow-on replica stations are cheaper than first-of-a-kind

Designs should be mature and licensing issues resolved prior to construction

A highly qualified design and planning team is essential

Sub contractors used must be experienced or taught nuclear-specific construction skills

Early and effective engagement with community is crucial
The report can be downloaded here

http://www.ice.org.uk/nuclearlessonslearned

Construction of new Tsuruga units delayed

2010-10-22T16:08:00.002+02:00

[It will be interesting to learn the specifics of the delay from METI. I will post if I hear anything.]

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/IT-Construction_of_new_Tsuruga_units_delayed-2110104.html

Japan Atomic Power Co (Japco) has announced a further delay in the start of construction of the Tsuruga 3 and 4 nuclear power reactors. The company said that construction, which was scheduled to begin this month, had been postponed due to delays in safety checks by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti). Japco did not say when it now expects to start building the two 1538 MWe advanced pressurized water reactors (APWRs). In December 2006, the company put back construction of the units by two years due a revision in construction regulations following the government's new earthquake resistance guidelines. At that time it said that construction would start in October 2010, with commercial operation of unit 3 set to start in March 2016 and unit 4 in March 2017.

National Ignition Facility (NIF) Winner of Project Management Institute’s 2010 Project of the Year Award

2010-10-14T17:37:00.002+02:00

[Normally I do not post directly from press releases, however I found it interesting that a fusion project would win the PMI Award.]

http://www.pmi.org/en/About-Us/Press-Releases/National-Ignition-Facility-Winner-of-PMIs-2010-Project-of-the-Year-Award.aspx

For release on: 11 October 2010

Glenn R. Boyet
PMI
+1 610-356-4600 x1112
Glenn.Boyet@pmi.org

Megan Maguire Kelly
PMI
+1 610-356-4600 x7030
Megan.Kelly@pmi.org

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa., 11 October 2010 — National Ignition Facility (NIF), a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), has been honored by Project Management Institute (PMI) as the winner of its prestigious PMI® Project of the Year Award. The award recognizes the accomplishments of a project team for superior performance, exemplary project management execution, innovation in the use of project management technology or other processes.

The NIF, which was constructed at and led by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, CA, is the world’s largest and highest-energy laser. Accomplished by a worldwide collaboration that included representatives from governments, academia and industrial partners, is also the largest scientific construction project completed by the DOE’s NNSA. The facility has the goal of achieving self-sustaining nuclear fusion - the process that powers the sun and the stars - in the laboratory for the first time. Fusion power has many of the benefits of long-term renewable energy sources, such as being a sustainable energy supply compared to presently utilized sources and emitting no greenhouse gases.

Initiated in 1996 and completed in March 2009, NIF's 192 giant lasers, housed in a ten-story building the size of three football fields, is capable of delivering at least 50 times more energy than any previous laser system. This achievement is a major step toward developing inertial fusion energy as a clean, safe and virtually unlimited energy source for the future. In order to achieve this, the facility contains more than 3,000 pieces of amplifier glass, 8,000 large optics and 30,000 small optics that have been assembled into 6,206 replaceable units.

“We had a firm deadline for construction so equipment could be installed and completed,” said Dr. Edward Moses, Principal Associate Director for the NIF and Photon Science Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. “It was imperative to have proper processes and standards in place so we could institute a high level of technical and scientific project integration with an international, interdisciplinary consortium of scientists, engineers, vendors and suppliers. We are honored that PMI recognized the hard work, collaboration and dedication of the entire team that worked to create NIF.”

Through the use of skilled and certified project personnel and the rigorous application of the project management standards, processes, and techniques promulgated by the Project Management Institute as embodied in A Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide —Fourth Edition, the project was completed approximately $2 million under the $3,502 million budget, three weeks ahead of schedule. Since its completion, the NIF has consistently demonstrated outstanding reliability and availability, serving a broad scientific community exploring new technologies in energy production and new frontiers in astrophysics, materials science, and nuclear science.

“The National Ignition Facility is a stellar example of how properly applied project management excellence can bring together global teams to deliver a project of this scale and importance efficiently,” said Gregory Balestrero, president and chief executive officer of PMI. “PMI is thrilled to present Dr. Edward Moses, principal associate director of NIF & Photon Science Directorate, and his project team for these outstanding results with the PMI 2010 Project of the Year award.”

Dr. Moses and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory team as well as Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel Poneman, were presented with the 2010 PMI Project of the Year Award on Saturday 9 October 2010 during the PMI Awards Ceremony at PMI® Global Congress in Washington, DC.

Self-sustaining nuclear energy from Israel

2010-10-11T13:51:00.001+02:00

[We don't often hear of the Israeli civilian nuclear program. On a personal note, I had a professor who was trained at the Technion. Ben-Gurion University is the remaining school in Israel with a nuclear engineering major.]

http://www.israel21c.org/201010118407/environment/self-sustaining-nuclear-energy-from-israel

Though the very mention of nuclear energy makes many people nervous, it's no secret that we will come to depend on it more and more as highly-polluting and costly fossil fuels go the way of the dinosaurs from which they derive. That's why the world's best minds are focused on finding efficient and inexpensive methods of generating nuclear energy.

Israeli nuclear engineer Eugene Shwageraus is one of those minds. The 37-year-old Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev lecturer and his research partner, Dr. Michael Todosow of the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, received a three-year Energy Independence Partnership Grant last May from the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation to develop a self-sustainable fuel cycle for light water reactors.

Speaking to ISRAEL21c from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is working during the first year of the grant, Shwageraus explains what this means.

Building on proven nuclear technology

The most common type of nuclear reactor in use for the past 40 or 50 years is the light water reactor (LWR). It is powered by uranium fuel and cooled with plain ('light') inexpensive water. The trouble is that LWRs are quite inefficient in natural resource consumption, using less than one percent of the energy that could potentially be extracted from the uranium.

"In the 1970s, when the availability of uranium was feared to be a real concern, people started to develop 'fast breeders' that produce fuel at a faster rate than they consume it," says Shwageraus. "But in order to engineer such a system, they had to move away from cooling the reactors by water. They were cooled by liquid metal, typically molten sodium, requiring complex engineering. That complicates the system to the extent that fast breeders become much more expensive than light water cooled reactors."

Both due to the cost factor and because - as it turns out - uranium actually is quite plentiful, fast breeders never came into widespread use. Despite its energy inefficiency, the standard is still the LWR, found in about 450 civil and naval installations around the world.

And that's where the Israeli scientist's innovation comes in. By taking advantage of proven LWR technology, he and Todosow intend to make a cost-effective light water cooled reactor that will be as efficient as a fast breeder in extracting energy from the fuel.

"The process of development is three years, and at that time we'll choose from among several ways to see which is optimal to combine safety, economics and resource utilization," Shwageraus relates.

Collaborating on alternative, renewable solutions

The goal is a self-sustaining reactor, meaning one that will produce and consume about the same amounts of fuel. This isn't possible with uranium and light water coolant. The better choice is thorium, whose nuclear properties offer considerable flexibility in the reactor core design. Some experts believe that the energy stored in the earth's thorium reserves is greater than what is available from all other fossil and nuclear fuels combined.

Thorium in the earth's crust is estimated to be at least three times more abundant than uranium, and not difficult to extract, according to Shwageraus. It can be found in large quantities in India, the United States, Australia and Turkey, as well as Norway, which is where a Swedish chemist first discovered the element in the 19th century and named it after the Norse god of thunder. While it has long been considered theoretically possible to use it to produce nuclear energy, this potential has yet to be realized.

The competition for BSF Energy Independence Partnership grants was tough, and Shwageraus admits he was pleasantly surprised to receive one. The program enables scientists from Israel and the United States to work collaboratively on finding alternative and renewable energy solutions. Supported by the Ministry of National Infrastructures, the initial phase awarded $1.2 million in funding for six projects in solar energy, biofuels and clean, safe nuclear energy.

Shwageraus, who earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at BGU and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at MIT, came to Israel at age 20 from his native Russia. He and his wife and two young children plan to return to Israel next year, where he will continue the project.

"I see it as a mission," he states. "Nuclear energy is a strategic option for Israel and I want to be part of it. It's a good thing for the country and for global society."

Fee Dispute Hinders Plan for Reactor

2010-10-10T01:46:00.003+02:00

[While many may have already seen news reports on Constellation and the loan guarantee, I have not seen any reports discussing how this would affect the other utilities seeking loan guarantees (i.e., will this allow V.C. Summer or Comanche Peak a better chance at the remaining loan guarantee funds?)]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/business/energy-environment/10reactor.html?_r=1&ref=business

By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: October 9, 2010
WASHINGTON — Constellation Energy said on Saturday that it had reached an impasse in negotiations for a federal loan guarantee to build a proposed third nuclear reactor at its Calvert Cliffs site near Washington.

The decision would appear to kill the project unless Congress or the White House steps in. Constellation said in a letter to the Energy Department that the Office of Management and Budget was seeking a fee of $880 million on a guarantee of about $7.6 billion, which it said would doom the project, “or the economics of any nuclear project, for that matter.”

The fee is to compensate taxpayers for the risk of default. The company argues that because the plant’s model is being proven in Finland, France and China, and because it has a strong partner, Électricité de France, the fee should be 1 to 2 percent.

The project had once been hailed as a cornerstone of a nuclear power renaissance.

In 2005, President George W. Bush spoke at Calvert Cliffs, the first presidential visit to a nuclear plant in 30 years. “It is time for this country to start building nuclear power plants again,” he said. The last successful groundbreaking for a nuclear reactor in the United States was in 1973.

The federal government authorized a loan guarantee program in 2005 intended to spur nuclear power development, and Congress agreed to finance it in 2007. So far, however, only one guarantee has been issued, for two new units at the Southern Company’s Vogtle plant, near Waynesboro, Ga.

Ground has been broken there, and also for two more reactors across the Savannah River in South Carolina, a project that is proceeding without loan guarantees. But a variety of utilities around the country have stepped back from plans to build reactors.

Constellation, which serves a large area of Maryland and owns generating plants nationwide, announced its decision Saturday after the impasse was reported by The Washington Post.

On Saturday, James L. Connaughton, executive vice president of Constellation and an environmental official in the Bush White House, stopped short of saying the project was dead. “We were in the middle of discussions,” he said.

The government had proposed a lower fee if Constellation agreed to buy three-quarters of the power and Constellation and EDF guaranteed completion of the plant, said Mr. Connaughton, but he said those conditions were too onerous.

The site in question is 40 miles south of the District of Columbia where Baltimore Gas & Electric, a predecessor to Constellation, finished two reactors in the 1970s. They remain in operation.

In a statement, EDF said it was “extremely disappointed and shocked to learn that Constellation has unilaterally decided to withdraw from the Calvert Cliffs 3 project.” It added, “We were at the finish line with the Department of Energy and were making significant progress.”

Constellation said EDF would have to decide whether to proceed alone, although by law it needs an American partner. The companies had hoped to build a series of identical reactors around the United States, with local partners.

A spokeswoman for the Energy Department said they were surprised by Constellation’s announcement.

Constellation had been hinting for weeks that it had reservations. In September, Mayo Shattuck, the company’s chief executive, speaking at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Washington, referred to the differences in economics between Calvert Cliffs and the Vogtle plant.

The Georgia plant, he said, falls under traditional regulations that pass the costs of construction on to power customers; Calvert Cliffs, he said, was in a “merchant” environment, where companies build at their own risk, and sell power at market rates.

Experts have pointed out that the current economic climate is not favorable to nuclear construction, in part because the price of natural gas is so low.

Congress has authorized loan guarantees of up to $18.5 billion for new reactors, with $8.3 billion now earmarked for Vogtle. President Obama has proposed an additional $36 billion. The sums are simply guarantees by the government to repay lenders if the builder cannot do so.

Their cost to the Treasury is unclear; if the reactors are built as planned and run profitably, the cost would be zero. In fact, the Treasury could make a profit on fees paid by the borrowers. While the negotiations are secret, Constellation has been complaining for months that the fee Treasury sought was too high.

A version of this article appeared in print on October 10, 2010, on page A21 of the New York edition.

Tens of thousands take part in Munich anti-nuclear protest

2010-10-10T01:38:00.003+02:00

[In Petr Bechmann's book, "The History of PI," he describes how some state legislatures in the US tried to legislate a value of PI. I thought of these attempts when reading this. If we could only legislate the sun and wind to blow per the instructions of the load dispatcher... ;-) ]

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6097663,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

Tens of thousands of people turned out on the streets of Munich on Saturday against the nuclear power policy of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government.

A focus of the protest was the formation of a human chain, about 10 kilometers long, through the center of the city.

Organizers said that some 50,000 people in all took part in the day's events, while police put the number at around 25,000.

Gabriel claimed the protest showed the nuclear policy was deeply unpopular "It is an enormous success for us," said Marcus Greineder, chief organizer of the Bavaria Chain Reaction group, which organized the protest.

The heart of the demonstration was the city's Odeonsplatz, where a stage was set up to rally the crowd.

Public 'simply does not accept'

Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Sigmar Gabriel said that the turnout revealed the level of opposition to a planned extension to the operating lifespans of Germany's nuclear power plants.

"This shows once again that the population simply doesn't accept government's lobby group policy in favor of nuclear firms."

Five Bavarian nuclear plants are affected by the extension, among them the particularly controversial Isar 1 reactor which has been in use since 1977.

The Isar 1 plant is perhaps the most controversial of Bavaria's nuclear sitesSeveral political parties and action groups rallied people to join the demonstration, calling for a move away from nuclear energy towards renewable energy.

Reprocessing idea abandoned

The action was the biggest anti-nuclear event in Bavaria in decades. A rally against plans to build a nuclear reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf in 1985 - which was later abandoned - was attended by 30,000 to 50,000 people.

Organizers say around 100,000 people took part in a demonstration against the planned extensions in Berlin in September. Police put the number at 40,000.

A previous German government of the SPD and Green party decided to close all nuclear plants by 2021, but the current coalition has plans to extend that deadline by an average of 12 years.

Author: Richard Connor (dpa/AFP)
Editor: Ben Knight

Why we must embrace sustainable generation of nuclear energy

2010-10-10T01:10:00.001+02:00

[For those who may not have read, Kenya has held discussions with South Korea regarding nuclear energy development. Whether any orders will materialize may be a while.]

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/commentaries/InsidePage.php?id=2000019982&cid=15&

Updated 3 hr(s) 34 min(s) ago
By William Ruto

Many people seem to harbour apocalyptic associations with the term 'nuclear'. Once they hear or read it, they immediately envision the end of the world as we know it. As a result, their knee-jerk reaction is hostile or, at best, totally unreceptive. However, Nuclear Technology is not just about war!

In fact, nuclear technology is already in use in Kenya to solve some of the most pressing problem facing the people, and in every day spheres like agriculture and medicine.

Examples include mutation breeding, which has been used to develop an internationally acclaimed early maturing, high yielding and drought resistant wheat variety in Kenya with tremendous potential to solve food security problems in the Developing World. The technology has been extended to cassava and banana breeding among other crops.

Secondly, radioactive medicine and healthcare, a critical function of nuclear technology, is now being used to treat cancer.

These successes in use of nuclear technology must spread to energy generation to power our industrial revolution and economic growth.

As the world population increases and more countries become industrialised, demand for energy escalates. Kenya has one of the fastest growing populations, with one million additional people every year. 80 per cent of Kenyans depend on wood fuel. Increased power generation would ease the immense and disastrous pressure on our forest and tree cover.

Without a doubt, nuclear technology is the most viable tool to access cheap clean energy on the basis on least cost analysis.

Additionally, if Kenya is to realise industrial revolution and grow the economy by 10 per cent as envisaged in Vision 2030, access to affordable, sustainable and clean energy is no longer an academic matter. A programmatic and strategic consideration of all the benefits of nuclear energy must be the centrepiece of the national development agenda.

Today’s energy options include hydrocarbon based sources (oil, coal and gas), renewable sources ( wind, hydro, solar, biomass and geothermal). Renewable sources indeed ameliorate greenhouse gas emissions and other deleterious impacts, but are expensive and liable to compound the cost of sustainable development.

Hydrocarbon based energy sources significantly contribute to global warming and climate change: in 2008 alone, the top 20 greenhouse gas emitters in the world released 24 trillion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. There is a correlation between leading emitters, and fast-growing economies, implying that energy directly fuels development.

The Kyoto Protocol limits levels of carbon emission per country, while reserve depletion drives oil and gas prices higher as economic growth increases the demand for energy on the other hand. This is the full cycle of the fossil-fuel conundrum; it presents no happy ending in environmental and economic terms. Quite clearly, in very short time indeed, there will be worldwide resurgence of nuclear power out of need, not choice.

It is imperative that Kenya moves with urgency to build full capacity for the sustainable generation of nuclear energy.

That is why the office of the Prime Minister is set to coordinate an inter-ministerial (Energy, Industrialisation, Environment and Higher Education) committee spearheaded by the National Economic and Social Council, and that is just the beginning.

Development stakeholders must change their attitudes towards nuclear technology, and begin to see opportunities instead of threats, development instead of destruction, and blessings instead of disasters.

—The writer is Minister for Higher Education.

China starts up 1st 4th generation nuclear reactor

2010-07-21T20:52:00.002+02:00

[Fast reactors typically use a molten alkali metal such as sodium as the coolant. These reactors allow for higher energy neutrons that can be used for breeding or transmutation of actinide fission products.]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-07/21/content_11032957.htm

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-21 23:49
BEIJING - Chinese scientists have succeeded in testing the country's first experimental fourth generation nuclear reactor, an expert said here on Wednesday.

The successful start up of the China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) marked a breakthrough in China's fourth generation nuclear technology, and made China the eighth country in the world to own the technology, Zhang Donghui, general manager of the CEFR project, told Xinhua over phone.

China's existing 11 nuclear power generating units all use second generation of nuclear power generation technology. The country started the construction of its first third-generation pressurized water reactors using AP1000 technologies developed by US-based Westinghouse in 2009.

Compared with the third generation reactors which have an utility rate of uranium of just one percent, CEFR boasts an utility rate of more than 60 percent.

A new recycling technology called pyroprocessing is also used to close the fuel cycle by separating the unused fuel from most of the radioactive waste.

"The CEFR is safer, more environment-friendly, and more economic than its predecessors," Zhang said.

King says Tonga should move to nuclear power

2010-06-11T11:15:00.002+02:00

http://www.cnbc.com/id/37632317

By: The Associated Press | 11 Jun 2010 | 03:33 AM ET Tonga -

The impoverished South Pacific island nation of Tonga should move quickly toward nuclear power as its main source of electricity, its king said Friday.

Opening the nation's Parliament, King George Tupou V said while energy-hungry Tonga is planning to produce half its electricity from renewable energy within three years, "nature is dictating that we must look to nuclear energy."

King George said his government is following a U.S. plan aimed at developing small 30-megawatt nuclear plants to curb electricity costs and reduce dependence on expensive imported fuels.

"Should this development prove successful, it would be of enormous value in protecting our environment and reducing our use of diesel fuel," he told the lawmakers.

He did not indicate how the near-bankrupt nation would fund a nuclear power plant.

Late last year, officials produced a "Tonga Energy Road Map" that sets a goal of producing 50 percent of the country's electricity from renewable energy sources, including solar and wind. Nuclear power was not part of their planning.

Currently 95 percent of Tonga's 20 to 30 megawatts of annual power consumption is produced by generators using high-cost diesel fuel. Just 5 percent of the electricity is produced by small solar plants located on outer islands of the archipelago.

While no South Pacific states, including Australia and New Zealand, have nuclear power plants, King George noted that building a nuclear station in Tonga would also help solve its need for clean drinking water through desalination.

Tonga's main water sources are underground and have been polluted in recent years by fertilizers and pesticides, he said.

"The government maintains that nuclear power is our best hope of resolving our water problem as we can produce abundant supplies through desalination very cheaply," he said. "The quicker we move in this direction the better."

King George was widely known as a rich and eccentric playboy during the reign of his father, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who died in September 2006.

He has since implemented democratic reforms in the near-feudal monarchy, with the country's voters set to choose a new government in elections later this year.

However, Tonga faces mounting poverty and unemployment among its youth, and relies heavily on aid and money remitted by citizens living abroad. The World Bank has said 40 percent of the nation's 101,000 people live near or below the poverty line.

How to rid reactors of uranium risk

2010-05-27T14:34:00.001+02:00

http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100525/full/465408a.html

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty talks grapple with legacy of highly enriched fuel.

Declan Butler

As the month-long conference reviewing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty comes to an end this week in New York, efforts to minimize the world's nuclear arsenal are centre stage.

But many countries at the meeting, held every 5 years, are calling for action on an underappreciated but pressing risk: getting rid of the legacy of hundreds of research reactors, mainly civilian, that use weapons-grade highly enriched uranium (HEU).

The total quantity of HEU in research reactors is small compared with military stocks, but still amounts to a few hundred tonnes — more than enough to pose a threat, as a nuclear bomb can be made with just a few dozen kilograms. Security can often be lower at research reactors, which are typically operated by universities and civilian labs, raising fears that nuclear material could fall into the hands of terrorists.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been helping countries convert their reactors to use low-enriched uranium (LEU), but cannot force them to do so. Nations including the United States want a renewed worldwide effort to speed up this process; in April, President Barack Obama hosted an international nuclear security summit in Washington DC, which agreed in principle to the ambitious goal of locking down unsecured civilian nuclear material within 4 years.

Yet progress in converting HEU reactors to LEU has been slow (see map). Despite the renewed momentum for change, many of the resolutions supporting reactor conversion at this month's conference contained key caveats, such as "where this is technically and economically feasible".

Nature discussed the problem and possible solutions with Pablo Adelfang, head of the IAEA Research Reactor Section.

Pablo Adelfang.How important are HEU reactors for research?

Very. Research reactors are the cornerstone of nuclear science and a stepping stone towards nuclear power. They are unique tools for testing materials and fuel, and for training scientists and engineers. Other civilian HEU reactors, which share many of the design characteristics of HEU research reactors, produce vital medical radioisotopes.

How secure are HEU stocks against theft?

Security standards have improved widely. Some of the HEU is so highly irradiated that it would quickly kill anyone trying to steal it. But there is a dispute over what levels of irradiation make HEU self-protecting. Some material that has been cooling in a pool is less lethal, and one could imagine terrorists taking the risk of stealing it.

Why are reactors difficult to convert?

HEU reactors used for research and to produce medical radioisotopes have uranium enrichment levels of the order of 90% fissile uranium-235 atoms and just 10% uranium-238. [Unenriched uranium is largely non-fissile, containing about 99% uranium-238.] The problem is that the volume of the core of these existing HEU reactors, and their component fuel elements, are fixed by their initial design. You cannot increase the size of the core, which would be one way to achieve almost the same number of uranium-235 atoms in the core using LEU (typically about 20% enriched). In any case, that would amount to designing a new reactor.

So the only option for conversion is to design LEU fuels with higher densities of uranium. The challenge has been to increase fuel density while ensuring that fuels can be easily fabricated and will perform properly under irradiation to accommodate released fission gases, for example. Fortunately, almost all HEU research reactors were designed as relatively low-power, low-fuel-density reactors. That means the high-density LEU fuels already available are adequate for converting them. But that leaves 20 or so higher power, higher performance HEU reactors, which would require LEU fuel of much higher density to match the uranium-235 loading of their HEU cores.

How are researchers trying to create higher density LEU fuels?

The highest possible density for a uranium fuel is pure uranium metal, but it is unstable under reactor conditions. So it is alloyed with other elements, typically molybdenum at 7–8%. The density of a uranium–molybdenum alloy is very close to that of pure uranium.

But in tests in 2003, the first promising next-generation LEU fuel — in which the uranium–molybdenum powder was dispersed in a heat-conducting aluminium matrix — failed badly. The fuel reacted with the matrix, became amorphous, and was unable to retain fission gases, which gathered together in big bubbles, causing breakaway swelling of the fuel and pillowing of the fuel plates. One solution was to add pure silicon to either the fuel or the aluminium. Another, the main route being pursued, was to use aluminium as a cladding rather than a matrix, with a thin layer of zirconium separating it from a sheet of uranium. Final development and qualification of this latter fuel should take just a couple of years. It would allow conversion of all but about ten HEU reactors.

Is cost an obstacle to conversion?

Converting a reactor can cost from US$1 million to $10 million, depending on its type. The main expenses are purchasing new fuels and making changes to the reactor's safety and operating systems. These costs are met by most countries, although the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, a programme launched in 2004 by the US energy department to improve nuclear security worldwide, provides technical and funding support to lower-income countries.

The IAEA cannot demand conversion, but should countries wish to convert, we will provide technical support. There is some reluctance from scientists because they fear that conversion might reduce reactor performance. To reassure them, the IAEA does a detailed reactor assessment, including calculating any changes in performance.

What's happening with medical reactors?

Less progress has been made in converting the targets used for medical radioisotope production to LEU, although South Africa is converting one. Other countries, including Argentina and Australia, are already using LEU for this purpose. I think that the companies who produce radioisotopes are inclined to convert, but they are concerned about costs and the effect on the price of their products. A 2009 report by the US National Academies, however, found that there was no technical obstacle to converting, and that it would cause at most a 10% increase in the cost of medical imaging.

What should happen next?

We need to move on from debating whether it is economically or technically viable to convert HEU reactors and targets, and push ahead with doing it. The non-proliferation stakes are too high to do otherwise.

Mexico eyes up to 10 new nuclear plants by 2028

2010-05-13T01:40:00.000+02:00

http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINN1220778320100512

Thu May 13, 2010 2:12am

LA JOLLA, Calif., May 12 (Reuters) - Mexico may build up to 10 new nuclear power stations by 2028 under one scenario being evaluated by the state electricity monopoly, the company said in a presentation on Wednesday.

Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, currently has four scenarios for new power generation capacity from 2019- 28 that range from a heavy reliance on coal-fired power plants to meet growing demand to a low-carbon scenario that calls for big investments in nuclear and wind power, said Eugenio Laris, who is in charge of investment projects at the company.

Mexico currently operates a single nuclear power station at Laguna Verde in the state of Veracruz along the Gulf of Mexico.

Construction of the plant, which entered commercial operation in the 1990s, took nearly 20 years and the high cost of developing nuclear power stations has so far deterred the CFE from building another.

However, the government of President Felipe Calderon has made tackling climate change a priority. Calderon has promised to make voluntary cuts in carbon dioxide emissions by reducing natural gas flaring and through more efficient use of energy. He has indicated his willingness to further cut Mexico's carbon emissions with financial assistance from wealthier nations.

Under the most aggressive scenario, nuclear energy would supply nearly a quarter of Mexico's power needs by 2028, which would allow the country's carbon emissions from power generation to remain virtually unchanged from 2008 despite projections of substantially higher demand.

By contrast the coal-reliant scenario calls for the building of 14 coal-fired generation stations that would double carbon emissions over the same period. (Reporting by Robert Campbell; Editing by David Gregorio)

Saudi Arabia to Create First Nuclear City in Kingdom

2010-04-20T12:42:00.001+02:00

http://www.us-sabc.org/custom/news/details.cfm?id=640

April 18, 2010 – Saudi government officials recently announced plans to build the first ever peaceful nuclear energy program in the Kingdom. The King Abdullah City for Nuclear and Renewable Energy will be located in Riyadh and is designed to meet Saudi Arabia’s growing needs for energy and desalinated water. Nuclear reactors built on the site will provide renewable, clean energy while simultaneously desalinating drinking water for the country’s citizens. The use of nuclear energy also means more sustainable and export-oriented plans for the Kingdoms’ vast hydrocarbon resources. In an effort to encourage private investment in the new city, all machinery and equipment imported for scientific activities will be exempted from taxes and tariffs. The new King Abdullah City for Nuclear and Renewable Energy will be supervised by a 13-member council, which will be responsible for national policy on nuclear energy development, supervising all commercial use of nuclear power, and handling of radioactive waste, as well as representing Saudi Arabia to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Several African States actively preparing to join the nuclear energy club

2010-04-01T14:44:00.000+02:00

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/several-african-states-actively-preparing-to-join-the-nuclear-energy-club-2010-04-01

By: Keith Campbell
1st April 2010

How many countries in Africa have operational nuclear reactors? And just how many operational reactors are there on the continent? The answers are seven and eleven. Not many, but more than generally realised. The countries concerned are Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.

South Africa has three reactors – one research reactor, at Pelindaba, west of Pretoria and two pressurised water reactors which power the French-designed and built Koeberg nuclear power plant (NPP) near Cape Town. The other countries operate only research reactors, one each, except for Algeria and Egypt, which have two each. (Research reactors do not generate electricity and are much smaller and simpler than the reactors used in NPPs). But this situation is set to change quite significantly over the next 20 years.

All these countries, except Ghana and Libya, attended last month’s International Conference on Access to Civil Nuclear Energy, in Paris, as did Namibia, Senegal and Tunisia. All, except South Africa, were represented by Ministers. And all these countries, including Ghana and Libya, are interested in developing or, in the case of South Africa, expanding, nuclear power.

Indeed, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been providing assistance to Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia, besides other African states, for studies regarding the adoption of nuclear energy as a means of generating electricity by these countries.

Further, during the past 20 or so months, the governments of Algeria, Libya and Tunisia have signed agreements with the government of France establishing frameworks within which France will provide these countries with the expertise necessary to allow them to add nuclear power to their national energy matrices. Egypt has had such an agreement with France for some time now – although dormant for a number of years, it has more recently been reactivated.

The agency responsible for implementing these assistance programmes is the French International Nuclear Agency (abbreviated to AFNI in French), which was set up in June 2008 and is an institution of the country’s Atomic Energy Commission. The AFNI is responsible for for bilateral relations between France and countries which are starting nuclear energy programmes. It does not handle relations with countries which already have nuclear energy. Thus, the AFNI is not involved in French nuclear energy relations with South Africa.

The main role of the AFNI is to build the nuclear capacity in the partner countries. It identifies competences that these new nuclear energy countries already have, and what they lack. Assistance is set up according to each partner country’s needs. The AFNI is a governmental organisation and not a company and is run on a not-for-profit basis. It is not an aid agency – the partner country, not France, pays for the AFNI’s services.

Algeria and Libya are at the very beginning of this cooperation process and have not yet made specific requests for assistance. Egypt and Tunisia are more advanced in the process. Egypt is seeking help in the training of personnel in the nuclear energy field. Although it signed the framework agreement with France in April 2009, Tunisia has already made specific requests of France, apparently focused on matters regarding nuclear energy infra- structure. The AFNI has responded with proposals and is awaiting Tunisian agreement.

AFRICA'S ASPIRANT NUCLEAR CLUB MEMBERS

At least four African Ministers addressed last month’s conference in Paris. “The use of energy is important, especially for countries in development,” stated Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina. “Nuclear power plants are one of the options to produce energy and water. A growing number of countries recognise the role of nuclear energy,” pointed out Egyptian Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Younes. “Civil nuclear power is increasingly a viable alternative to fossil fuels, which are very polluting,” affirmed Moroccan Energy, Mines, Water and Environment Minister Amina Benkhadra. “Our energy production is mainly [fossil fuel] thermal. It has been hit hard by the volatility in energy prices,” reported Senegalese Energy Minister Samuel Amete Sarr. “Alternative forms of energy, in parti-cular nuclear, will play an important role in the future.”

Egypt should have had NPPs decades ago. Younes explained that his country first considered nuclear energy in the 1960s and by the 1980s had developed ambitious plans for NPPs. However, this programme was brought to a complete halt by the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, in Ukraine.

But times have changed. “Egypt is a medium-sized energy user and a regional hub. Electricity reaches 99% of the Egyptian population. Egypt has been motivated to reconsider nuclear power because of our limited fossil fuel resources and near [full] capacity on hydropower,” elucidated Younes. “Nuclear is technically and economically viable and will help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Egypt has a programme to establish 4 000 MW of nuclear power by 2025.” (For comparison, South Africa’s Koeberg NPP has a design capacity of 1 800 MW from its two 900-MW reactors).

The Egyptian government is, in cooperation with the IAEA, taking the necessary steps to inaugurate its NPP programme, and will establish an independent nuclear regulatory authority. The country supports all initiatives to increase access to nuclear energy, provided it is done in accordance with the requirements and regulations of the IAEA and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). (Egypt signed the NPT in 1981). “Egypt appreciates the assistance from the IAEA to developing countries,” affirmed Younes.

Namibia also plans to adopt nuclear power as a source of energy over the next 15 to 20 years. “We have made a decision to build a nuclear power plant,” confirmed Nghimtina. “We’re saying it will be built in the future. It will be a long process. But we have to start preparing now. Our policy is that, by 2030, Namibia will be an industrial country, and to be an industrial country you need energy.” There is no firm target date yet for the commissioning of the projected nuclear power plant; however, this is likely to happen in the second half of the next decade, although an earlier date is not impossible.

In his address to the Paris conference, Nghimtina pointed out that “Namibia produces large quantities of uranium, but struggles to meet its electricity needs”. The country currently generates about 400 MW of electricity, but this figure falls by some 35% during the dry season because of the country’s dependence on hydroelectricity and the reduction in the river flow during the dry period.
“There is a significant shortfall between local generation and local demand,” he pointed out, with the result that Namibia imports as much as 60% of its power from South Africa and other Southern African Development Community countries. “Namibia has decided to diversify its energy mix.”

The country’s variable rainfall and frequent droughts (as well as occasional floods) were factors causing Namibia to look at the option of nuclear energy. Namibia is now seeking to create a comprehensive legal framework for nuclear energy and set up an independent nuclear regulator.

“Morocco, a developing country that is growing fast, does not have energy sources,” highlighted Benkhadra in her speech. “We would like to diversify our energy mix, including renewables and energy efficiency, but we hope, by 2020 to 2030, to have nuclear energy.”
The country’s electricity demand is increasing at 8% a year and its generating capacity will have to increase threefold to fivefold by 2030.

“We have voted a number of laws which have legislated for the [nuclear] sector,” she reported. “We intend to set up a nuclear safety commission.” Morocco believes that developing countries, provided they adhere to the NPT, must have access to the new nuclear technologies, which are characterised by greater safety and security.

The country has a nuclear study centre and, thanks to its 2-MW research reactor, some training and experience in nuclear. “Human resources are vital to the development of this form of energy,” she pointed out. “We have been working with universities and a number of our universities now have nuclear power training courses.” Moroccans are also taking practical training courses in partner insti- tutions abroad.

“We realise that launching nuclear power for electricity generation will require greater efforts still. We think that training is absolutely vital. It is part of a long-term vision. Govern-ment must take responsibility. We need to develop skills, linked with know-how transfer from [NPP] vendor countries.” Benkhadra paid tribute to the IAEA, France and the US for their support for Morocco in the nuclear sphere.

Senegal ratified the major international conventions of the IAEA in 2008 and has adhered to the NPT. The country plans on implementing an infrastructure development programme between 2012 and 2020 (until 2012 Senegal is focused on reducing its debt). Hopefully, this will see the commissioning of an NPP in 2020.

“We have already produced our first report on nuclear safety and the disposal of nuclear waste,” said Sarr. “We have established a legal framework for the use of radioactive sources. We have shown our determination to move towards civil nuclear energy in a rational way.”

The country is interested in international cooperation in order to strengthen its human resources. Sarr also emphasised that nuclear has been recognised as an alternative source of energy for Africa by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (better known as Nepad).

MODERN NUCLEAR: CAPITAL INTENSIVE AND LONG TERM

NPPs are major and long-term investments. “The timescale is almost a hundred years from planning to decommissioning,” said Benkhadra of Morocco’s NPP project.

Gérard Mestrallet, CEO of the Paris Bourse-listed French energy group GDF-Suez also stressed that a modern NPP programme would last a century, from the start of planning to the finishing of post-decommissioning clean-up. “Nuclear projects are extremely capital intensive, but their operating costs are much lower. Their construction time is two to four times longer than conventional plants, but their operational life is also much longer – two to three times longer.” Given such a timescale, some kind of government involvement or support in an NPP programme is necessary, as, over such a period, “only governments can provide stability”.

For many developing countries, the capital investments required for NPPs are very big in comparison with the size of their economies. As French President Nicholas Sarkozy pointed out in his speech opening the conference, the fact that civilian nuclear power required an initial investment of billions of euros followed by very low operating costs necessitated long-term funding at reasonable rates.

“The conditions of financing can have a major impact on the final cost of the electri- city – hence, the importance of State credit financing agencies,” stated the head of the Bilateral Relations and International Business Development Service of the French Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment, Jean-Marie Paugam. “France has 30 years of experience, starting from South Africa in the 1970s. We have learnt some lessons. You have to start thinking of finance very early in the process, especially countries with no experience in nuclear. Second, you need a straightforward approach. You need a good balance between debt and capital and risk-sharing between the government and the private sector.”

Paugam argued that the best solution to the financing issue seemed to be export credit guarantees from the NPP vendor countries, although, he added, this was not the only solution. An alternative was private finance backed by government guarantees.

A major problem for developing countries seeking to adopt nuclear energy was that, currently, the major international financing agencies and regional development banks did not fund nuclear projects.

In his speech, Sarkozy announced that he was going to push international financial institutions to “eliminate the ostracism of nuclear energy in international financing”. He said: “Civil nuclear energy is an economic choice . . . . Frankly, I do not understand why international financial institutions and development banks do not finance civil nuclear energy projects. The current situation means that countries are condemned to rely on more costly energy that causes greater pollution. I propose to change all this. The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the regional development banks must make a wholehearted commitment to finance such projects.”

He also attacked the fact that, currently, countries using nuclear energy could not obtain carbon credits through the Clean Development Mechanism, describing this situation as a “scandal” and blaming it on “outdated ideology”. These carbon credits could only be used to finance the other forms of decarbon-ised energy. As a consequence, developing countries’ investment choices were distorted. “We have a complete bias in investment decisions, which impact on the poorest countries. Therefore, I propose that carbon dioxide credits be used to finance all forms of decarbonised energy under the new global architecture after 2013.

“The quasi-theological opposition between nuclear energy and renewable-energy sources is out of date,” he asserted. “We need both. Of course, nuclear energy cannot reverse climate change on its own, but it will be necessary. It is a lie or an illusion to say otherwise.”

•Keith Campbell attended the International Conference on Access to Civil Nuclear Energy in Paris as a guest of the French government.

U.S., Vietnam sign nuclear energy agreement

2010-03-30T14:51:00.000+02:00

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/world/world_govtpolitics/article/VIETGAT30_20100330-061201/333898/#When:10:12:01Z

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 30, 2010

HANOI, Vietnam -- The United States and Vietnam signed an agreement today that may pave the way for U.S. firms to help build nuclear plants in the Southeast Asian country as it strives to meet booming energy demand.

The new agreement addresses nuclear safety and nonproliferation concerns and is a prerequisite to a deal that could allow companies like Westinghouse and General Electric to participate in Vietnam's nuclear energy sector.

"This is an important moment in our bilateral relations," U.S. Ambassador Michael Michalak said during a signing ceremony with Le Dinh Tien, Vietnam's vice minister of science and technology.

Michalak also announced that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will attend a nuclear security summit hosted by President Barack Obama in Washington next month.

Today's agreement was a "key step" in advancing nonproliferation goals and developing the peaceful use of nuclear energy in Vietnam, Michalak said.

Vietnam's demand for power is expected to grow by 16 percent a year until 2015, according to government projections, and the country's booming economy has made it difficult for supply to keep pace with demand.

Vietnam has already signed nuclear energy cooperation agreements with Russia, China, France, South Korea, India and Argentina, Tien said.

"This is an important step to further cooperation between Vietnam and the U.S. on nuclear energy," Tien said.

In November, Vietnam's National Assembly approved the construction of two nuclear power plants in the central province of Ninh Thuan.

Last year, Vietnam signed a deal with Russia under which a Russian firm will help build the first plant. Construction is to start in 2014 and be completed in 2020.

Michalak said it could take six months to a year to negotiate a broader agreement that would facilitate the participation of U.S. firms in Vietnam's nuclear power sector.

"U.S. companies can provide the most efficient technology, the most advanced equipment and the most comprehensive services available," Michalak said.

Michalak said it was "only fitting" for the former foes to deepen their cooperation this year, 35 years after the end of the Vietnam War and 15 years after they re-established diplomatic ties.

-- The Associated Press

Bill Gates, Toshiba in early talks on nuclear reactor

2010-03-23T14:07:00.001+01:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100323/ts_afp/japannuclearusgatescompanytoshiba

Tue Mar 23, 1:37 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) – A company backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Toshiba are in early talks to jointly develop a small nuclear reactor, the Japanese electronics giant said Tuesday.

The Nikkei business daily earlier reported that the two sides would team up to develop a compact next-generation reactor that can operate for up to 100 years without refueling to provide emission-free energy.

The daily said the joint development would focus on the Traveling-Wave Reactor (TWR), which consumes depleted uranium as fuel. Current light-water reactors require refueling every few years.

"Toshiba has entered into preliminary talks with TerraPower," said Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori. "We are looking into the possibility of working together."

Gates is the principal owner of TerraPower, an expert team based in the US state of Washington that is investigating ways to improve emission-free energy supplies using small nuclear reactors.

Unlike the current reactors at mega power plants, the smaller types could be introduced by cities or states or in developing countries more easily.

Ohmori said Gates, together with other TerraPower executives, had visited a Toshiba laboratory for nuclear power research near Tokyo last year.

"TerraPower is developing a small nuclear reactor and Toshiba is developing a different kind of small reactor. They were interested in Toshiba's technology and aiming at practical realisation" of small reactors, he said.

Ohmori said the two sides had just begun to "exchange information" but stressed that "nothing concrete has been decided on development or investment."

Gates is expected to use his personal wealth to back the development of TWRs and his investment could reach several billion dollars, the Nikkei said.

The news boosted Toshiba's share price by around four percent Tuesday.

The Nikkei said TerraPower had decided to join hands with Toshiba as it lacks the know-how to manufacture nuclear power equipment.

Toshiba, which owns US nuclear plant maker Westinghouse, has developed a design for an ultracompact reactor that can operate continuously for 30 years.

The company is preparing to apply for US approval to start constructing the first such reactor as early as 2014 and put it into practical use by the end of the decade, Ohmori said.

Nuclear press confirmed for Sheffield Forgemasters

2010-03-18T00:08:00.001+01:00

[This article presents a good snapshot of the state of ultra-forging capabilities around the globe.]

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN_Nuclear_press_confirmed_for_Sheffield_Forgemasters_1703101.html

17 March 2010

A UK manufacturer will be able to supply ultra-heavy forgings for nuclear power plants after a strategic government loan announced today.

The crucial addition of an £80 million ($122 million) loan was the final part of a two-year effort to finance a 15,000 tonne press at Sheffield Forgemasters capable of producing and finishing the largest reactor pressure vessels.

The government support, from the £950 million ($1.4 billion) Strategic Investment Fund, makes the up largest portion of the £140 million ($210 million) cost of the press. Other contributions came from reactor vendor Westinghouse and Lloyds Banking Group.

Sheffield Forgemasters already holds the 'N-Stamp' accreditation from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, "enabling it to roll out production of the largest forgings within as little as three years from the press' installation," according to chief executive Graham Honeywell.

With plans in the UK for a new Areva EPR to operate at the end of 2017, and three more following at 18-24 month intervals, it is conceivable that even early units could feature main forgings made in Britain.

The rest of the UK's build program comes later, with perhaps another by six to eight reactors by 2025. Reactor designs for the these units are yet to be selected, and Westinghouse is hopeful of some contracts. It said the new press "Puts the UK at the heart of its supply chain" and is consistent with its "buy where we build" approach to business. It has already used Sheffield Forgemasters to make main pump casings for Chinese projects.

According to a report by the Nuclear Industry Association, UK companies could supply about 50% of components for the country's forthcoming reactors but this figure could reach 70% with the right investments, the new press being one key example.

The UK government is pleased that major components could be made domestically, but both it and Sheffield Forgemasters are also looking at exports. The company said it is now in 'pole position' to capitalize on worldwide demand for new reactors in coming years. Only a few other companies have the same kind of capability, it said. Firms such as Japan Steel Works, Doosan Heavy Industries of South Korea and China First Heavy Industries.

However, Doosan is planning a new large press to operate from around 2012, as is OMZ Izahora of Russia. Other entrants in the ultra-heavy market could include India's Bharat Heavy and Larsen & Toubro as well as Shanghai Electric.

Sheffield Forgemasters was not troubled by the future plans of other suppliers, commenting of other firms that "none will be able to achieve production in the same timescales..." in part due to the accreditation and experience some of them need to successfully supply the nuclear industry. Another factor will be the state-controlled nature of some firms and that domestic demand in China, Russia and India could keep their manufacturers fully booked.

The supply chain investment comes as part of the UK government's Low Carbon Transition Plan, which has already seen the establishment of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Centre and a 'Low Carbon Economic Area' for civil nuclear in the north west of England. The government said: "Together, these will create a region of excellence in the civil nuclear supply chain."

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News

Joining the Nuclear Club

2010-03-15T13:52:00.002+01:00

[This is an interesting perspective on the UAE project and it even discusses the economic indifference line with respect to oil exports vs nuclear construction costs]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704187204575101542782683412.html

Despite an embarrassment of hydrocarbon riches, the U.A.E. is having trouble meeting domestic energy demands

By OLIVER KLAUS
It may seem odd for a country sitting on one of the world's largest oil and gas reserves, but the United Arab Emirates has an energy problem—one that it hopes to solve by building nuclear power plants.

Most of the power stations in the U.A.E. run on natural gas at present. But the country is running short of this commodity. Much of the gas that the country produces has already been sold through long-term export contracts or is being used to help extract oil or produce petrochemicals. The U.A.E. is already importing gas from neighboring Qatar, the only country in the region that doesn't face a gas shortage.

On top of this, every barrel of oil or cubic meter of natural gas that the country burns to meet its own energy needs is a barrel or cubic meter that it can't sell. With oil prices hovering around $70 to $80 a barrel, that adds up to quite an opportunity cost. Far better to export the country's hydrocarbon wealth and use some of the proceeds to invest in new energy sources to meet growing domestic demand.

Eckart Woertz, chief economist at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, says: "The idea behind developing nuclear energy is to have nuclear power for the base load [the minimum level of demand on an electrical supply system over 24 hours] and save gas, which is needed for petrochemicals, reinjection into oil fields and peak load generation."

The recently formed Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp., or Enec, the government body in charge of implementing the U.A.E.'s nuclear plans, predicts that domestic energy demand will rise by 9% a year between 2007 and 2020 to reach 40,858 megawatts (see accompanying chart). That is more than double the installed capacity now.

In recent years, the U.A.E., like its Gulf neighbors, has spent billions of dollars on developing infrastructure and industries such as aluminum, steel and petrochemicals to diversify the local economy and create jobs. This has increased energy demand. A growing population, combined with the region's harsh climate, where temperatures can easily exceed 50 degrees Celsius in the summer, has led to a surge in the use of air conditioning and water desalination plants.

This has prompted the U.A.E. to review its energy. In 2006, Abu Dhabi launched the Masdar green initiative to establish the emirate as a hub for alternative-energy resources and sustainable technologies. The aim is to generate 7% of Abu Dhabi's energy needs from renewables by 2020. However, this won't be sufficient to address the shortfall the country is facing in base load power.

Other options were studied but not considered feasible. Coal-fired power plants were ruled out because of their impact on the environment and the supply risks created by having to ship large amounts of coal through the narrow Strait of Hormuz. Another option, burning liquid fuels such as diesel or crude oil, was also rejected.

"Running power plants on fuel oil or crude oil is expensive and environmentally damaging," says Mr. Woertz of the Gulf Research Center. "The opportunity costs are considerable. It's more profitable to sell the oil on international markets."

According to Hans-Holger Rogner, head of the planning and economic studies section at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.A.E.'s nuclear-power plans will be economically feasible despite the high construction cost if crude prices stay above the $70-a-barrel mark. The price tag for the country's first complex of four nuclear reactors, each with 1,400 megawatts of capacity, is $20.4 billion.

"If they sell the oil that they don't use on the world market for $70 a barrel, then a nuclear reactor is feasible," says Mr. Rogner. "It's clear, however, that if oil drops below $30 or $40, then it won't be as economical."

The country's nuclear-energy aspirations come at a critical time. Tensions in the region have been heightened by the controversial nuclear program in Iran, which is believed to harbor ambitions to develop atomic-weapon capabilities.

Unlike the Islamic republic, the U.A.E. has gone a long way to allay fears over nuclear security. The government has ruled out any fuel enrichment or reprocessing in the country, the two activities that could lead to the weaponization of nuclear fuel. The policy is enshrined in the U.A.E. Nuclear Law signed in October 2009.

"They don't have any fuel-cycle ambition, which is important for proliferation, and of course reduces anxieties in the whole region," says Mr. Rogner.

Last year, the U.A.E. and the IAEA signed the Additional Protocol to the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, which establishes a procedure for inspecting nuclear facilities and operations. Bilateral nuclear cooperation pacts were signed with the U.S. and France. Separately, the government has set up a regulatory body headed by William Travers, the former executive director for operations of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Last month, the U.A.E. also announced that it had appointed former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix as the head of the country's new nuclear advisory board of experts.

Late last year, Enec awarded the contract to build the four nuclear plants to a team comprising Korea Electric Power Co., units of Samsung and Hyundai, and Westinghouse. The group beat off competition from U.S. and French companies. The first reactor, based on existing Korean plants, is due to be operational in 2017.

"These are leading companies that have construction experience with the design, and as such we look at it confidently," Mr. Rogner says.

Still, some questions remain, notably where the fuel for the nuclear plants will come from, especially in the long term.

"Just as countries in the West mull over where to get their crude from, people here will have to think about where to get the uranium from 20 to 30 years from now," says Mr. Woertz. "Uranium supplies are short, only 60% of world-wide demand is satisfied by mine production. The rest comes from dwindling stockpiles. If reprocessing facilities are not expanded rapidly, there is a problem."

The U.A.E. is seeking to conclude long-term arrangements with "reliable and responsible governments and contractors" for the secure supply of fuel. And Padraic Riley, Enec's director of external affairs and communications, says the government body is "developing fuel strategies and will have a robust supply chain."

If it fails, the U.A.E. may find itself searching for new electricity sources once again.

— Mr. Klaus is assistant managing editor, Middle East, for Dow Jones Newswires in Dubai. He can be reached at oliver.klaus@dowjones.com.

EB to have a hand in development of future U.S. nuclear power plants: Groton submarine builder tapped for its expertise in design, engineering work

2010-03-12T18:57:00.000+01:00

http://www.poten.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=10409855

Mar, 12, 2010 10:30 AM - Day, The (New London, CT)

Mar. 12--GROTON -- Electric Boat is part of a team that will propose a design for the next generation of U.S. nuclear power plants.

Building new nuclear reactors that can provide a source of clean energy is a key element in President Barack Obama's climate-change strategy.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced earlier this week that General Atomics in San Diego and Westinghouse Electric Co. in Pittsburgh would each be awarded $20 million for conceptual designs and planning for a smaller nuclear power plant capable of producing electricity and processing heat for industrial applications.

The results will help the Obama administration decide whether to proceed with the effort and build a demonstration plant.

EB has a tentative agreement with General Atomics to provide its expertise in modular design and manufacturing for the proposal.

"This is a relatively small effort that could involve a limited number of EB engineers and designers through this summer, whose task would be to ensure that any design is produceable and affordable," EB spokesman Robert Hamilton said in a statement. "We continue to look at commercial nuclear power as an adjacent market that might present some opportunity to the highly-skilled design and manufacturing work force resident at Electric Boat."

EB President John P. Casey has said in the past that he would look at nonmilitary endeavors as options for future work, including what role the company could play in the growing nuclear power industry.

About 16 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions come from industrial-process heat applications. Steam from nuclear reactors could help reduce those emissions.

"This investment reflects President Obama's commitment to building the next generation of nuclear reactors that will create thousands of jobs and supply the clean energy to power our economy," Chu said in a statement. "It's time for America to recapture the lead in the nuclear energy industry and lay the foundation for a stronger, cleaner and more competitive economic future."

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said it was exciting to see that "Connecticut could be part of our country's energy solutions." He added that it was important to develop an energy system that is carbon-free and not dependent on foreign oil, to "help solve a lot of America's energy problems."

The conceptual designs are expected to be complete by Aug. 31.

j.grogan@theday.com

Israel to declare nuclear energy ambitions in Paris

2010-03-08T13:09:00.001+01:00

http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000544814&fid=1725

Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau is in Paris to attend a conference on harnessing nuclear energy for peaceful use.

Amiram Barkat8 Mar 10 10:33

Minister of National Infrastructures Uzi Landau will announce in Paris this week that Israel wants to generate electricity by nuclear power. He left for Paris last night to attend a conference on harnessing nuclear energy for peaceful use hosted by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Sarkozy invited Israel to participate in the two-day conference today and tomorrow. Landau is attending as the emissary of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will announce in a speech that Israel wants to generate electricity from nuclear power. This will be Israel's first official announcement on this matter.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is organizing the conference with the support of the OECD. The conference sessions will cover electricity production by nuclear energy for civilian use. Many national leaders will attend the event.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 8, 2010

http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?c=3&cg=1&t=1&id=44574

2010-02-22T19:50:00.001+01:00

http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?c=3&cg=4&t=1&id=44574

UAE. The UAE today announced the establishment of an International Advisory Board (IAB) to be headed by the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Hans Blix, reported the official news agency WAM, citing a statement from the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

The IAB will oversee progress of the nation’s nuclear energy plan and issue reports on potential improvements to the scheme.

The board will provide the UAE nuclear program with the benefit of the expertise and knowledge of a highly select group of internationally recognized experts in the fields of peaceful nuclear energy, WAM said.

Hans Blix, who served as the Director General of the IAEA for four terms, from 1981 till 1997 will chair the panel of advisors. Blix, a former Swedish former diplomat and politician, will lead the nine-person board, which will meet twice a year.

Additional members of the board include Jacques Bouchard, special advisor to the Chairman of the French Commissariat L'Energie Atomique, and former Chairman of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). Dr. KunMo Chung, who served twice as Minister of Science and Technology in South Korea, Ambassador Thomas Graham, who serving as a senior U.S. Diplomat was involved in negotiation of every major international arms control and non-proliferation agreement during the period 1970-1997. He is currently the Executive Chairman of the board of Lightbridge Corporation, a company which holds patents on a new type of nuclear power fuel based on thorium.

Other members include Takuya Hattori, President of Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF), Lady Barbara Judge, Chairman of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Lady Judge previously served as Commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. Mujid Kazimi, Professor of Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Kazimi previously served as Head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT.

Jukka Laaksonen, Director General of Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland and Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls- Royce plc, a major nuclear component and service provider in UK are also members of the IAB

The IAB is expected to hold its first meeting in February, 2010.

F.D.A. to Increase Oversight of Medical Radiation

2010-02-15T20:49:00.002+01:00

[A few numbers for perspective: 400 chest x-rays is approximately 2-4 rem. The US average amount of radiation dose effect per person is about 0.4 rem per year with some regions having higher average natural doses of about 3 rem per year (e.g., Kerala, India). Higher cancer rates are not statistically detectable in populations with average doses below 10 rem per year.]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/health/policy/10radiation.html?scp=1&sq=fda%20radiation&st=cse

By WALT BOGDANICH and REBECCA R. RUIZ
Published: February 9, 2010
The federal Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it would take steps to more stringently regulate three of the most potent forms of medical radiation, including increasingly popular CT scans, some of which deliver the radiation equivalent of 400 chest X-rays.

With the announcement, the F.D.A. puts its regulatory muscle behind a growing movement to make life-saving medical radiation — both diagnostic and therapeutic — safer.

Last week, the leading radiation oncology association called for enhanced safety measures. And a Congressional committee was set to hear testimony Wednesday on the weak oversight of medical radiation, but the hearing was canceled because of bad weather.

The F.D.A. has for weeks been investigating why more than 300 patients in four hospitals were overradiated by powerful CT scans used to detect strokes. The overdoses were first discovered last year at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where patients received up to eight times as much radiation as intended.

The errors occurred over 18 months and were detected only after patients lost their hair.

In making the announcement, the F.D.A. said it hoped to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from three medical imaging procedures: CT scans, which provide three-dimensional images; nuclear medicine studies, in which patients are given a radioactive substance and doctors watch it move through the body; and fluoroscopies, in which a radiation-emitting device provides a continuous internal image on a monitor.

“These types of imaging exams expose patients to ionizing radiation, a type of radiation that can increase a person’s lifetime cancer risk,” the F.D.A. said. “Accidental exposure to very high amounts of radiation also can cause injuries, such as skin burns, hair loss and cataracts.”

Patients today receive far more radiation than ever before. The average lifetime dose of diagnostic radiation — excluding therapeutic radiation — has increased sevenfold since 1980, prompting widespread concerns that certain procedures are overused and that they needlessly expose patients to an increased risk of cancer. Children and women are particularly vulnerable.

Last month, The New York Times documented the harm that can result when complex machines that generate radiation are programmed incorrectly and when basic safety procedures are not followed. The Times also found that a patchwork of laws and regulations to protect patients are weak or unevenly applied.

The F.D.A. has long had jurisdiction over medical devices, but it has made limited use of its power. Consumer groups, for example, have repeatedly contended that the agency allows manufacturers to sell new devices without first having to prove their safety and efficacy.

In its announcement, the agency said it might require manufacturers of CT scanners and fluoroscopic devices to incorporate new safeguards into the design of their machines and to provide better training to medical personnel. The agency said it plans to hold a public meeting on March 30 and 31, “to solicit input on what requirements to establish.”

Among the proposals under consideration: that devices display, record and report equipment settings and radiation dose; that an alert be issued when the radiation dose exceeds an optimal dose for most patients; and that devices be required to capture and transmit radiation dose information to a patient’s electronic medical record and to national dose registries.

The F.D.A. said it would also work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to incorporate new safety practices into the accreditation process of imaging facilities and hospitals.

“I think it is very timely in light of concerns about radiation exposure and the possibility of overexposure,” said Dr. James Thrall, professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School and chairman of the American College of Radiology. “I think it will nudge the industry.”

A major issue, Dr. Thrall said, is that “there is nothing on the machine that tells the technologist that they’ve dialed in a badly incorrect radiation exposure.”

Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the F.D.A.’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said manufacturers were generally supportive of the agency’s proposal. “We are using a variety of tools available to us — both regulatory in nature and collaborative in nature — to maximize benefits,” Dr. Shuren said.

The Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance, an association of manufacturers of radiological equipment, issued a statement supporting the F.D.A. initiative, while calling for mandatory accreditation of advanced imaging facilities and for establishing minimum standards for personnel who perform medical imaging exams and deliver radiation therapy treatments.

“There is a patchwork of licensure and registration across the country,” said David N. Fisher, managing director of the manufacturers alliance, “and we believe in setting standards for physicians, physicists, technologists — all sorts of operators, the whole shooting match.”

Just last week, the American Society for Radiation Oncology called for the nation’s first central database for the reporting of errors involving linear accelerators — machines that generate radiation — and CT scanners.

In some states, radiation accidents involving CT scans, fluoroscopy equipment and radiotherapy devices need not be reported to the authorities.

Kristina Rebelo contributed reporting.

Utilities' proposed strategy includes look at nuclear power

2010-02-15T20:43:00.002+01:00

[Having lived in Connecticut for seven years, I found this an interesting article. Though I believe it is unlikely any new reactors will be built in the Northeast anytime soon.]

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=114713504

Patricia Daddona
Feb 15, 2010 (The Day - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

Connecticut should focus on studying the pros and cons of nuclear power, developing a policy for renewable resources and targeting certain energy efficiency programs for funding, according to a report funded by the state's two major utilities.

The Connecticut Light & Power Co. and United Illuminating outline these recommendations as vital to the state's future energy strategy in a 341-page Integrated Resource Plan first released in January. The report was prepared by the Brattle Group, an economic consultant based in Cambridge, Mass.

This past Thursday, the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board held a public hearing on the plan in New Britain. That session will be followed by public input in a docket to come before the state Department of Public Utility Control over the next few months, said Jeffrey Gaudiosi, the advisory board's vice chairman. The DPUC regulates the two utilities.

Both utilities support the renewable policy and energy efficiency recommendations, but United Illuminating recommends completing a detailed study of the possible costs and benefits of nuclear power, based on the Brattle Group's analysis of the potential advantages of a "nuclear strategy."

"I very strongly suggest that the (advisory board) carry out that recommendation," said Stephen Goldschmidt of Guilford. "We need to provide facts that can address what are often irrational fears and biases about nuclear generation and be sure that Connecticut policymakers are not ignoring the overwhelming benefits of nuclear energy. It has to be studied now."

Goldschmidt, an independent electric power consultant, spoke as a private citizen, but acknowledged that he has consulted for United Illuminating on this and previous resource plans.

The Millstone nuclear complex in Waterford "has room for several more plants," Goldschmidt said, but emphasized that he was recommending a study first, not building a reactor.

The resource plan analyzes the pros and cons of a hypothetical new reactor at Millstone, where two reactors generate about 2,100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 500,000 homes.

The plan also finds nuclear power could help reduce greenhouse gases, make the state less reliant on natural gas, and bring down the cost of electricity, though new plants are expensive and controversial to build, and produce radioactive waste for which there is no permanent national repository.

Susan Olsen, a board member of People's Action for Clean Energy, at first questioned how "saddling future generations" with radioactive waste can be justified, but later said she wouldn't oppose a study "as long as we study the whole cost."

Several environmental groups and members of the public spoke out against the utilities' preference for "targeting" certain types of energy-efficiency programs for funding, saying state law and common sense call for funding all available options to benefit the most people.

Obama to announce financing for two nuclear reactors

2010-02-15T20:40:00.002+01:00

[The article below is discussing the Vogtle 3/4 reactors.]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100215/pl_afp/uspoliticsenergyobama/print

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama will announce on Tuesday plans for the government to help finance the construction of two nuclear reactors -- the first in nearly 30 years, a top US official said.

Obama, who has advocated reducing foreign energy dependency and cutting back on greenhouse gases, will use a 2005 law that authorizes the Energy Department to guarantee loans to projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Obama "has long believed that nuclear power should be part of our energy mix," a senior administration told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The 18.5 billion dollars in existing loan guarantee authority will be used to help finance the construction and operation of two new nuclear reactors at a Southern Company plant in Burke, Georgia.

There have been no new nuclear power plants built in the United States since the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the eastern state of Pennsylvania.

Currently only 20 percent of the country's energy needs are met by nuclear power.

The operation will result in some 3,000 construction jobs, and eventually some 850 permanent jobs, the official said, citing company figures.

According to the official, Obama's 2011 budget "triples loan guarantees for nuclear-power plants to more than 54 billion dollars."

Expert: Middle East needs nuclear energy

2010-02-10T21:31:00.000+01:00

http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-7573-expert-middle-east-needs-nuclear-energy/

Gerhard Hope , February 10th, 2010

Growth in renewable energy production is insufficient to meet the Middle East’s growing electricity demand, with nuclear energy the only realistic long-term option, according to Lister Petter group chairman Dr Robert Hawley.

Lister Petter is a supplier of diesel and gas engines, generating sets and pumps.

Renewable energy accounts for 4% of total power generation in the region at present, which is expected to increase marginally to 5% by 2030.

“Compared to the region’s growing electricity needs, this is a small amount. Only nuclear energy can provide the quantity of power that is required,” said Dr Hawley, speaking yesterday at the Middle East Electricity exhibition.

“Electricity is a vital ingredient of a sustainable society in terms of transportation and heating and cooling, for example. Global electricity demand is expected to double by 2030 to over 33 000 Terawatt hours, with the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2015.

“The most dramatic growth will be in the developing regions of China, India, Russia and the Middle East, where there will be a subsequent struggle to meet the demand for installed capacity, due to rapid urbanisation and the rising aspirations and increasing consumerism of its relatively young populations.”

Dr Hawley said the only realistic options to meet this demand were to expand renewable energy sources, increase the efficiency of the existing generation and transmission network, carbon capture and storage, carbon offset permits, electricity rationing or nuclear power.

Nuclear power stands to play a major role as part of a sustainable future energy mix. “Ideally there has got be a mix of major power stations and smaller generation capacity, which is ideal for water heating, for example. But solar power cannot meet the electricity needs of major industries, and hence the need for a mix of sources,” Dr Hawley said.

There is likely to be a global increase in nuclear power generation as security of energy supplies remains high on the political agenda. “Uranium can be sourced from stable countries like Canada and Australia. It is also one of the most plentiful natural resources available, with the only major issue being its extraction.”

Dr Hawley said that the Middle East could also turn to large-scale nuclear energy so it could conserve its oil reserves as a valuable export commodity, instead of consuming these locally. “The Middle East’s recent decision to implement a nuclear programme, with a South Korean consortium awarded the contract to build four reactors, is therefore the most pragmatic and ultimately sustainable approach,” he concluded.

North African country attracted by SA nuclear reactor technology

2010-02-08T14:27:00.000+01:00

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/north-african-country-attracted-by-sa-nuclear-reactor-technology-2010-02-08

By: Keith Campbell
8th February 2010

Updated 1 hour 28 minutes ago The Algerian Atomic Energy Commission (Comena is its acronym in French) has expressed interest in South Africa’s pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) technology.

The PBMR is a fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology, named after the spherical shape of its fuel elements, that is being developed by South Africa’s PBMR Company.

“We plan to build 1 000 MW(electrical) of nuclear capacity by 2022 and 2 400 MW(e) by 2027,” said Comena chairperson Dr Mohammed Derdour on a visit to the PBMR Company. “Since this power is needed for both electricity generation and desalination, the pebble-bed technology seems to be an extremely attractive option.”

Although the country, which is the second-largest in Africa, is a major oil and gas producer, it wants to diversify its energy base and economy away from hydrocarbons. Currently, oil and gas contribute 30% of Algeria’s gross domestic product and account for 98% of its export earnings.

Algeria is a signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty but does not yet operate any nuclear power plants. “Algeria has atomic energy agreements with Argentina, China, France and the US,” he reported. “We also have two research reactors, which were built by Argentina and China respectively.”

Comena is interested in constructing nuclear plants, about the size of a PBMR, near villages in more remote areas, which would be used for both power generation and desalination. Desalination would be relevant for both coastal villages and inland villages where the ground water resources are saline.

South Africa and Algeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2003 on cooperation in nuclear and radiation sciences.

“We believe the PBMR technology is ideal for a country such as Algeria with its need for clean water,” affirmed PBMR Company CEO Jaco Kriek. “We would very much welcome Comena’s involvement in the PBMR Company.”

The future of the predominantly State-owned PBMR Company has lately been in doubt, with the Solidarity trade union recently claiming that the South African government would not be providing any further funding for the project and that the company would run out of money in April.

The PBMR Company denied that the government had yet taken any decision, saying that its future and that of high-temperature reactor technology development in South Africa was being reviewed by government, in cooperation with national State-owned electricity utility Eskom and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (better known as Necsa and also State-owned).

Last Thursday, the PBMR Company announced that it had signed an MoU with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan concerning the exploration of cooperation regarding the construction of the first PBMR for a customer, whether in South Africa or abroad.

Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter

SAfrica's PBMR signs nuclear deal with Mitsubishi

2010-02-04T15:28:00.000+01:00

http://af.reuters.com/article/southAfricaNews/idAFLDE6110WI20100204?feedType=RSS&feedName=southAfricaNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FAfricaSouthAfricaNews+%28News+%2F+Africa+%2F+South+Africa+News%29

Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:32am GMT
* PBMR nuclear tech firm signs Japanese agreement * Mitsubishi to help with research, development

CAPE TOWN, Feb 4 (Reuters) - South African nuclear technology firm PBMR has signed an agreement with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd to advance the construction of the country's first pebble bed nuclear reactor.

Considered by scientists to be at the forefront of pebble-based nuclear technology, South Africa plans to build its first plant by 2018 as Africa's biggest economy cuts its reliance on coal and tries to end a chronic power shortage.

"The main objective of the memorandum of understanding is to explore cooperation to enable the construction of the first PBMR reactor for a customer in either South Africa or abroad," the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) company said in a statement.

Mitsubishi Heavy (7011.T: Quote) did the basic design and research and development of a helium-driven turbo generator system and core barrel assembly, the major components of PBMR's original 400 MW thermal, direct-cycle design.

This concept was changed last year to a 200 MW design that delivers super-heated steam through a generator, said PBMR, which hopes to attract business from firms active in Canada's oil sands and petrochemicals group Sasol (SOLJ.J: Quote).

"We firmly believe that high temperature reactors will be one of the viable future reactors," Akira Sawa, executive vice-president and general manager of nuclear energy systems at Mitsubishi Heavy, said in the statement.

Sawa said his firm would undertake research and development work to help ensure the success of the project, which deals with the next generation of nuclear reactors. For a factbox on PBMR technology, click on [ID:nLN504919]

"There are... important additional technological development opportunities that can be exploited (and) the possibility that PBMR may in future still want to pursue the direct cycle, gas-turbine design, should also not be ruled out," he said.

U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric, majority owned by Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote), South African power utility Eskom [ESCJ.UL] and South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation have invested 7 billion rand since 1999 proving the PBMR technology. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; editing by James Jukwey)

Israeli minister proposes cooperation with France, Jordan on nuclear power plant

2010-02-01T21:41:00.000+01:00

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=113917427

Feb 01, 2010 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) --

[Report by Ehud Zion Waldoks: "Israel, France Discuss Joint Nuclear Power Project With Jordan"]

National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau said Sunday he had recently raised the idea of cooperating with Jordan on a nuclear power plant in a recent meeting with French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo.

For his part, Borloo said he would bring up the notion with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Landau said during a press conference on renewable energy at the ministry on Sunday [31 January].

Jordan has announced that it has begun environmental impact assessments ahead of building a plant near Aqaba in the South.

France is a world leader in nuclear power and has garnered a vast wealth of technical know-how. Eighty per cent of French electricity is produced by nuclear power plants.

Israel has ruled out nuclear power plants until now because of its undeclared nuclear weapons state status. Building a plant would mean that Israel would have to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and throw open its Dimona reactor to international inspections, something it has been reluctant to do.

During the press conference ahead of the Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference to be held in mid-February, Landau also floated an idea for a collaborative regional power generation project.

"Egypt could provide land in Sinai, Israel could provide the technology and a US or European entrepreneur could build a solar power plant. We are certainly not lacking in ideas," Landau said.

Landau seemed to indicate that this was a potential initiative rather than one that his ministry was actively pursuing.

Both Landau and ministry chief scientist Shlomo Wald called the goal of 10 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020 "ambitious, but doable."

Wald said they would rely on proven technologies such as solar-thermal in the initial phase to create installed megawatts at the Ashelim and Timna sites in the Negev. However, he said the ministry was also actively supporting next generation technologies, like concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) and new solar-thermal applications.

Regarding the necessity for another coal-fired power plant in Ashkelon, Landau said it was "irresponsible" to base 70 per cent of the country's energy needs on natural gas. Coal was still the baseline fuel because it was the most reliable in comparison to natural gas and renewables.

Furthermore, he argued, building the new plant would enable the Israel Electric Corporation to take the eight older coal-fired power plants offline for six to seven months to retrofit them with new filters to reduce pollution. He cited a cost of $2b. for this project.

"At the end of the process, the situation will be dramatically better for Ashkelon residents and all of the citizens of Israel," Landau declared.

Source: The Jerusalem Post website, Jerusalem, in English 1 Feb 10

SAfrica: Expert urges state to proceed with nuclear project

2010-02-01T21:40:00.000+01:00

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=113907808

Feb 01, 2010 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) --

[Report by Siseko Njobeni: "State is Urged to Go On with Nuclear Project"]

THE government should have the courage to proceed with the development of the pebble bed modular reactor technology, nuclear expert Kelvin Kemm said yesterday.

He warned the country could ill-afford to lose intellectual skills invested in developing pebble bed modular reactor technology, and the project would be vital in cutting SA's carbon emissions as international pressure mounted.

Kemm's comments follow speculation that the government could pull the plug on the experimental project after the Department of Public Enterprises said yesterday it was reviewing the project due to a lack of funds. Spokeswoman Ayanda Shezi said the department would communicate the decision of the review "in due course".

Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), the company set up to develop and supply the reactors, has spent about R8bn since 1999. PBMR said recently said that it had less than R1bn left, enough until the end of next month.

Advocates of the project have punted it as a solution to SA cutting its carbon footprint, promising less gas emission than from existing and future coal-fired power stations. PBMR was established to develop and market small-scale, high-temperature reactors locally and internationally.

Commenting on the possibility of the government abandoning the technology, Kemm said yesterday such a move would be a mistake given the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "Nuclear is the only way to go for SA and the rest of Africa. There is a huge export potential for (the pebble bed modular reactor). It is an investment with a huge return. We have invested a lot in human capital in the project. We will lose all of that. I do not believe the project should be stopped.

"Even the biggest of projects must start somewhere. SA should have the courage to proceed with this project. There is too much caution. With fear, we would not have built Sasol, Richards Bay and Coega. We need courage," he said.

Earthlife Africa is among the critics of the project. Yesterday, Tristen Taylor, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg project coordinator, said: "PBMR is a waste of money and should be cancelled".

It remains unclear how canning the project would affect state plans to create a nuclear industry. The government is expected to spell out its nuclear plans soon. "The matter is before a committee of ministers and decisions, and communication thereof will be made in due course," the Department of Minerals and Energy said last week.

Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said SA could have a new nuclear power station by 2020. Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan said last year the initiative could be instrumental in creating a strong nuclear industry. In 2008, Eskom [Electricity Supply Commission] abandoned plans to build a nuclear power station, citing financial constraints.

The government, power utility Eskom, the Industrial Development Corporation and US nuclear company Westinghouse are shareholders in PBMR.

Source: Business Day website, Johannesburg, in English 1 Feb 10

Israel utility IEC considers building nuclear, solar plants instead of 2 GW clean coal facility

2010-01-26T12:55:00.001+01:00

[In addition to the famous Dimona facility, Israel still has a nuclear engineering department at Ben Gurion University.]

http://pepei.pennnet.com/articles/article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=372689&p=6§ion=ARTCL&subsection=none&c=none&page=1

26 January 2010 - Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) is considering building a 1200 MW nuclear power plant and a 1000 MW solar array, instead of building a coal fired power plant due to come online in 2020.

Globes reported that IEC's current development plan for 2020 includes the construction of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant, in addition to the coal fired power plant planned for construction near Ashkelon which is due to come onine in 2015.

However, IEC said that the company was considering building a 1200 MW nuclear power plant and a 1000 MW solar energy plant instead.

IEC deputy CEO and VP production and transport Moshe Bachar said that the transition to environmentally friendly energy sources was essential, and that higher electricity rates were inevitable. "In the coming years, we will have to create a mix of fuels, while conserving the environment and saving energy sources, despite the expected rise in demand for electricity. The era of cheap electricity is over," he said.

Bachar said that Israel's future energy economy would be based on environmentally friendly energy sources: nuclear power, natural gas, and renewable energy. The company will only use coal fired power plants as back-up and to secure electricity supplies.

The idea for building a nuclear power plant again came up for discussion at government ministries, after Jordan announced plans to build a nuclear power plant near Aqaba.

If IEC decides to build a nuclear power plant and a solar energy plant, it will face technical hurdles, regulatory difficulties, and major opposition from private power producers.

Firstly, a nuclear power plant would require Israel to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Secondly, IEC's massive entry into the renewable energy industry contradicts the policy of the Public Utilities Authority (Electricity) and the Ministry of Finance, which ban this out of concern for unfair competition against private power producers, reported Globes.

Environmental organizations would also probably oppose a nuclear power plant on the grounds of risk of radiation in the event of a breakdown, sabotage, or a strong earthquake. Finally, a 1000 MW solar power array, using current technology, would need 5000 acres of land and cost $4 bn to build.

New Computer Model Shows Nuclear Fission

2010-01-25T17:09:00.000+01:00

http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Computer-Model-Shows-Nuclear-Fission-132990.shtml

By Tudor Vieru, Science Editor

25th of January 2010, 09:11 GMT

Scientists at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) announce the development of a new computer algorithm that allows for them to visualize the reactions that go on inside a nuclear reactor in finer detail than ever before. The neutron transport code UNIC, which is still under development at ANL, will provide researchers in the end with the most detailed view of a reactor's core possible, without them actually jumping inside a reactor.

Modeling the complex interactions of a nuclear reactor is one of the most complex tasks in physics today. It requires hundreds of angles of approach, thousands of energy groups, billions of spatial elements, as well as the introduction of all these things into a complex geometry. Naturally, all these elements cause the memory on most computers to get rapidly exhausted. Simulations therefore take many weeks and months to run, and even then the results are not the most accurate possible. In fact, most of the times, researchers use approximations in formulating their conclusions.

“The UNIC code is intended to reduce the uncertainties and biases in reactor design calculations by progressively replacing existing multilevel averaging techniques with more direct solution methods based on explicit reactor geometries,” ANL computational scientist Andrew Siegel, who is also the leader of the lab's reactor simulation group, explains. UNIC has already been run at some of the most advanced supercomputing facilities in the world, including the energy-efficient IBM Blue Gene/P at Argonne and the Cray XT5 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Engineers and nuclear physicists could use the UNIC algorithm to create safer, more environmentally friendly nuclear reactors, which could benefit a large number of countries in the world. As carbon dioxide becomes an increasing threat, oil and natural gas will be shunned from the market more and more, and renewable energies will take their place. Nuclear fission is one of the safest bets, but new nuclear reactors have not been built in a while. A video of a more detailed simulation of the Zero Power Reactor experiment is available online here.

Shaw and Westinghouse Reach Critical Milestone at Unit 1 of Sanmen AP1000™ Nuclear Site in China

2010-01-11T17:22:00.001+01:00

[Photo weblink of the containment vessel lower head being set at Sanmen 1.]

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=multimedia_detail&eid=6137107&newsLang=en

French nuclear deals need bespoke flavour

2010-01-06T17:08:00.001+01:00

[The article does not really mention this, but another factor for the Koreans is that they have more recent construction experience.]

http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/news_disp.php?id=196924

* France should adapt reactor offer to clients-analysts

* EPR for Europe, U.S. and China; cheaper reactors elsewhere

By Marie Maitre and Nina Sovich

PARIS, Jan 6 (Reuters) - France could miss out on more multi-billion dollar deals to build new nuclear power plants unless it changes its current nuclear export strategy and adapts its technological offer to local needs, analysts said.

French nuclear firms should stop pushing expensive state-of-the-art reactors to developing countries and instead market the EPR -- Areva's flagship nuclear reactor -- to rich countries where top-notch safety systems are politically key, they added.

Countries such as India or the Gulf states should be offered older, cheaper technology, analysts said, adding Areva should also work on quickly finalising a smaller type of reactor with new technology to broaden its range of products.

A consortium led by EDF and GDF Suez, and including Total and Areva, were dealt a blow in December when the United Arab Emirates picked a South Korean group to build four reactors.

Two sources close to the deal told Reuters that Abu Dhabi chose a South Korean consortium, led by Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), because the 1,650 megawatt (MW) EPR was too expensive.

While the Korean consortium offered to build four 1,400 MW reactors for $20 billion, the French offered to build its bigger and more modern reactors for $36 billion.

The emergence of a powerful new player has turned up the pressure on French groups, which still hope to secure orders for a third of all new reactors to be built worldwide by 2030.

Other rivals bidding to stop them include Toshiba unit Westinghouse Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and General Electric Co..

The loss of the high-profile UAE deal raises the question of whether the French consortium was flexible enough to present a range of options to Abu Dhabi or simply presumed the oil-based nation had deep pockets and would pay for the EPR.

"This was not simply a question of cost," French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde told the Les Echos paper on Tuesday.

"The French offer was probably not the best calibrated."

EPR SALE HOPES

Analysts said France had to change its nuclear bidding strategy, with some asking why the French consortium did not offer Abu Dhabi existing technology, such as one of the second-generation nuclear power plants operating in France.

"They will have to wonder if they need to offer Rolls-Royces all the time," said Jefferies analyst Alex Barnett.

France offered the EPR -- a third-generation reactor developed after nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986, and which offers enhanced safety systems by better isolating the core reactor in case of a meltdown.

"The obvious response to the Koreans would have been to offer a second-generation reactor. Some of the latest ones are relatively young. They're also proven," said UBS analyst Per Lekander.

Sources with direct knowledge of the situation, however, said Areva was unlikely to change its strategy.

"(They are) never going to sell second-generations again. (They are) now aiming for higher safety standards, and as they stand, second-generations cannot be sold anymore in the U.S. or Europe, which are (its) key markets," one of the sources said.

Areva declined comment on the loss of the Abu Dhabi deal, but pointed to a smaller 1,100 MW reactor -- Atmea -- that it is developing and which is set to be ready by 2011, and another 1,250 MW model -- Kerena -- whose design is not yet defined.

Both reactors are also third-generation models, but until they are ready, France will pin its hopes on sales of the EPR.

This export drive, however, could be hampered by recent bad publicity.

The first EPR, currently under construction in Finland, has been beset by cost overruns and delays that caused Areva to take a charge of 2.3 billion euros ($3.29 billion) for the project last year.

A second unit being built in France is reportedly behind schedule, sources said, although EDF and Areva deny this. More importantly, three nuclear regulatory bodies chastised both Areva and EDF for a design fault in November.

MARKETING ERROR?

Another source insisted cost issues were behind the UAE loss. Asked whether the French nuclear consortium should have modified its offer when it appeared that the EPR was losing ground to the Koreans', the source said: "No, Abu Dhabi asked for an EPR."

"They wanted it but at the price of (KEPCO's winning design) APR1400, and this was simply not possible. They had to make a choice between a product that was too expensive and a product they liked less but at a price they were willing to pay."

"They wanted a Mercedes but at the price of a Kia," he added, referring to the German luxury car maker and the South Korean manufacturer of smaller and less expensive autos.

These smaller and less glamorous reactors, however, have worked for decades in South Korea with a good safety record.

For a Wrapup on the UAE nuclear deal click on For an Analysis on French nuclear export hitches see For more on the EPR ($1=.6985 Euro) (Additional reporting by Muriel Boselli, editing by Marcel Michelson and Simon Jessop)

2010-01-06 14:36:44

France-based Areva, Fresno Nuclear Energy Group to study new generation reactor in California

2009-12-29T20:36:00.002+01:00

[Full disclosure: I am a native of California. California once had several universities with nuclear engineering programs and research reactors. Currently, there are two nuclear plants in California (San Onofre and Diablo Canyon).]

http://www.sfexaminer.com/economy/80276742.html

Associated Press
12/29/09 10:29 AM PST PARIS — French nuclear engineering company Areva SA said Tuesday that it plans to work with Fresno Nuclear Energy Group on developing one or two new-generation reactors in California's Central Valley.

Areva said FNEG is a group of investors that wants to acquire the so-called EPR, or European Pressurized Reactor, technology for California.

EPR reactors are under construction in France, Finland and China, and the certification process is under way in the United States and Britain.

Areva has been plagued by delays in Finland, where the first EPR was supposed to be online this year. The last deadline for the 1,600-megawatt EPR unit was 2012 but Areva has since said the project's final cost and completion date remain uncertain.

In California, Areva said that next year the two companies will begin a series of studies identifying the most feasible site for a new nuclear power plant, and will work together on the initial development and permitting process.

Areva said that six companies — Constellation, PPL, AmerenUE, Amarillo Power, AEHI and Duke Energy — have chosen the EPR for a total of eight potential reactor construction projects, pending U.S. certification.

Financial terms of what Areva dubbed a "letter of intent to formalize cooperation" with FNEG weren't disclosed.

South Korea Wins Landmark Gulf Nuclear Power Deal

2009-12-28T16:31:00.001+01:00

[FYI, the APR-1400 reactor proposed is similiar to the Palo Verde reactors in Arizona.]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/12/27/business/business-us-emirates-korea-nuclear.html?_r=1

By REUTERS
Published: December 27, 2009
Filed at 12:59 p.m. ET

Skip to next paragraph ABU DHABI/SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean group won a landmark deal to build and operate four nuclear reactors for the United Arab Emirates, beating more favored U.S. and French rivals to one of the Middle East's biggest ever energy contracts.

Under the $40 billion deal announced on Sunday, which Seoul said it hoped would kick-start an export drive for its nuclear technology, the first nuclear plant in the Gulf Arab region is scheduled to start supplying power to the UAE grid in 2017.

In stark contrast to the development program launched by northern Gulf neighbor Iran, the UAE's nuclear ambitions carry the blessing of its ally the United States.

A consortium led by state-owned utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) aims to complete the UAE's four 1,400 megawatt reactors by 2020.

The South Korean president's office described the deal as "the largest mega-project in Korean history," while KEPCO said it was also it was in talks with Turkey to export two nuclear power reactors to Black Sea areas.

The U.S. and the UAE have a nuclear cooperation pact and U.S.-based firm Westinghouse Electric, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp, was part of the winning consortium.

It also includes Hyundai Engineering and Construction, Samsung C&T Corp and Doosan Heavy Industries. The UAE has pledged to import the fuel it needs for reactors -- rather than attempting to enrich uranium, the fuel for nuclear power plants -- to allay fears about enrichment facilities being used to make weapons-grade material.

Iran has long been at odds with the West over its declared plans to use enriched uranium to generate electricity, a program the United States and European allies fear is a cover to develop the ability to produce atomic bombs.

South Korea hopes to use nascent nuclear programs in the Middle East, which include developments in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as a springboard for expanding its nuclear industry, though the projects have fueled concerns within the international community over a regional arms race.

"We are now expecting much bigger opportunities in entering overseas markets as winning the UAE nuclear deal will play a role of convincing those countries in the Middle East and other regions which are thinking of importing nuclear power reactors," KEPCO said in a statement.

ECONOMIC BOOM

The UAE, the world's third-largest oil exporter, needs the nuclear power to help meet an expected rise in electricity demand to 40,000 MW in 2020 from around 15,000 MW last year, amid a petrodollar-fueled economic boom.

South Korea said it also hopes to build more plants in the UAE beyond 2020 to meet future demand.

"Considering the growth estimates in the UAE's power demand, South Korea expects to win additional projects to build nuclear power reactors in addition to this contract for four reactors," it said.

The South Korean group beat a French consortium and another group led by U.S. giant General Electric. The $20 billion Korean bid was $16 billion lower than the French group's bid, an industry source said.

In addition to the deal to design and build the plants, the Korean consortium expects to earn another $20 billion by jointly operating the reactors for 60 years.

'SURPRISE CHOICE'

The choice of South Korea surprised some analysts, who had expected the deal to go to one of the other consortiums for strategic reasons.

"The UAE's choice must have been based on strictly commercial terms because in terms of political clout in the region it's nil," said Al Troner, president of Houston-based Asia Pacific Energy Consulting.

"Korea has a good track record in terms of safety and price and it's a surprise to see the U.S. and France are not part of the bid because they are the ones with the more political strength in the Middle East."

The emirate of Abu Dhabi, which is driving the UAE nuclear program, holds most of the UAE's crude reserves, and has managed to avoid the worst of the global economic slowdown as well as the debt crisis that has hit neighboring Dubai.

Dubai's debt crisis had cast a shadow over financing prospects for other Gulf borrowers but analysts expect blue-chip names like Abu Dhabi and Qatar to weather the fallout.

"These are long-term projects and many of the finance providers will look beyond what is happening today," said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi-Credit Agricole Group in Riyadh. "The UAE's nuclear program is a strategic project."

He said the UAE could issue bonds in future to fund the project, in addition to the usual mix of project financing methods such as export agencies and banks.

"I think by the time they do this (issue bonds), the Dubai storm will be over, plus Abu Dhabi would have a substantial windfall from oil revenues," he said..

(Additional reporting by Martin Dokoupil in Dubai)

(Writing by Simon Webb; editing by John Stonestreet)

Energy Solutions fight back against nuclear waste protest

2009-12-21T00:12:00.002+01:00

[I have seen this specious argument on depleted uranium before. By such an argument, those worried about depleted uranium should supprot breeder reactors as they convert depleted uranium into shorter half-life plutonium ;-) ]

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Energy-Solutions-fight-back-against-nuclear-waste/U7hjAnLaBUKpikUc5llong.cspx

Last Update: 12/19 7:54 pm

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Energy Solutions responds to protest against nuclear waste protest.

"The one slogan they use to that depleted uranium grows more radioactive over time. That's true, but we're talking about 40,000 years," said Val Christensen, President of Energy Solutions.

Christensen also said groups like "Heal Utah" don't try to understand the science behind the safe storage of nuclear waste.

The protestors said they are voicing the concerns of many people around the state.

Can nuclear solve the global water crisis?

2009-12-21T00:09:00.002+01:00

[A friend of mine once visited the desalination reactor in Kazakhstan and was quite impressed with the plant. Technically, every nuclear submarine is a desalinator as well...]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/6851983/Can-nuclear-solve-the-global-water-crisis.html

If a person doesn't drink clean water they will be dead in less than three days. That's why water is the most valuable commodity there is.

By Garry White, Commodities Editor
Published: 5:45PM GMT 20 Dec 2009

The water level in Lake Mead, which supplies more than 22 million people in the US, has been falling for some time.
As the global population expands, demand for water for agriculture and personal use will increase dramatically, but there could be a solution that will produce clean drinking water and help reduce carbon emissions as well. That process is nuclear desalination.

Many areas of the world are suffering from a water crisis – and it's not just arid, developing countries that are suffering. The Western US is particularly vulnerable and its water crisis is getting more severe by the day.

Las Vegas could be one of the first US cities to be hit by a serious water shortage, some are even questioning whether it can survive at all. The city gets 90pc of its water from Lake Mead, the body of water created by the Hoover Dam.

The water in Lake Mead, and the Colorado River which feeds it, has been falling for some time. It is slowly running dry due to overuse. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography believes there is a 50pc chance that the lake will be completely dry by 2021 if climate change continues as expected and future water usage is not curtailed.

Water is so important that, as a population grows and demand increases, there is a strong chance of conflict in the future.

According to the World Water Council, 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries.

"In the absence of strong institutions and agreements, changes within a basin can lead to transboundary tensions," the Council said. "When major projects proceed without regional collaboration, they can become a point of conflicts, heightening regional instability."

The World Water Council cites the Parana La Plata in South America, the Aral Sea, the Jordan and the Danube as examples.

It's not just tensions between countries that are a potential problem. Civil unrest caused by scarcity has already started.

In India on December 3, one man was killed and dozens injured during a protest over water rationing in Mumbai following the country's poor Monsoon. The prospect of further water riots is very real.

However, nuclear energy could help provide the solution for this thorny issue.

Oil-rich Middle Eastern nations are rushing to build new nuclear plants.

Anwar Gargash, a foreign affairs minister in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said last month that nuclear power was "best able" to meet future power demand in his country. Demand for electricity is expected to double by 2020.

This followed comments from Saudi Arabia, which said it planned to generate up to a quarter of its electricity from nuclear power within the next 15 years.

Everyone thinks the trend for oil-rich nations to move towards nuclear power generation is about limiting domestic consumption so they can boost oil exports. However, that's just part of the story.

Saudi Arabia, for example, has very little water – and global warming is likely to make this situation much worse. This is a major problem because Saudi Arabia is about to see its population explode.

The overwhelming majority of the Saudi people are young. Almost 40pc of its population is under the age of 14, with just 2.5pc being in the over 65 bracket. This means its population is growing at about 2pc per year – and as the young start to have families of their own, the rate of population growth will increase.

In fact, many of the nations that are predicted to have the strongest growth in population over the next years are the areas where the water crisis is most acute.

For example, the UAE has the largest growth rate of any nation in the world – at 3.69pc, according to data compiled by the US government.

Nuclear reactors can be used to generate electricity – but they can also be used to desalinate water.

Nuclear desalination is not a new idea – it's a proven technology, thanks to Kazakhstan.

A single nuclear reactor at Aktau on the shore of the Caspian Sea successfully produced up to 135 megawatts of electricity and 80,000 cubic metres of potable water a day between 1972 and 1999, when it was closed at the end of the reactor's life.

Water has also been desalinated using nuclear reactors in India and Japan.

The problem with desalination is that it is very energy intensive. Most desalination today uses fossil fuels, contributing to carbon emissions.

However, because nuclear power generation does not emit carbon, it is a clean and efficient way of producing the most important commodity around. For countries experiencing rapid population growth, it could be a lifesaver.

Russia to start research on spacecraft nuclear engines next year

2009-12-21T00:08:00.000+01:00

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/20/content_12674752.htm

MOSCOW, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russia will start next year research on nuclear engines for spacecraft, the head of Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said on Sunday.

"Nuclear engines for spaceships are a very promising area. Such engines should be created to make flights to Mars and other planets," said Anatoly Perminov at the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, as cited by the Russian news agencies.

"Russia will start research work from 2010 in this sphere," he added.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier that Russia will prioritize the development of nuclear energy, especially the use of nuclear technology in spacecraft.

Perminov also said previously that the development of Megawatt-class nuclear power systems for manned spacecraft was vital if Russia intends to maintain its leading position in the space industry.

He said the draft design of the spacecraft would be finished by 2012, and at least 17 billion rubles (more than 580 million U.S. dollars) were needed for further development over the next nine years.

Analysts believe the key scientific and technical problem in sending manned missions to the Moon and Mars is the development of new propulsion systems and energy supplies with a high degree of energy-mass efficiency.

Editor: Zhang Xiang

Work on nuclear plants gears up

2009-12-16T15:15:00.001+01:00

[Typically I post the article text, but in this case I encourage readers to go to the website below. There is a nice photo showing Sanmen 1 under construction.]

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90860/6843806.html

Lloyd's Register: Lloyd's Register explores the reintroduction of nuclear propulsion for merchant ships

2009-12-10T17:11:00.000+01:00

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=111486760

Research is focused on the application of nuclear propulsion to tankers, bulk carriers, container ships and cruise ships
Dec 10, 2009 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) --

Early in 2007, Lloyd's Register began research into the implications of nuclear propulsion for merchant ships.

This initiative was built on Lloyd's Register's extensive experience in the traditional nuclear industries and from studies which led to the formation of its Rules for the Nuclear Propulsion of Ships.

The Rules, available from 1966 until 1976, were developed in response to the interest shown in nuclear propulsion in the early 1960s, which resulted in ships such as Savannah, and Otto Hahn, two ships that were technically successful.

At that time, operational and economic conditions were not conducive to commercial success of nuclear propulsion. But both ships, nevertheless, traded worldwide for some years.

Over the years, there has been a steady, slow development of nuclear propulsion for merchant ships -- principally with ice breakers -- but also extending to a lash barge carrier and a containership.

Indeed, two nuclear ice breakers presently are utilised on popular passenger cruises.

The steady increase in the price of fuel oil -- and the probable introduction of either a carbon-emissions trading scheme or a related tax -- now presents the possibility that nuclear propulsion could be more competitive.

Lloyd's Register's research programme is revisiting the technical challenges of nuclear propulsion for ships, as well as refuelling and waste-disposal issues.

The scope of the programme has been expanded to include public health, manning, training, operational, risk and regulatory requirements. The principle maritime sectors of focus are how these propulsion systems could benefit tankers, bulk carriers, container ships and cruise ships, although a range of other ship types may also benefit.

"The technology is there to commence building nuclear ships. The issues regarding their acceptability and the need for a cultural step-change in shipping still need to be addressed so that society is comfortable any risk is being managed", commented John Carlton, Global Head, Marine Technology & Investigations, Lloyd's Register.

Most nuclear-powered ships and submarines to date have relied on pressurised water reactor (PWR) technology and they have demonstrated an enviable record for reliability and safety when operated correctly.

However, other nuclear technologies soon may be available, including a range of high-temperature reactors, the pebble-bed concept, and designs developing on the original PWR concept.

Modern reactor technology has, since the early designs, progressively introduced enhanced safety and control features which make their use increasingly attractive and practical for merchant marine operations.

Nevertheless, the types of unmanned machinery spaces common in many modern ships are unlikely to be acceptable for nuclear-propelled vessels. Methods of crew-training also will need to undergo considerable modification.

In fact, a cultural shift will be essential in the marine engineering community if the lifecycle and environmental benefits of nuclear propulsion are to be realised, while managing the risks - both real and perceived.

Business models for ship purchases and operations also are likely to change significantly, since the majority of the costs are incurred earlier, during the build and commissioning stages.

In a nuclear-propelled ship, the fuel cost is included in the cost of the reactor. Ships that use conventionally enriched uranium then will be able to trade for up to five years before refuelling.

This refuelling period is not inconsistent with conventional survey periods, except the refuelling process would take about 30 days for a ship featuring a conventional PWR plant, under controlled conditions. The management of spent fuel, although established for the current industry in line with the conventional nuclear cycle, would also need to be thoroughly reviewed.

With conventional propulsion, the cost of the ship is broadly defined by its structure, outfitting and machinery; fuel costs are distributed throughout the lifecycle at frequent intervals.

The greenhouse gas challenge

Public concern for the environment in recent years has focussed on the way greenhouse gases are changing the world's climate. Although the marine industry contributes a relatively small proportion of those greenhouse gases in relation to the amount of goods and raw materials it transports, shipping's CO2 contribution from exhaust emissions is of growing concern.

A number of research initiatives have been introduced to mitigate this component of emissions from slow- and medium-speed diesel engines.

Lloyd's Register has been actively looking for the technological solutions to the challenges arising from ship propulsion to help the marine industry reduce its carbon footprint. Nuclear propulsion is one such technology, one that nullifies the industry's CO2 contribution.

UPDATE 1-EDF to head French nuclear deal in Abu Dhabi

2009-12-09T14:38:00.000+01:00

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKGEE5B80GF20091209?sp=true

* EDF could take command of French nuclear bid-Proglio

* Bid to be submitted on Dec. 10-Proglio

* French consortium has already lowered price-sources

* Abu Dhabi nuclear plant project estimated at up to $40 bln

By Gilles Guillaume and Nina Sovich

PARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - EDF (EDF.PA) is set to take the lead in a fresh bid by a French consortium to sell at least two nuclear reactors to Abu Dhabi, the new head of the French nuclear power giant said on Wednesday.

"What is envisaged today, although nothing is set yet, is a management structure for the project, in which EDF would head up the project in association with GDF Suez," Henri Proglio told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

Power and gas group GDF Suez (GSZ.PA), oil major Total (TOTF.PA) and Areva (CEPFi.PA), the world's biggest nuclear reactor maker, bid for the Abu Dhabi contract nearly two years ago, and were initially seen as the race's frontrunners.

But the French consortium -- which EDF joined earlier this year after a request by the United Arab Emirates to French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- have recently appeared to be losing ground to a rival bid by Korea Electric Power Corp (015760.KS).

A consortium comprising General Electric (GE.N) and Japan's Hitachi (6501.T) is also bidding.

In an effort to compete with the cheaper South Korean offer, the French consortium reduced its price in November, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation have told Reuters, adding they were now waiting for Abu Dhabi's decision.

But Proglio, chief executive of the world's largest single operator of nuclear power plants, told reporters on Wednesday that a bid would be submitted on Dec. 10.

Last month, Proglio blasted the French consortium for what he called its lack of coherence, so EDF taking a commanding role and the price cut could be seen as a last-minute move to land the deal.

"EDF has been strongly encouraged, at the highest political levels, to take the lead of the pack," said a source close to the bid, who asked not to be named.

French newspaper Les Echos reported on Wednesday, citing no sources, that EDF could take a 45 percent stake in the project, with GDF Suez holding an identical stake, and Total taking the remaining 10 percent.

"EDF was called to the rescue," Les Echos said, adding that the board of EDF had met on this issue on Tuesday and that GDF Suez's board would also meet later on Wednesday.

The consortium would not be expected to invest as part of this new plan, being paid by Abu Dhabi for their services instead, Les Echos said.

A spokeswoman for EDF declined to comment. (Writing by Marie Maitre; Editing by David Cowell)

Raila holds talks with nuclear Agency

2009-12-09T14:37:00.000+01:00

http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=61396

Written By:PMPS , Posted: Tue, Dec 08, 2009

The International Atomic Energy Agency has agreed to partner with Kenya in the country´s quest to develop nuclear energy as an alternative source of power.

During talks with Prime Minister Raila Odinga at the agency's headquarters in Vienna Tuesday, the new Director General of the IAEA Mr Yukiya Amano said he is keen to have the agency become a useful tool in addressing needs of developing nations that have little access to advanced technology.

Mr Odinga held talks with the IAEA director after opening the 13th Session of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNIDO, in Vienna.

The Prime Minister said he had instructed the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology to work closely with the atomic energy agency in areas like agricultural development, health, especially cancer treatment, and energy generation.

Mr Odinga said energy is a basic need for a country's economic development.

He said reliance on hydro-electric power has however failed Kenya as it fluctuates, making the country's economy unable to compete with big and competing African economies like South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria.

"Unreliable rainfall patterns has affected our power generation and left us badly exposed. We have to look into alternative sources of power and nuclear looks a credible, long term alternative," Mr Odinga said.

"We are exploring geothermal, wind, solar and biofuels. But we have decided as a government that we must pursue nuclear also for purposes of longer term needs," he added.

He asked the atomic energy agency to help Kenya build the capacity by training local scientists on development of nuclear power.

He also asked the agency to partner with the Ministry of Higher education to educate Kenyans on the use of nuclear for peaceful purposes so as to dispel the stigma currently attached to nuclear science.

"When you talk about nuclear energy among laymen, people think of nuclear weapons. They think we are going to war. We must begin to educate our people that there are peaceful and productive uses for nuclear science. It is not just for weapons," the PM said.

He asked the atomic energy agency to set up a program that will see Kenyans come for training with the agency in readiness for Kenya's pursuit of nuclear energy.

Responding, Mr Amano said the use of nuclear power has been limited to the Developed Countries, which he said should not be the case.

He congratulated Kenya for considering nuclear energy to cushion the country from fluctuating effects of hydro power.

"You don't need to worry. Almost everyone in the developing world lacks expertise in this area and everyone else is just beginning to think of going nuclear. So you have begun at the right time," Mr Amano said.

He said capacity building would be important as the country prepares to pursue nuclear energy, adding that his agency could help with funding and drafting of relevant legislation dealing with installation and use of nuclear energy.

He said Kenya would also have to commit to support a code of conduct and regulations governing use of nuclear power for peaceful means.

"We will have to give priority to building the human capacity in your country and training. I assure you of support," Mr Amano said.

He said setting up nuclear power is expensive but in the long run, it is cheaper than all the other alternatives once it is in place.

Industrialization Minister Mr Henry Kosgey is accompanying the Prime Minister to the UNIDO conference.

Survey says state regulators like nuclear power

2009-12-04T20:17:00.001+01:00

[Looks like nuclear energy is improving its position with state utility regulators.]

http://pepei.pennnet.com/display_article/371541/6/ARTCL/none/none/1/Survey-says-state-regulators-like-nuclear-power/

4 December 2009-- A survey says that U.S. state utility regulators prefer nuclear power over any other source.

Between August and October RKS Research and Consulting polled 97 state utility commissioners and 10 regulatory commission professional staffers across 52 jurisdictions about electric and natural gas issues. The results show that 35 percent of regulators chose nuclear power as a source that balances low energy costs and environmental impact. Natural gas was preferred by 18 percent of those polled, wind by 16 percent and coal by 8 percent. One in ten polled said they were unsure.

The survey also found regulators willing to permit utilities to contract directly with natural gas providers for their fuel. Around two-thirds of regulators said they strongly support the need for new ratemaking methodologies.

New radiation treatment saves cancer-stricken rhinoceros

2009-11-30T13:30:00.002+01:00

[Thought this was an interesting special case in applied radiation.]

http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2009/11/30/new-radiation-treatment-saves-cancer-stricken-rhin/

By Cristina Chang

Nov. 30, 2009 at 2:11 a.m.

Leah Greer was running out of options.

The senior clinical veterinarian at the Los Angeles Zoo had performed three surgeries on Randa the rhino, immobilizing her and removing part of her horn, but the bacterial infection persisted. The third biopsy confirmed squamous cell carcinoma, a skin cancer, in Randa’s horn. Three surgeries later, Greer realized that the cancer was more aggressive than previously thought.

Discussing the case at a meeting with the zoo’s medical advisory board, she sought a cost-efficient way to perform radiation treatment on the 4,000-pound Indian rhinoceros, which was too large to be carried into a radiation facility.

Dr. James Economou, a UCLA oncologist and member of the board, advised she speak to a colleague of his, Dr. Michael Steinberg.

Steinberg was working with Xoft, Inc., a company specializing in radiation oncology, to develop affordable and portable radiation devices, Greer said.

Steinberg, the chair of radiation oncology at UCLA, said Economou described the complicated situation.

“We can’t put her in a room since she’s a big wild animal,” Steinberg said.

As a result, Steinberg said he worked with Xoft, Inc., medical physicists and surgeons and the zookeeper to find a way to treat the animal.

During the summer, Randa was again immobilized with anesthetics while surgeons, including Economou, removed her horn. Steinberg and the radiation team then slipped Randa’s head into a portable device.

A week later, she went through another round of radiation.

The device emits soft radiation but is shielded with thin strips of lead sheeting about an inch thick to prevent the rays from penetrating others, Steinberg said.

“We basically applied basic principles of cancer,” he added. “We generalized what we knew about humans for this treatment.”

He said working with a wild animal is different from dealing with a person but added that squamous cell carcinoma can also occur in humans on the skin, tonsils, tongue and esophagus.

Seven surgeries and a removed horn later, Randa is doing well and remains extremely loving and tactile, said Stephanie Zielinski, Randa’s primary keeper.

Zielinski was placed in charge of Randa two years ago, around the time that the rhino developed cancer.

“It’s like when someone’s been ill for quite some time and (you) see light back in their eyes,” she said.

Every day at lunchtime, the rhino enclosure is a gathering place for keepers, and the rhino comes to play around and be touched, Zielinski added.

“She taught me how to be patient,” she said. “Even at her most ill, she would participate and try and do what we were asking for us.”

Greer has also seen improvements in Randa’s health and mood.

“She’s really a fantastic animal, 40 years old now,” Greer said. “It’s amazing how well she feels (the past few months),” she said, adding that Randa has been acting playfully as though she were young again.

French watchdog concerned over nuclear skills

2009-11-30T13:26:00.000+01:00

http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2254122/french-watchdog-concerned

France’s nuclear watchdog has expressed concern over the loss of skills in the atomic energy industry after a near 20-year gap in building reactors.

In an interview with the Financial Times, André-Claude Lacoste, head of the French Nuclear Safety Authority, said:

“The relaunch of construction, and monitoring that relaunch, are not simple. We have to regain experience. We have not built reactors for more than 15 years.”

Lacoste said this issue was preoccupying all countries embarking on new nuclear construction.

“We discuss this often with our international colleagues,” Lacoste said. “They have the same problem as us. How can an authority which may have lost some of its habits monitor the construction of a reactor when the construction groups have also got out of the habit?”

The issue will be of particular concern to the UK industry, where the construction of 10 new stations has just been approved.

The UK has less nuclear capacity than France and suffers from a similar skills gap.

The last nuclear station to be built in the UK, at Sizewell in Suffolk, was completed in 1995.

A recent report by the Aldersgate Group pointed out that EDF's nuclear arm in Britain is expecting to see about a third of its staff retire in the next 10 years.

The UK government set up a nuclear skills academy to improve training two years ago.

The academy oversaw the opening of a training centre in the North West, and another centre will open in the South West next year.

French bid for Emirates nuclear plant at risk

2009-11-25T16:24:00.001+01:00

http://www.alarabonline.org/english/display.asp?fname=2009\11\11-25\zalsoz\908.htm&dismode=x&ts=25/11/2009%2001:08:31%20ã

A French attempt to win a 41-billion-dollar (27.2-billion-euro) contract to build nuclear power stations in the Emirates is at risk over pricing, the La Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper reported that the top official at the presidential Elysee Palace, Claude Geant, had held a meeting with the heads of big French companies concerned on Tuesday to discuss a further reduction in the price which the government in Abu Dhabi considered too high.

Present at the meeting were the head of French nuclear power group Areva, Anne Lauvergeon, the head of GDF Suez, Gerard Mestrallet, Christophe de Margerie who leads oil group Total and Henri Proglio of the electricity group EDF, the report said.

The report said that the bidding consortium comprising these companies and the US firm Bechtel were handicapped by the fall of the dollar.

The report said that a few days ago, under political pressure, the partners had reduced the price of their offer to build new-generation EPR (European pressurised reactor) power stations by 10 percent.

This was because the offer was considered too high by comparison with bids by competitors.

The rival companies are Hitachi of Japan which is allied with US group General Electric, and the South Korean company Kepco working with another South Korean group, Hyundai.

NUCLEAR SECTOR GLOWS

2009-11-11T14:28:00.001+01:00

[I find this story ironic, as there were so few nuclear jobs when I entered the profession in the late 1980s.]

http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Nuclear_sector_glows/2557

Engineers in recession stricken industries are being urged to consider transferring their skills to the nuclear sector after the Government unveiled 10 sites to house a new generation of power stations.

Merseyside based Scantec Personnel, says there are now massive opportunities for engineers in the nuclear sector with each new power station expected to create 9,000 jobs in the building process and 1,000 once the plants are up and running.

Adam Spelman, the head of Scantec’s nuclear division, said UK-wide opportunities are also being created by the Government’s multi billion pound decommissioning programme as well as the construction of a new generation of reactors. He said skills in demand included a wide range of engineers, skilled tradesmen and surveyors.

“The recession is wreaking havoc with the jobs market,” s he said. “So the key phrase we are repeating to workers is ‘transferable skills’. Engineers need to understand that their skills are in demand in the nuclear sector and that real long term, well paid opportunities now exist in the nuclear industry. It is important to point out that the nuclear sector is willing to train up staff with core skills. Our advice to workers is talk to a specialist nuclear recruiter like Scantec and find out what opportunities exist for your skills set.”

Turkish nuclear tender may not be canceled - Energy Min

2009-11-11T14:27:00.000+01:00

http://www.idividi.com.mk/English/World/560848/index.html

Ankara, November 10 (MIA) - A Turkish court has stalled the government's plans to generate nuclear energy by voiding parts of the tender to build its first plant, won by a Russian-led consortium, the TMMOB industrial body said on Tuesday.

Russia's Inter RAO, Atomstroiexport and Turkey's Park Teknik won the tender last year to construct and operate the nuclear plant, but the consortium has been in protracted negotiations with the government over electricity pricing.

"The Council of State has decided to suspend three articles in the tender process," said Mehmet Soganci, chairman of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, or TMMOB, which brought the case against the tender.

The tender process, in which the Russian consortium was the only bidder, had been criticised for lack of transparency, media reports say.

"The Council of State has found the nuclear power plant invalid," Soganci said.

It was not clear what the next step in the tender process would be or if there would be an appeal by the government or the consortium.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said it was "too early to say" whether plans to build the country's first nuclear power have been cancelled after a court annulled parts of a government tender.

The site for the plant is near the town of Akkuyu in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey aims to build at least two more plants, with potential sites near the city of Sinop on the Black Sea, as it seeks to cover a looming electricity shortage and cut dependence on foreign energy imports.

The government wants nuclear energy to meet 20 percent of Turkey's power needs in 20 years.

Turkey and Russia have greatly strengthened their cooperation in energy, and Russia has promised Turkey its participation in several projects, while Russia plans to build a multibillion-dollar pipeline off Turkey's Black Sea coast.

Kenya plans nuclear plant in next five years: PM

2009-11-09T14:29:00.000+01:00

http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Kenya_plans_nuclear_plant_in_next_five_years_PM_999.html

by Staff Writers
Nairobi (AFP) Nov 7, 2009

Kenya hopes to build its first nuclear power plant in the next five years with help from France, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said on Saturday.
"We want to establish a nuclear plant. We want to start with a plant of the average of between 1,000 and 2,000 Megawatts (output) and we are looking at five years from now," Odinga said in an interview with AFP.

Odinga said nuclear power was one option Kenya was considering as it looked for ways to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

"We want to begin the cooperation right now so we can begin the training of personnel who will man this plant in the future, and France has offered to cooperate in that scheme of things," he said.

France was more experienced in nuclear power than many other countries, Odinga said, as nearly 80% of the country's energy is nuclear-generated, and Kenya hoped to draw on this expertise.

CHINA TO BUILD 3 INLAND NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS

2009-11-05T18:08:00.001+01:00

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=109650224

TIANJIN, Nov 05, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) --

The design and first-phase construction of three inland nuclear power stations in China has begun, Wang Binghua, chairman of State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., said Wednesday at 2009 China Power Forum.

The new sites are Xian'ning City in the central Hubei Province,Taohuajiang City in the central Hunan Province and Pengze City in the eastern Jiangxi Province.

China's existing nuclear power stations are sited along the eastern coast.

Building more nuclear power stations is essential to China's endeavor to cope with energy shortage and pollution, said Ye Qizhen, deputy director of the science and technology committee of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and member of Chinese Academy of Engineering.

In other countries, most nuclear power stations are sited inland. For example, 65.1 per cent of nuclear power stations are sited inland in France and 75.1 per cent in the United States, Ye said.

China's vast inland areas need nuclear power stations to drive economic growth, especially in regions that lack coal and water resources, Ye said.

A massive power failure in January and February, 2008, caused by blizzards in central and southern China, signaled the risk of power shortage in China's hinterland.

Inland nuclear power stations will enter a phase of mass production and construction in 2013, said Sun Qin, general manager of the CNNC.

The inland nuclear power stations will all adopt the most advanced Westinghouse-designed AP1000 pressurized water reactors to meet the stringent safety and environment standards, Sun added.

China's installed capacity of nuclear power is expected to reach 70 million KW by 2020, 200 million KW by 2030 and 400 million KW by 2050, Ye said.

"It means nuclear power will account for seven per cent of China's overall power capacity in 2020, 15 per cent in 2030 and 22 per cent in 2050." Ye added.

Now China is able to simultaneously design and construct several nuclear power stations and is capable of independent designing of pressurized water reactor nuclear power stations with the capacity of more than one million KW, Ye added.

Currently, China has 11 operating nuclear power generating units with the total capacity of 9.1 million KW, said Zhou Zhenxing, chairman of Uranium Industry Company, a subsidiary of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corporation.

Another 12 newly approved units under construction have a capacity of 34.76 million KW, Zhou said.

(XIC) rw

France pledges help in developing Polish nuclear power plants

2009-11-05T18:06:00.000+01:00

http://www.sfexaminer.com/economy/ap/69279792.html

By: DEBORAH SEWARD
Associated Press
11/05/09 7:00 AM PST PARIS — France pledged Thursday to help Poland develop nuclear power plants and deepen cooperation on energy policy, a move which could help Poland lessen its dependence on natural gas from Russia.

Poland will send scientists to France for training starting this fall, while France will provide Poland with technical assistance and the two countries will cooperate in nuclear research and development, a joint statement said.

"We take this very seriously," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a news conference at the Elysee Palace following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Sarkozy said that France would be Poland's "exclusive" partner in nuclear development, but Tusk later said that Poland's energy policy had to be taken in a European context and that other countries down the road could participate once the projects were better defined.

"The plan is to have Poland's first nuclear power plant around the year 2020 and another one by the mid-20s," Tusk said.

France and Poland also said they want to work on developing convergence in the European gas market in order to "assure the security of (the natural gas) supply in Europe," the declaration said.

French-Polish ties appeared to be improving after several bumpy years, and Sarkozy paid tribute to Poland's stature as one of the "big" EU countries. "It's very easy to work with the Polish prime minister, with the Polish government," Sarkozy said.

On defense matters, the two countries appeared to have made progress in deepening their relations. France long has been wary of the primacy that Poland has put on its transatlantic relations with the United States. The two countries pledged to reinforce European security policy and in a significant new development said they would discuss nuclear dissuasion as well.

"Convinced of its importance, they (Poland and France) decided to open a bilateral dialogue on the role of nuclear dissuasion in the context of current security. Poland is the first country that does not have a nuclear weapon with which we (France) engage in such a dialogue," the summit communique said.

Agriculture, the environment and climate change also were on the agenda.

The two countries also decided to celebrate jointly the "Year of Chopin" in 2010 to celebrate the bicentennial of the pianist's birth and pay tribute to his Polish and French roots. They also announced a wide range of cultural events, including a retrospective on film director Andrzej Wajda and painter and writer Josef Czapski, who died in exile in France.

UAE eyes stakes in nuclear companies

2009-11-03T13:18:00.000+01:00

http://pepei.pennnet.com/display_article/370617/6/ARTCL/none/none/1/UAE-eyes-stakes-in-nuclear-companies/

3 November 2009 - The UAE is setting up a new investment vehicle to take stakes in global nuclear companies as it prepares to award a contract to develop the first civilian nuclear plants in the Arab world.

According to the Financial Times, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation is expected to be formally established within weeks. It will oversee the development of the nuclear programme and act as a government investment arm by making strategic investments in the sector, domestically and internationally.

The government hopes an agreement with the US will be finalised shortly, which would allow civilian nuclear trade with the UAE. Similar deals have been reached with France and Korea.

The Gulf state is then expected to award contracts - estimated to be worth about $20bn - for the construction of the first nuclear power plants, which could produce between 4000 MW and 5500 MW of electricity by 2020.

The project is being led and funded by Abu Dhabi , the UAE's capital, which is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to develop the emirate and diversify its economy.

Three different consortia are thought to be competing for the nuclear contract. These include one led by France's Areva, another headed by General Electric of the US and a South Korean team that includes Korea Electric Power Corporation and Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

Areva has already been talking with Middle East investors about the possibility of selling a minority stake.

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, a state investment vehicle, last year announced a target of becoming a top 10 investor in GE, with which it has also agreed to an $8bn joint venture to set up a commercial finance entity in Abu Dhabi modelled on GE Capital.

safety concerns may delay third-generation nuclear reactor

2009-11-03T13:14:00.002+01:00

[For those who do not follow the industry, digital I&C has been a focus item for nuclear regulators. There are several articles in the industry press on the conversion to digital in the US nuclear plants.]

http://www.topnews.in/safety-concerns-may-delay-thirdgeneration-nuclear-reactor-2231872

Paris - Nuclear safety authorities in France, Britain and Finland have issued a joint statement questioning the reliability of the new European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) currently being developed, the daily Les Echos reported Tuesday.

The statement raises concern over the reactor's command-control software which regulates its daily running and shuts it down in case of an incident. In its current state, the software cannot guarantee the necessary safety requirements, the report noted.

Potentially more problematic, the French nucear saftey authority ASN demanded that the French utilty EDF draw up an alternative plan for the EPR it will be running in the western French city of Flamanville.

According to Marcial Jorel, director of nuclear reactor safety at the Institute of Nuclear Safety and Radioprotection, "Either EDF takes our recommendations into account, or it must develop a new system, which will take years."

According to Les Echos, the Olkiluoto EPR nuclear power plant in Finland, which has already been delayed for three years and is scheduled to go online in 2012, may suffer an additional six-month delay because of the command-control problem.

French nuclear manufacturer Areva, which is building the Olkiluoto reactor, must now provide changes to its software and additional information by June of next year.

Both Areva and EDF said the concerns presented no unsurmountable problems.

"This is a process of step-by-step validation that is typical for projects of this kind. We have sufficient time to respond to the demands," Claude Jaouen, head of Areva's reactor division, told Les Echos.

However, the environmental group Greenpeace said the safety concerns expressed by the three authorities cast doubt over the entire industry.

"The nuclear industry is clearly showing its inability to manage the dangerous substances it manipulates and the waste it generates," Yannick Rousselet of Greenpeace France said Tuesday. "It is intolerable that the nuclear companies EDF and Areva continue their activities with impunity." (dpa)

UAE delays 41 bln dlr nuclear plants contract: report

2009-09-14T14:44:00.000+02:00

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidANA20090914T075134ZCFJ39

DUBAI, Sep 14, 2009 (AFP) - The UAE has delayed awarding a 41 billion dollar contract to build nuclear power plants saying that the decision between the three rival bidders was too close to call, an Abu Dhabi daily said Monday.

"What happened ultimately was some of the bids were so close in some areas, we decided to proceed with all three," a senior government official told The National. "It will mean a slightly longer period of negotiations."

The decision on the contract, which was due to be awarded this Wednesday, will not come out until the end of the month, the newspaper reported, citing an unidentified diplomat.

A French group led by Areva, Electricite de France, GDF Suez and Total is competing against a Japanese-American alliance of Hitachi and General Electric, and a Korean-American consortium comprising Korea Electric Power, Samsung, Hyundai and US firm Westinghouse.

The Arab world's second-largest economy, the United Arab Emirates is seeking to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons for power generation and to boost its image as an environmentally friendly country.

US President Barack Obama approved a civilian nuclear deal with the UAE in May.

US Sen Boxer: Climate Bill To Include Nuclear-Power Measure

2009-09-10T04:31:00.001+02:00

http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200909091614DOWJONESDJONLINE000631_univ.xml

9-9-09 4:14 PM EDT | E-mail Article | Print ArticleWASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- In a sign that compromise on energy and climate legislation is already underway, a top Senate negotiator said that she will include a measure on nuclear power in a developing bill, something that Republicans have demanded.

U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer, D- Calif., who will be writing key parts of the climate bill, told reporters on Wednesday that "there will be a nuclear title in the bill." She had previously resisted any efforts to encourage nuclear power, saying before an August recess that nuclear power would already gain an advantage if the U.S. mandated reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.

Republicans have encouraged nuclear power as a solution to climate change, saying that the near-zero emissions power plants are more reliable than renewable energy. Nuclear power is anathema to some environmentalists, partly amid concerns about how to dispose of nuclear waste.

-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654; Siobhan.Hughes@ dowjones.com

China to Build More Nuclear Plants, Japan Steel Says

2009-09-08T10:07:00.002+02:00

[A quick note that the AP-1000 reactors under construction in China will NOT have their vessels fabricated at JSW. News reports are that these vessels will be made by Doosan and then by the Chinese following technology transfer.]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=a7znRB.NvVmo

By Masumi Suga and Shunichi Ozasa

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Steel Works Ltd., a maker of atomic reactor parts for Areva SA and Toshiba Corp., more than doubled its forecast for China’s nuclear plant construction because of stimulus spending and environmental pressures.

The country may build about 22 reactors in the five years ending 2010 and 132 units thereafter, compared with a company estimate last year for a total 60 reactors, President Ikuo Sato said in an interview. Japan Steel Works has the only plant that makes the central part of a large-size nuclear reactor’s containment vessel in a single piece, reducing radiation risk.

China, the world’s largest energy consumer after the U.S., is increasing spending on atomic energy as part of a 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) economic stimulus and as it curbs greenhouse gas emissions. Japan Steel Works is counting on the rising reactor demand as the global recession curbs sales to customers such as carmakers and electronics companies.

“The potential for investment in nuclear power is huge,” said Shi Yan, an analyst at UOB-Kay Hian Ltd. in Shanghai. “Only a small number of companies in China have the right to develop nuclear power projects, but the country is open to foreign companies to help build reactors and to provide equipment.”

Japan Steel Works, which has lost 4.6 percent of its value this year, climbed 8.2 percent to 1,174 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.3 percent.

China became the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gasses from burning oil and coal in 2006, followed by the U.S., Russia, India and Japan, according to U.S. Department of Energy data compiled by Bloomberg News.

Business Talks

“China, which had increased construction of coal-fired power plants, is now trying to focus on nuclear power because of the environmental issue,” Sato, 60, who took office in June, said in the Aug. 31 interview in Tokyo. “China is accelerating nuclear spending, and additional business talks are coming up.”

The country has 9,100 megawatts of nuclear capacity and has approved the construction of additional reactors able to generate 25,400 megawatts, Sun Qin, then-deputy head of the National Energy Administration, said last month. China will issue a plan by the end of the year to push development of clean energy sources such as nuclear, wind, solar and hydro power.

The average time it took to build China’s first 10 nuclear reactors was 6.3 years, according to a report commissioned by the German environment ministry.

Gross domestic product in China expanded 7.9 percent in the second quarter as the economy rebounded from the weakest growth in almost a decade, boosted by stimulus spending.

“Similar to road and railway construction, nuclear energy is also part of China’s plans for a recovery after the economy slowed,” Sato said.

Global Increase

Globally, a total of 52 nuclear reactors were under construction as of Jan. 1, according to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum Inc. Last year was the first time in the history of commercial nuclear power that no new reactors came into operation, according to International Atomic Energy Agency figures. Some 33 new plants came online in 1984 and that number has declined almost every year since.

Japan Steel Works is spending 80 billion yen ($864 million) at its Muroran plant in the country’s northern island of Hokkaido by March 2012 to increase capacity to make parts for 12 nuclear reactors a year, compared with 5.5 units now, the president said.

The investment will increase annual sales from Japan Steel Works’ cast and forged steel for electric and nuclear power to 70 billion yen from the year starting April 2012, up from 45.5 billion yen expected for the current year, Sato said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Masumi Suga in Tokyo at msuga@bloomberg.net; Shunichi Ozasa in Tokyo at sozasa@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 7, 2009 08:39 EDT

UAE and Japan - A Nuclear Family

2009-08-17T14:11:00.002+02:00

An article in the Asia-Pacific Journal provides a detailed overview of the new nuclear power program in the UAE, the well-established nuclear power program in Japan, and the potential for Japanese vendors to play a key role in the UAE.

http://www.japanfocus.org/-David_Adam-Stott/3207

Nuclear fusion power project to start in slimmed-down version

2009-06-11T07:04:00.000+02:00

http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/Nuclear+fusion+power+project+start+slimmed+down+version/1678135/story.html

By Laurence Chabert, AFPJune 9, 2009

People look at tractors working on the future International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) site in Cadarache, southern France, in 2008. A multi-billion-dollar project to prove whether nuclear fusion, the power that fuels the Sun, can be a practicable energy source is to be scaled down in its early stages, sources said on Monday.Photograph by: Anne-Christine Poujoulat, AFPMARSEILLE, France – A multi-billion-dollar project to prove whether nuclear fusion, the power that fuels the Sun, can be a practicable energy source is to be scaled down in its early stages, sources said on Monday.

The test reactor, to be built at a site in southern France, will start its experiments in 2018 as scheduled but will initially be built in a slimmed-down form, they said.

"Discussions are underway about the best timetable," Catherine Cesarsky of France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) told journalists on the sidelines of a science conference here.

"There is a new commissioning strategy, a detailed discussion about the machine's deployment."

A decision approving the change will be put next week to the partners in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), she said.

Launched in 2006 after years of debate, the scheme aims at building a testbed at Cadarache, near Marseille, to see whether fusion, so far achieved in a handful of labs at great cost, can be a feasible power source.

Its seven backers are the European Union (EU), China, India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States. Kazakhstan is poised to become the eighth member.

Nuclear fusion entails forcing together the nuclei of light atomic elements in a super-heated plasma, held in a doughnut-shaped chamber called a tokamak, so that they make heavier elements and in so doing release energy.

The process, used by the Sun and other stars, would be safe and have negligible problems of waste, say its defenders.

In contrast, nuclear fission, which entails splitting the nucleus of an atom to release energy, remains dogged by concerns about safety and dangerously radioactive long-term waste.

Cesarsky said the first experiments would begin on schedule in 2018 "but with a machine that will be less complete than initially thought."

"Technically, it is far more valuable to do the first plasma with an ITER that is not completely finished, because if there is a simple problem it can be detected."

A spokesman for ITER told AFP that the scaled-down version would entail using hydrogen initially.

Key experiments using tritium and deuterium, designed to validate fusion as a producer of large amounts of power, would not take place until 2026, the spokesman said.

This would be around five years later than previously scheduled.

The planned changes will be submitted to the ITER council, meeting in Mito, Japan, on June 17 and 18, he said.

The council will meet again in November to make a new assessment of costs, the official said.

Four years ago, ITER was priced at around 10 billion euros (13.8 billion dollars today), spread among its stakeholders, led by the EU, which has a 45-percent share.

Five billion euros (6.9 billion dollars) would go to constructing the tokamak and other facilities, and five billion euros to the 20-year operations phase.

Last month, the British science journal Nature said construction costs "are likely to double" and the cost of operations "may also rise."

If ITER is a success, the next step would be to build a commercial reactor, a goal likely to be further decades away.

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Babcock & Wilcox planning mini nuclear reactor

2009-06-11T07:01:00.001+02:00

http://www.sunherald.com/218/story/1404515.html

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD - Associated Press Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Babcock & Wilcox Co. announced plans Wednesday for a new class of mini nuclear reactors to be built in North American factories and shipped by rail to generating sites, and the Tennessee Valley Authority is evaluating what could become the first reactor location in Tennessee.

"This important project, we believe, will be a milestone in the nuclear renaissance," Brandon Bethards, CEO of Lynchburg, Va.-based B&W said during a teleconference from Washington.

The advanced light water reactor, named the "B&W mPower," represents "the harvesting of decades of nuclear manufacturing and design experience to provide a cutting-edge power generation source with emissions-free operation," he said.

The reactors will generate 125 megawatts - about one-tenth the size of a conventional commercial nuclear reactor - and offer several passive safety design features, including an underground containment that could accommodate storage for all of the spent fuel the reactor would use in a 60-year operating life.

A single reactor could power about 100,000 homes or a large factory. But more reactors can be added if needed.

The company plans to apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for design certification by 2011 and have the first unit under construction by 2015 and powered up in 2018.

NRC spokesman Scott Burnell said B&W's licensing timeline is "not unreasonable, but at this point it is completely hypothetical." Other companies, including Toshiba, have discussed small reactors with the NRC, though none has submitted an application yet.

Burnell said the B&W design should contain many systems and technologies the NRC is familiar with in a standard pressurized water reactor. But building a reactor underground may require additional seismic analysis.

Knoxville-based TVA has signed a memorandum of understanding to assist the project by evaluating environmental conditions for a possible site for the first reactor. TVA nuclear executive Jack Bailey said TVA will examine a 1,300-acre site in nearby Oak Ridge where the scrapped Clinch River Breeder Reactor was to be built in the 1980s.

"I think you are coming into the market at the right time," said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, a longtime nuclear power advocate who hopes to see hundreds of manufacturing jobs created at B&W plants near Cleveland and Akron, as well as in Indiana, to build the reactor.

B&W expects to add up to 500 manufacturing and engineering jobs in the next few years in Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee and possibly Canada just to get the reactor through design and licensing, said John Fees, CEO of B&W's Houston-based parent company, McDermott International.

Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, and Tennessee Reps. Lincoln Davis and Zach Wamp also gave their support during the teleconference.

Alexander, the Senate's third-ranking Republican, has proposed the United States build 100 nuclear reactors over the next 20 years - doubling the 104 now in operation - in response to global climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"My fellow Tennessean Al Gore, who has won the Nobel Prize for his campaign on the dangers of global warming, has a line he often uses about nuclear power - 'Nuclear may have a role to play, but unfortunately reactors only come in one size - extra large,'" Alexander said.

"Well, until today, Al Gore has been right," Alexander said, calling the mini reactor a new alternative. "Global warming may be the inconvenient problem, but especially after today, nuclear power is the inconvenient answer," he said.

TVA and Chicago-based Exelon Corp. will participate in an industry council advising B&W on the mini reactor. Exelon operates 17 reactors at 10 plants, while TVA has six reactors at three sites, is finishing a seventh reactor and planning up to four more.

"We believe the (mini reactor) has the potential to be game changing, yet is also practical and lower risk for the energy industry at a time when it is clearly in need of new solutions for a cleaner, more efficient future," said Craig Lambert, Exelon's vice president for nuclear engineering.

First wave or second wave for US nuclear projects?

2009-06-05T13:20:00.000+02:00

I wrote an article for the June 2009 Nuclear Power International on the strategy being followed by US nuclear projects. Most projects are proceeding toward a potential first wave construction start, even though only a few (perhaps only those that get acceptable DOE loan guarantees) will actually start construction in the first wave.

Waiting until 2012 (when COL approvals should come) to decide to postpone a nuclear project may be much more expensive than moving to a thoughtful second-wave strategy now. Some companies, including Entergy and Ameren, seem to have decided to shift to the second wave already.

The article is at
http://pepei.pennnet.com/display_article/363984/140/ARTCL/none/none/1/First-Wave-or-Second-Wave?/

China eyes Sanmen nuclear plant expansion end-2011

2009-06-04T14:49:00.000+02:00

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSPEK32124420090604

Thu Jun 4, 2009 2:34am EDT

SANMEN, China, June 4 (Reuters) - China hopes to start building the next phase of its Sanmen nuclear plant by the end of 2011, the head of the project company said on Thursday. Sanmen in Zhejiang province, near Shanghai, is one of two sites in China where Westinghouse, a unit of Toshiba Corp (6502.T), and the Shaw Group (SGR.N) are building the first of their AP1000 reactors, so-called "third generation" nuclear plants.

The firms have started building the first phase -- two of a total planned six AP1000 reactors -- and expect it to start operating in 2013.

"There's some preparations and contracts to sign, but we hope to be launching construction of the second phase by the end of 2011," Gu Jun, general manager of China National Nuclear Corp Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant, told reporters at the site.

The consortium is building the plant under a technology transfer programme. China -- which wants to be in a position to build AP1000 reactors on its own by 2020 -- expects to complete the final phase without foreign help.

"We hope that units 5 and 6 will be built by ourselves," Gu said.

Westinghouse's AP1000 technology rivals the "third generation" design of Areva SA (CEPFi.PA), the European Pressurised Reactor, which is also being built in China.

Both firms are hoping their technology will become the favourite as countries across the world turn to nuclear as a reliable source of energy with low emissions.

China is leading the charge into nuclear power as it tries to wean itself off cheap but dirty coal. It has 11 working reactors capable of producing 9.07 gigawatts but wants to have 60-70 GW by 2020, about 5 percent of the total anticipated capacity.

As well as its two sites in China, Westinghouse says it has been picked to provide technology for 14 planned U.S. plants and last week said it would start talks with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India to deploy AP1000 technology there.

Areva's deputy president in China, Eric Neisse, told Reuters in an interview last month that Westinghouse's plants posed more risks than its own EPR. Its plant at Taishan in Guangdong province will be the third it has built, following projects in France and Finland. [ID:nPEK184789]

But Sanmen project manager Gu was confident about the AP1000.

"It's true that Areva's EPR is more mature than AP1000, but AP1000 has gone through a lot of R&D," he said.

"We have considered all factors: safety, cost, technology. And while there is some risk (in using untested technology), we believe the problems can be solved quickly during the construction process."

White House names Gregory Jaczko US NRC chairman

2009-05-14T13:54:00.002+02:00

http://platts.com/Nuclear/News/7866436.xml?sub=Nuclear&p=Nuclear/News&?undefined&undefined

Washington (Platts)--13May2009
President Barack Obama has named Commissioner Gregory Jaczko as chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the White House announced Wednesday.

Senate confirmation is not required because Jaczko is already a member of the commission.

Jaczko, a physicist who currently is the only Democrat on the presidentially appointed commission, will replace Dale Klein as chairman. Klein said early this year that he plans to serve out the remainder of his term -- ending in June 2011 -- as a commissioner if replaced as chairman.

Before joining the commission in 2005, Jaczko was science adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Reid, a fierce opponent of the DOE high-level nuclear waste repository project at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, pushed for Jaczko's appointment to the commission in 2005. Jaczko's second term ends in June 2013.

"The industry expected this to happen," the industry official said of Jaczko's appointment. He said the industry will continue to work with Jaczko. "He has always had an open door," the official said.

One of the biggest issues the new chairman will have to deal with is the licensing of new reactors. In a keynote address at the NRC's Regulatory Information Conference in February, Jaczko expressed frustration that NRC?s new streamlined licensing process for new reactors wasn't operating as smoothly as had been envisioned.

Klein and Commissioners Pete Lyons and Kristine Svinicki are Republicans. No more than three members of any one political party can be appointed to the commission. One seat on the five-member commission is vacant. Lyons' first five-year term expires at the end of next month. Svinicki's first term ends in June 2012.
--Elaine Hiruo, elaine_hiruo@platts.com
--Steven Dolley, steven_dolley@platts.com

High-Density Deuterium Could Become Nuclear Fusion Fuel

2009-05-13T14:15:00.001+02:00

http://news.softpedia.com/news/High-Density-Deuterium-Could-Become-Nuclear-Fusion-Fuel-111480.shtml

The material is immensely heavier than water
By Tudor Vieru, Science Editor

13th of May 2009, 09:34 GMT

A few years ago, if someone would have told a scientist that humans will end up producing materials that are more dense than the core of the Sun, they wouldn't have believed it. Still, this is true now. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg are working on creating ultra-dense deuterium (more commonly known as heavy hydrogen) that will be a hundred thousand times more heavier than water is. The scientists hope that the new material will set the basis for a new form of nuclear energy production, one that is not as damaging to the environment as existing ones, and also more sustainable.

“One important justification for our research is that ultra-dense deuterium may be a very efficient fuel in laser-driven nuclear fusion. It is possible to achieve nuclear fusion between deuterium nuclei using high-power lasers, releasing vast amounts of energy. If we can produce large quantities of ultra-dense deuterium, the fusion process may become the energy source of the future. And it may become available much earlier than we have thought possible,” UG Department of Chemistry Professor Leif Holmlid, who has been the leader of the new research, shares.

Thus far, only microscopic amounts of the new stuff have been created in the German laboratory. Experts say that a cube of the ultra-dense deuterium, with a side length of just ten centimeters, weighs approximately 130 tonnes. In addition, the hydrogen atoms inside the compound are connected to each other in a much tighter manner than they usually bond in. This artificially created type of connection is very difficult to master, and that is why German researchers are currently trying to create more of the new type of deuterium. Once an efficient production method is devised, the path to creating new power plants will be opened.

“Further, we believe that we can design the deuterium fusion such that it produces only helium and hydrogen as its products, both of which are completely non-hazardous. It will not be necessary to deal with the highly radioactive tritium that is planned for use in other types of future fusion reactors, and this means that laser-driven nuclear fusion as we envisage it will be both more sustainable and less damaging to the environment than other methods that are being developed,” the expert concludes, as quoted by ScienceDaily.

Finnish regulators halt welding of piping at Olkiluoto-3

2009-05-13T14:13:00.001+02:00

http://platts.com/Nuclear/News/7862842.xml?sub=Nuclear&p=Nuclear/News&?undefined&undefined

Stockholm (Platts)--12May2009
STUK has ordered a stop to welding of Olkiluoto-3 primary circuit piping due to discovery of small cracks next to some welds, Martti Vilpas, an official from the Finnish nuclear regulatory agency said in an interview May 12. STUK will not allow welding to resume until manufacturer Areva and its customer, utility TVO, submit a report outlining the root cause of the anomaly and its potential safety implications, he said. Indications of cracking were found earlier this spring during the manufacturer's inspection of welds on hot leg piping in Areva's facility in France. Vilpas said that a few weeks ago similar indications were found next to a weld on the third hot leg. The cracks are 1 to 2 millimeters in length and 1.8 millimeters deep. The piping is 76 millimeters thick. He said the defects can probably be ground out. Areva is building the 1,600-MW-class EPR at Olkiluoto-3 along with Siemens in a turnkey contract with TVO.

Asian nations take nuclear option

2009-05-09T16:48:00.000+02:00

http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090509/BUSINESS/705099968/1005/rss

Tamsin Carlisle

Last Updated: May 09. 2009 4:39PM UAE / May 9. 2009 12:39PM GMT As the long-awaited nuclear renaissance shows signs of being still-born in the West, it is proceeding apace in the developing economies of Asia and the Middle East, shifting the centre of nuclear development eastwards.

While the UAE steadily lays the groundwork required for it to become the first atomic-powered state in the Arab world, China is embracing nuclear technology as it embarks on a full-scale makeover of its coal-dependent electricity sector.

In central Asia, Kazakhstan is planning to build on its unassailable position as the continent’s biggest uranium supplier to develop a civilian nuclear power industry. Elsewhere in the region, a number of states unblessed with large oil and gas resources are eyeing nuclear power as a practical means to reduce their energy imports.

Nuclear power development takes lots of time, money and political will, along with careful planning and technical know-how. In many jurisdictions, especially developed countries, it also requires a significant level of popular support. Money and support are proving to be the biggest stumbling blocks in Europe, while a lack of co-ordinated planning between governments and industry is emerging as an additional hurdle in the US.

“We are still the bad, and renewables are still the good,” Koen Beyaert, the director of communication at the Belgian Nuclear Forum, a pro-nuclear group, lamented at a nuclear energy conference earlier this year in Brussels.

Ralf Guldner, a director of the nuclear unit of E.On, the German utility, added: “So far, people have not really understood that nuclear energy can contribute significantly to solving the climate issue.”

On the money side, Xavier de Rollat, the director of corporate and investment banking at Societe Generale, has calculated that the roughly three dozen new reactors being planned for Europe outside Russia would require at least €100 billion (Dh500.04bn) of investment, which he doubts could be raised in the current financial climate. Many European countries that had announced plans to start nuclear programmes would have trouble financing them, he predicted.

Darius Montvila, the strategic projects director at the state-owned Lithuanian Electricity Organisation, told the Brussels conference: “We have chosen the technology, but financing will be difficult, given Lithuania’s size and the economic situation.” Lithuania’s economy has been hit so hard by the global recession that its government is considering seeking an emergency loan from the IMF.

Across the Atlantic, at a nuclear conference in Rockville, Maryland, organised by the energy information group Platts, delegates heard that the rules governing US federal loan guarantees for nuclear development were in conflict with state and municipal laws in parts of the country, which was hampering the federal programme’s effectiveness.

Gregory Jaczko, the commissioner of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, who forecast long delays ahead for US nuclear energy development, said: “We now find ourselves making some of the same mistakes of the past.”

But China, still flush with foreign capital, does not face the financial constraints that are limiting energy investment in the West. Nor does its non-elected government have to worry about placating anti-nuclear activists. What it does face are large public health costs for respiratory illnesses related to pollution from coal-fired power plants, along with pressure from western trade partners to reduce carbon emissions. Both problems could be handily addressed by replacing ageing coal-fired generating stations with new nuclear facilities, which is apparently what China’s government intends to do.

The governments of most oil-rich Middle-Eastern countries also have money available for nuclear development, if they wish to pursue such a course. owever, only a handful of states, including the UAE, are making serious moves in this direction. Still, the region as a whole has only recently had to come to grips with growing electricity shortages caused by faster than expected population growth and industrial expansion, and public awareness that nuclear energy could help solve this problem is spreading.

In general, momentum towards the adoption of civilian nuclear power has been gathering in the region.

Despite international concerns about potential nuclear arms proliferation, it may now have reached critical mass.

Many individual Asian and Middle-Eastern countries face difficulties in their pursuit of a nuclear powered future, and new atomic power stations will not pop up overnight. But they are undoubtedly on the way, as this round-up of nuclear development activity indicates.

tcarlisle@thenational.ae

Lessons from TMI Accident: US Nuclear Industry Scores High

2009-05-07T21:41:00.000+02:00

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=100732617

April 25, Apr 25, 2009 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) --

March 28, 1979 is a day every one in nuclear power industry wants to forget. It was on that fateful day the most serious accident occurred at Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, USA. The accident did not kill or injure any plant worker or member of the public The unit 2 (900 MWe, Pressurized Water Reactor) was operating at 97% power; some equipment malfunctioned; this, together with certain design-related problems and worker errors led to partial melt down of its core. It shook the confidence of the public.

The clean up measures to mitigate the effects of the accident were very expensive. But the environmental impact of the accident was not high. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reported that the average radiation dose to 2 million people in the area was about one millirem, compared to the dose due to natural gamma background radiation of about 100-125 millirem for the area; the maximum dose to a person at the site boundary would have been less than 100 millirem.

Several independent groups of respected professionals investigated the accident comprehensively and concluded that in spite of serious damage to the reactor, most of the radionuclides were contained; the actual release had negligible effects on the physical health of individuals or environment. (NucNet release March 23).

According to NRC the accident ?brought about sweeping changes involving emergency response planning, reactor operator training, human factors engineering, radiation protection, and many other areas of nuclear power plant operations. It also caused the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to tighten and heighten its regulatory oversight ?(NRC Fact sheet, March 2009).

The Kemeny Commission set up by Jimmy Carter, the then US president, to investigate the accident made comprehensive recommendations. The US nuclear power industry learnt many lessons from the accident. These led to make US nuclear power plants enviably efficient and safe.

In 1980, the average capacity factor (the ratio of electricity produced compared with the maximum electric power a plant can produce, operating at full power all the year around) for US nuclear power reactors was 56.3%; it increased steadily and remained consistently above 90% for the past ten years. Sixteen of the 104 reactors had capacity factors of over 100% in 2008. According to the American Nuclear Society (ANS), the clean up after the accident offered unique technological and radiological challenges. It took 12 years. So far the utility spent nearly US$973 million. The decommissioning team shipped 342 fuel canisters safely for long-term storage at the Idaho National Laboratory.

More than 1000 skilled workers carried out safely and successfully the clean up plan developed by a team of specialists. It began in August 1979, with the first shipments of accident-generated lowlevel radiological waste to Richland, Washington.

In the cleanup?s closing phases, in 1991, approximately one percent of the fuel and debris remains in the vessel.

The team emptied the last remaining water from the TMI-2 reactor in 1991. The cleanup ended in December 1993. The Unit 2 received a license from the NRC to remain as a monitored storage facility, to be decommissioned in 2014.

TMI-2 cleanup operations produced over 10.6 million litres of accident-generated water that was processed, stored and ultimately evaporated safely.

Early in the cleanup, the team completely severed TMI-2 from any connection to TMI Unit 1. The owners do not anticipate any further use of TMI-2. Over a dozen major independent health studies of the accident showed no evidence of any abnormal increase of cancers around TMI years after the accident (ANS, 2005). Specialists do not expect any adverse health effect among the populations living in the area is as the radiation doses to the population were negligible.

In June 1996, Harrisburg US District Court Judge Sylvia Rambo dismissed a class action lawsuit alleging that the accident caused health effects.

The National Cancer Institute studied the cancer mortality rates around 52 nuclear power plants including TMI and nine US Department of Energy facilities at the request of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour and Human Resources. The study concluded that the survey has produced no evidence that an excess occurrence of cancer has resulted from living near nuclear facilities.

During TMI-2 accident, TMI-1 was shut down for refuelling. It remained shut down till October 1985. TMI-1 received all the benefits from the lessons learnt from the accident at TMI-2.

According to the World Nuclear Association, When TMI-1 restarted, its owners, General Public Utilities pledged that they would operate the plant safely and efficiently; they desired that it would become a leader in the nuclear power industry (WNA, 2001). The plant lives up to their expectations.

The owners of TMI-1 modified the plant and revamped the training and operating procedures in light of the lessons of TMI-2.

Since then, TMI-1 clocked many creditable records. In 1997, TMI-1 completed the longest operating run of any light water reactor in the history of nuclear power worldwide - 616 days and 23 hours of uninterrupted operation. (That run was also the longest at any steam-driven plant in the U.S., including plants powered by fossil fuels.) In October 1998, TMI employees completed three million hours of work without a lost-work day accident. In 2008, it clocked a capacity factor of 106.7%.

The licence to operate TMI-1 expires on April 19, 2014. On January 8, 2008, the utility owners have applied to operate the reactor for an additional 20 years. The NRC has issued the safety evaluation report (NRC release, March 13). Three Mile Island Alert, a nuclear watchdog founded in 1977 has opted not to oppose the plant owner?s (Exelon) application to re-license the plant through 2034.

The record performance of all US nuclear power plants post TMI may gradually remove the stigma attached to them because of the TMI accident.

Nuclear bomb tests help to identify fake whisky

2009-05-03T02:26:00.001+02:00

[A good example of the PRACTICAL uses of nuclear science and technology. :-)]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/5261586/Nuclear-bomb-tests-help-to-identify-fake-whisky.html

Radioactive material flung into the atmosphere by nuclear bomb tests is helping scientists to fight the multi-million pound trade in counterfeit antique malt whisky.

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent
Last Updated: 11:55PM BST 02 May 2009

Bottles of vintage whisky can sell for thousands of pounds each, but industry experts claim the market has been flooded with fakes that purport to be several hundred years old but instead contain worthless spirit that was made just a few years ago.

Scientists have found, however, that minute levels of radioactive carbon absorbed by the barley as it grew before it was harvested to make the whisky can betray how old it is.

Researchers at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, which is funded by the National Environmental Research Council, discovered that they could pinpoint the date a whisky was made by detecting traces of radioactive particles created by nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s.

They can also use natural background levels of radioactivity to identify whiskies that were made in earlier centuries.

Dr Tom Higham, deputy director of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, said: "It is easy to tell if whisky is fake as if it has been produced since the middle of the twentieth century, it has a very distinctive signature.

"With whiskies that are older, we can get a range of dates but we can usually tell which century it came from. The earliest whisky we have dated came from the 1700s and most have been from 19th century.

"So far there have probably been more fakes among the samples we've tested than real examples of old whisky."

The technique the scientists use is known as radiocarbon dating and is more commonly used by archaeologists to date ancient fragments of bone and wood.

It relies upon the fact that all living organisms absorb low levels of a radioactive isotope known as carbon 14, a heavy form of carbon which is present in low levels in the atmosphere.

After death, levels of this isotope in animal and plant remains will slowly decay away, meaning scientists can estimate their age from the amount of carbon 14 that remains in the sample.

Nuclear bomb testing in the 1950s saw levels of carbon 14 in the atmosphere rise around the world and so the amount of isotope absorbed by living organisms since this time has been artificially elevated.

Most of the tests on whiskies have been conducted for the Scotch Whisky Research Institute, which is responsible for analysing the authenticity of Scotch malt whisky.

Phials of whisky extracted from the antique bottles are sent to the laboratory in Oxford, where the scientists burn the liquid and bombard the resulting gas with electrically charged particles so they can measure the quantities of carbon 14 in the sample.

In one recent case, a bottle of 1856 Macallan Rare Reserve, which was expected to sell for up to £20,000, was withdrawn from auction at Christies after the scientists found it had actually been produced in 1950.

David Williamson, from the Scotch Whisky Association, said: "The collectors' market has been growing and the SWA would strongly recommend any prospective buyer takes steps to satisfy themselves as to the product's provenance.

"A range of authenticity tests can be carried out on the liquid and packaging and occasionally, radio carbon dating techniques have been used to assist assessments of the liquid's age."

Progress delays Florida nuclear project 20 months

2009-05-02T16:34:00.000+02:00

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0134187020090501

Fri May 1, 2009 6:18pm EDT
HOUSTON, May 1 (Reuters) - Progress Energy's (PGN.N) Florida utility will delay the construction timeline for its $14 billion nuclear plant in Levy County and scale back early charges to pay for the plant, the company said on Friday.

Florida's second-largest utility said a 20-month delay in the construction schedule for two 1,105-megawatt, AP1000 reactors will push commercial operation of the first unit to 2018, rather than 2016 as currently envisioned. A second reactor at the site could begin operation about 2020.

The schedule change follows a ruling by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that prevents certain excavation and foundation work until Progress receives a license to construct and operate the plant, the utility said in a statement.

Progress had hoped to proceed with the foundation work ahead of the issuance of a license, expected by early 2012.

An NRC spokesman said the determination was based on geologic characteristics of the Levy site.

While the Levy County nuclear station remains a "top priority," the delay may be best for customers' wallets, given the severity of the economic slowdown in Florida, said Jeff Lyash, Progress Energy Florida president.

"Shifting this portion of the work until we have the combined operating license in hand enables us to spread some of the costs over a longer period," Lyash said.

The delay may also improve the project's chances of being built.

The shift "provides time for the economy to recover, which should allow for financing in a more stable market," said Progress Energy Chief Executive Bill Johnson.

For a second time, Progress asked state regulators to reduce the amount it will charge customers to help pay for the new nuclear station and work to boost output at Progress Florida's Crystal River nuclear station by 180 megawatts.

The utility seeks approval to spread Levy's early cost recovery over five years to lessen the impact on monthly customer bills.

If approved, the deferral would result in a 2010 nuclear charge of $6.69 per month for a customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours, down from $12.63 allowed under Florida law.

In March, Florida regulators approved a Progress request to reduce the 2009 monthly nuclear charge by nearly $8, to $3.62.

Florida lawmakers were among the first in the nation to allow utilities to collect nuclear costs ahead of construction as a way to advance Gov. Charlie Crist's effort to address global warming concerns by reducing Florida's carbon dioxide emissions.

A new timeline for the Levy County project depends on negotiations under way with contractors Westinghouse Electric Co (6502.T) and The Shaw Group (SGR.N), Progress said. (Reporting by Eileen O'Grady ; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Bellefonte not picked for nuclear pilot project

2009-05-02T16:32:00.000+02:00

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1241169332232650.xml&coll=1&goback=%2Ehom

Friday, May 01, 2009 By DAVID BREWERTimes Staff Writer david.brewer@htimes.com
Group chose sitein Georgia; TVAsays plans on track

SCOTTSBORO - NuStart Energy Development has picked a Georgia nuclear plant over the Bellefonte site near Scottsboro as its pilot project for a new generation of reactors.

But the Tennessee Valley Authority said it will continue pursuing federal approval to build and operate Units 3 and 4 at the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant.

TVA said Thursday that NuStart "is transferring the reference designation" to build two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors from Bellefonte to Southern Co.'s Plant Vogtle site near Waynesboro, Ga.

"The change," it said, "is designed to align industry and regulatory resources with a license application that has specific, near-term construction plans."

Atlanta-based Southern, parent of Alabama Power, anticipates getting a license to build and run the two new reactors in 2011 and having them online by 2016. TVA is looking at getting a license for Bellefonte in 2012 and having its two units ready by 2018. The Nuclear Regulatory Association must approve all new reactors.

The switch in designation "doesn't change our plan," TVA spokesman Terry Johnson said Thursday. Building and operating two AP1000 reactors "is still an option for the Bellefonte site," he said.

The transfer, he said, means only that the selected plant will have a standard reactor design that other plants will follow.

In 2006, TVA opted to partner with NuStart, a Pennsylvania-based consortium of nuclear utilities, to build a new plant rather than finish Bellefonte. That decision was based in part on the AP1000's simpler design, which some experts say will be less costly to build and run.

TVA decided later that it also would consider finishing Bellefonte units 1 and 2.

Unit 1 was about 85 percent complete and Unit 2 about 55 percent finished when TVA halted construction in the late 1980s after spending about $4.2 billion. At the time, TVA cited its rising debt and reduced demand for electricity.

US may have seen last new nuclear, coal plant: FERC's Wellinghoff

2009-04-22T20:47:00.001+02:00

[If I had a nickel every time someone said natural gas would be cheap forever and get rid of nuclear...]

http://platts.com/Nuclear/News/8510639.xml?sub=Nuclear&p=Nuclear/News&?undefined&undefined

Washington (Platts)--22Apr2009
In remarks focused on the promise of renewable energy and demand-side management, US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff on Wednesday suggested that there may never be another new nuclear or coal power plant built in the country.

Pointing to upwards of 1,000 GW of potential wind energy in the Midwest and West, new solar power production and storage technologies and emerging hydrokinetic power resources, Wellinghoff asserted that renewables are poised to play a substantial, gap-filling role in the US energy picture.

That, coupled with strong natural gas reserves and load-response leveling systems, could simply price coal and nuclear out of the energy market equation
for the foreseeable future, the chairman said at a Washington press briefing
sponsored by the United States Energy Association.

Asked about challenges facing construction of new nuclear and coal power
plants, Wellinghoff allowed that "we may not need any, ever." That's a "theoretical question" because "I don't see anybody building these things until costs get to a reasonable level."

He characterized the projected costs of new nuclear plants as prohibitive, citing estimates of roughly $7,000/kW.

Price tags for new coal plants are similarly daunting, he said. Coal plants also are being pressed by natural gas, which is coming on strong as a competitor for power production, the chairman said.

"Natural gas is going to be there for a while," he said, noting that production companies in recent years have discovered that "we have twice as much" gas in the US "than we previously thought." That, in combination with other factors, figures to keep natural gas relatively inexpensive "for a while," competing "on the margin with coal" for new generation load.
--Chris Newkumet, chris_newkumet@platts.com

China may bid for Jordan's $3.5 bln nuclear contract

2009-04-21T13:43:00.001+02:00

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFPEK5987420090421

Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:18am GMT

BEIJING, April 21 (Reuters) - China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) could join the bidding to build a nuclear power plant in Jordan worth $3.5 billion, Khaled Toukan, chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), said on Tuesday.

French nuclear energy producer Areva (CEPFi.PA: Quote), Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (015760.KS: Quote), Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) and Russia's Atomstroyexport are already competing for the right to build the plant.

"Others, including CNNC, may join the bidding process, given there is still some time before the decision will be made," Toukan told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Beijing.

He said it might take three years to choose the contractor and a further four or five years to build the plant, which would have generating capacity of at least 1 gigawatt, perhaps more.

At 1 GW, the plant would cost $3.3-3.5 billion. It is expected to generate around one quarter of Jordan's electricity. The country has yet to choose a site for the reactor and a lack of water was complicating the issue, Toukan said.

Jordan has reasonably assured resources of about 70,000 metric tonnes of uranium oxide in the centre of the country.

A Jordanian joint venture with Areva is exploring one block which is expected to start production in 2012-2013, while a partnership with China's Sino (U) is in the early stage of exploring two blocks, he said.

China builds third generation nuclear reactors

2009-04-21T13:25:00.001+02:00

[Several of my colleagues are working on the Sanmen project. It will be interesting to see if schedule holds on this first AP-1000.]

http://www.netindia123.com/showdetails.asp?id=1232168&cat=Business&head=China+builds+third+generation+nuclear+reactors

Zhejiang (China) |Monday, 2009 7:35:09 PM IST

China Sunday started the construction of its Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant in collaboration with US-based Westinghouse in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.

The plant will be built in three phases, with an investment of about 40 billion yuan ($5.88 billion) in the first phase.

The two pressurised water reactors to be built in the first phase will generate 1.25 mn kw each.

The first reactor will be put into operation in 2013, and the second in 2014. The plant will have six reactors.

"It is the biggest energy cooperation project between China and the US," said Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration.

China launched bidding for the Sanmen nuclear power plant in 2003. Foreign companies including Westinghouse, France's Areva and Russia's AtomStroyExport participated in the process.

Westinghouse became the winner after China signed a memo with the US on the introduction and transfer of third-generation nuclear power technologies in December 2006.

The agreement was signed between China's State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation and Westinghouse in July 2007.

Two of the four pressurised water reactors will be installed in Sanmen, while two others will be installed in Haiyang City in eastern Shandong province.

China presently has 11 nuclear reactors at its six nuclear power plants, all on the east coast, with a combined installed capacity of 9.07 mn kw.

To meet its fast economic growth, China plans to develop more nuclear power. The country plans to have 40 mn kw of installed nuclear capacity by 2020.

Speaking at Sunday's inauguration ceremony of the first-phase project of the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant, Chinese vice premier Li Keqiang has called for more efforts to develop new energy to ensure the country's energy security and boost economic growth.

--Xinhua

EDF suspends managers suspected of spying on nuclear opponents

2009-04-13T12:51:00.002+02:00

[Latest on the French espionage story.]

http://platts.com/Nuclear/News/6255765.xml?sub=Nuclear&p=Nuclear/News&?undefined&undefined

Paris (Platts)--10Apr2009
Electricite de France on Friday suspended two senior nuclear security managers alleged to have hired outside consultants to spy on antinuclear activists using illegal means, including computer hacking, in violation of company rules.

The French utility said in a statement that "as a precautionary measure following an internal inquiry," it had decided to suspend Pierre Francois, site protection engineer, and his line manager Pascal Durieux, security manager in the EDF Production and Engineering Division, from their duties "to ensure that the legal inquiry into unlawful intrusion into information systems is conducted with the necessary impartiality."

A Paris-area judge filed charges against the two EDF employees in March in connection with "fraudulent intrusion" into the computer system of Yannick Jadot, a former Greenpeace campaign director, in association with Kargus Consultant, a computer intelligence firm.

The two denied knowingly hacking into a computer system, as did two Kargus employees also charged in the case, but a contractor for Kargus admitted hacking into Jadot's computers.

At the time, EDF registered as an intervenor, saying it would seek recourse against Kargus. But Friday's announcement indicates that at least in a second case, the two executives may have overstepped their authority.

On Friday, EDF said it had "just found out during internal investigations" that "a monitoring contract with Securewyse...was signed without full regard for [EDF's] rules."

Securewyse, based in Switzerland, specializes in private detective work.

EDF did not say who signed the contract, but the French investigative weekly Canard Enchaine reported Wednesday that Securewyse was contracted to "monitor" the movements and contacts of Stephane Lhomme, a spokesman for the antinuclear group Sortir du Nucleaire.

Lhomme revealed in 2006 that he was in possession of an internal EDF document acknowledging weaknesses in the resistance of the EPR (European Pressurized water Reactor) nuclear plant design to a direct crash impact from a commercial jetliner. The 2003 document was stamped "defense confidential."

When Lhomme was charged with endangering national security by revealing the contents of the document, Sortir du Nucleaire and other groups reacted by publishing it on their Internet sites. Meanwhile, Securewyse was hired to find out who had leaked it, the Canard said.

Lhomme has not been judged; if convicted, he risks a five-year prison sentence.

So far, Sortir du Nucleaire said in a statement Thursday, the organization's informant has apparently not been identified.

EDF has said that the 2003 document is obsolete because the design of the EPR -- which predated the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US -- has been modified to meet new aircraft-crash requirements.

In the statement Friday, EDF said it "endeavors to ensure safety" at its facilities "in order to prevent violent action at its sites." That, it said, requires "constant monitoring of information that may affect its activity."

But EDF said "monitoring" on its behalf must be conducted within the law and that it "wholeheartedly condemns any method aimed at obtaining information illegally."

Durieux is a former police officer. The Canard said that EDF and nuclear vendor Areva employ several former officials from the Ministry of Interior, which oversees both the French police and the national investigation bureau, now called DCRI.

Sortir du Nucleaire said it was preparing to file suit against both EDF and DCRI, which it suspects of helping the utility "in this espionage and infiltration affair."

After the revelation of the Kargus affair, French environment minister Jean-Louis Borloo, who is responsible for energy, said he was keeping an eye on the case but was not worried about the allegations.

"If these extraordinarily things turned out to be true, what [kind of] country would we be living in?" he said during an interview on France Inter radio April 1.

--Ann MacLachlan, ann_maclachlan@platts.com

Senior Staff at French Nuclear Giant EDF Accused of Spying on Greenpeace

2009-04-03T21:58:00.003+02:00

[I try not to opine TOO much in these postings, but I feel this is "the pot calling the kettle black". Yes if the charges are true espionage is wrong, but Greenpeace uses illegal tactics as well (e.g., trespassing, blockades, etc.). I sense a double standard here...]

http://www.money.co.uk/article/1003320-senior-staff-at-french-nuclear-giant-edf-accused-of-spying-on-greenpeace.htm

Senior staff at state-owned energy company, EDF, have been charged with engaging in industrial espionage against Greenpeace France.

By Michael Ross Published on 2 Apr 2009

Two senior members of staff at EDF, the world’s largest operator of nuclear reactors, have been charged with spying on environment agency Greenpeace.

However, while both individuals strongly deny the allegations, a computer expert - who also faces charges - has acknowledged plans to hack into Greenpeace France’s secure systems.

Police are now investigating whether French-government-owned EDF hired a private detective agency specifically to engage in industrial espionage.

Headed by a former member of the French Secret Service (who is also being investigation as part of this enquiry), private investigators Kargus Consultants are confirmed to have been working for EDF at the time of the alleged incident in 2006 but no further details have been given about what capacity this was under.

French newspaper website Mediapart however, suggested that EDF had charged investigators at Kargus with the task of infiltrating Greenpeace France and collecting information on anti-nuclear campaigners who would potentially oppose their proposal to build a huge new generation nuclear reactor on the north coast of France.

Unsurprisingly, both EDF and Kargus have officially denied these claims, instead suggesting that the already-charged computer expert was working alone without instruction from either party.

In fact, EDF are now claiming that they are the victims in this case and have filed a civil plaintiff against the private detective firm.

Greenpeace have since confirmed that they are carrying out a thorough security review of the systems used by key officials in both the French and UK branches – EDF have recently bought into the UK’s biggest nuclear company, British Energy.

Director of Greenpeace France, Pascal Husting has also publically expressed his concerns, commenting:

"Greenpeace is a non-violent environmental organisation. The fact that we are being treated like terrorists because we dare to question nuclear energy shows just how frightened the nuclear industry is of transparency and a democratic debate.

"How will public opinion in Britain and the US – where EDF is expanding – react to a company using criminal spying methods against people who contradict them?"

Values predict attitudes toward nuclear power

2009-03-26T13:08:00.000+01:00

http://www.physorg.com/news157210120.html

March 25th, 2009 Concerns about climate change and energy independence have led to renewed calls for the resurgence of nuclear power. Therefore, it is important to understand the level of and bases for public attitudes, both supporting and opposing nuclear power. According to a new study published in the March issue of the journal Risk Analysis, the American public is ambivalent about nuclear power. Public support is highest among those who trust the nuclear industry and the agencies that regulate it, and traditional values predicted support of nuclear power.

Stephen C. Whitfield of Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Inc., Eugene A. Rosa of Washington State University, and Amy Dan and Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University examined data from a U.S. national survey to see whether public attitudes toward nuclear power were affected by perceptions of risk as well as people's values, beliefs, and trust in the institutions that influence nuclear power.

Results show that perceived risk is lowest among those who trust the nuclear industry and its regulators. Trust in nuclear power is a key factor in public support.

Traditional values, such as assigning importance to family, patriotism and stability predicted support of nuclear power. People associated with altruistic values, such as concern with the welfare of other humans and species, were the least supportive of nuclear power. Less trust and lower education predicted greater perceived risk of nuclear power. Surprisingly, concern with global environmental problems, such as climate change, did not lead to increased support for nuclear power.

The findings are consistent with a long line of survey evidence and suggest that unless trust in the nuclear industry and its regulators can be increased, the hopes for a resurgence of nuclear power in the U.S. may be premature.

"The primary cause of attitudes toward nuclear power is a deficit in public trust of the industry and of the federal agencies that regulate it," the authors note. "Trust is a fundamental factor in public perceptions of risk and support for nuclear and other technologies."

Source: Wiley (news : web)

Palo Verde nuclear plant clears federal oversight

2009-03-25T17:42:00.002+01:00

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/03/25/20090325biz-paloverde0325.html

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/03/25/20090325biz-paloverde0325.html

Regulators affirm station has improved safety performance

by Ryan Randazzo

More than two years of intensified federal oversight ended for the nation's largest power plant Tuesday, as regulators affirmed that operator Arizona Public Service Co. had improved safety performance at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.

The move will benefit APS, which has spent millions to pay for on-site regulators and additional inspections at the plant 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix.

The move also benefits utility customers and the seven utilities that own the plant. With more reliable performance predicted from the plant, Palo Verde is less likely to suffer unexpected shutdowns, which force the companies to buy replacement power at a higher price - costs often passed on to customers.

The plant's upgrade from the most-regulated "Column 4" category - one step away from a forced shutdown - in just longer than two years was among the fastest recoveries on record, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

APS replaced its management team at the plant, tried to improve communications within the facility and emphasized a culture of safety among the nearly 3,000 people who work at Palo Verde.

Tuesday's announcement by the NRC moved the plant back to "Column 1," the category for plants operating normally, although it will require some additional inspections to ensure the plant maintains the ranking.

"We have seen notable improvements," NRC branch chief Mike Hay told Palo Verde executives Tuesday night. "It appears those actions are sustainable. However, that is a prediction. The outcome is really in your hands."

Palo Verde officials said the plant must strive to keep things running well.

"This is a milestone," said Randy Edington, executive vice president and chief nuclear officer. "We should celebrate, then we need to immediately look at what is industry excellence . . . and strive to be the absolute best."

Palo Verde had enjoyed several years of smooth operation until troubles began in 2003, when the plant had to be shut down unexpectedly several times because of mechanical problems.

Nuclear plants emphasize preventative maintenance. This means mechanical problems are supposed to be identified before they require unplanned shutdowns and ideally be fixed during the planned refueling shutdowns each of Palo Verde's reactors requires every 18 months.

Special investigative teams were sent to the plant several times in 2004 as the troubles continued.

In 2005, Palo Verde was fined $50,000 and given more scrutiny from the NRC because it inappropriately maintained water pipes in the core-cooling system, which the regulatory commission deemed a "substantial safety issue."

Twice the next year investigators found a backup diesel generator inoperable. Coupled with previous employee reports of mistrusting management, the NRC became concerned that employees were not adequately addressing the plant's problems.

In early 2007, the NRC notified APS that the plant was in "Column 4," one level above being shut down, when the issues with the generator were deemed substantial, partly because employees didn't have a questioning attitude about the cause of the problem.

Palo Verde already had begun to make changes in the weeks before it was notified of its Column 4 listing, announcing the retirement of the executive overseeing the plant in late 2006 and hiring Edington as chief nuclear officer.

More than 160 people, nearly all APS employees, showed up Tuesday at the Tonopah Valley High School auditorium near the plant to hear the NRC's report and ask the regulators questions.

One 20-year employee told the regulators that "frontline" employees got the message and planned to be vigilant about safety.

"A lot of us might say that it was management that got us here in the first place," Jerry Kingston of Peoria, a mechanic at the plant, said to the NRC officials. "The front line will not let management get us back in this predicament."

Arizona Corporation Commission Chairwoman Kris Mayes said she is hopeful the plant will stay out of trouble and continue to operate with minimal unplanned shutdowns.

"This is a plant that Arizonans paid for, and they deserve to have it running," Mayes said.

The poor status of the plant also was one of the concerns that credit agencies cited as a threat to APS' credit rating, Mayes said.

Returning to Column 1 reduces the threat of the credit rating slipping, which would impact the utility and its customers with higher borrowing costs.

That threat led the commission to grant an emergency rate increase in December and one of the reasons company executives are asking for a permanent rate increase that would boost household bills 9.4 percent, or about $11 a month.

Nuclear technology tracks Caribbean pollution

2009-03-19T12:22:00.001+01:00

[Another example of nuclear technology outside the power sector]

http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Nuclear_technology_tracks_Caribbean_pollution_999.html

by Staff Writers
Panama (AFP) March 16, 2009
A UN agency is using nuclear material and technologies to study coastal pollution in a dozen Caribbean countries caused mainly by oil refineries, its officials said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is focusing on marine pollution in this project because the sea is vital to the region, accounting for up to 60 percent of the gross domestic products of some countries.

"We are using nuclear techniques to study and improve the environment," said Joan Albert Sanchez-Cabeza, who is responsible for radiometry at the IAEA's marine laboratories in Monaco.

Sanchez-Cabeza said the IAEA is gauging the presence in Caribbean waters of heavy metals like lead, zinc and nickel, as well as pesticides and plaguicides, and studying how it has evolved over time.

Radioactive isotopes like lead 210, cesium 137, or carbon 14 are used to trace those changes in a given place "to see what measures have been taken and what has or has not worked," the Spanish scientist said.

He said they examine sediments because "they are like a book."

"Everything that humans do leaves an impression somewhere -- in lake beds, in the rings of trees, the ice sheets, among others," he said.

He said the project has already established levels of pollution in some areas for the first time, but it will be some months before there are overall results.

"These techniques are helpful to governments because they enable them to see where there have been improvements in terms of environmental pollution and where more needs to be done," said Misael Diaz, a Cuban researcher with the Center of Environmental Studies in Cienfuegos, Cuba.

Diaz is working on the IAEA's most advanced environmental study, in the Bay of Havana.

"To draw conclusions, we need to compare current data with the historic use of this ecosystem," he said.

Jane Gerardo-Abaya, who directs the IAEA program, said people sometimes worry when they hear radioactive materials are being used in the study, but she attributed that to a lack of public information.

"These techniques are valid, very useful and harmless because our mandate is to ensure the peaceful use of atomic energy," she said.

Taiwan Power Delays New Nuclear Plant Launch, Seeks More Funds

2009-03-11T14:11:00.000+01:00

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20090311\ACQDJON200903110446DOWJONESDJONLINE000395.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Taiwan%20Power%20Delays%20New%20Nuclear%20Plant%20Launch,%20Seeks%20More%20Funds

TAIPEI -(Dow Jones)- Government-owned monopoly utility Taiwan Power Co. has to delay the start of commercial operations at its No. 4 nuclear power plant by two years to 2011 and ask the government for more funds, company spokeswoman Tu Yueh-Yuan said Wednesday.

The plant has been plagued by construction delays, soaring raw material prices, and at one point, a decision by the previous administration to halt construction altogether because of its "nuclear-free homeland" policy.

The budget for the No. 4 plant's two units was originally NT$233.55 billion ( US$6.77 billion), but now Taiwan Power wants to ask the government for about NT$ 40 billion more, said Tu.

"We need more funds mainly because of rising construction costs and the depreciating Taiwan dollar," said Tu.

The figures are not final, as the final new budget must be approved by the government, she said.

Taiwan Power operates three nuclear reactors with a total of six power generating units and a capacity of 5,144 megawatts, or 13.1% of its total installed capacity.

The No. 4 nuclear power plant, built in Lungmen, Taipei County, will operate two units with a planned capacity of 2,700 MW.

Commercial operations at the no. 1 unit are now planned to start in December 2011 instead of July 2009, while trial operations may start in late 2010, said Tu.

"The control and information system will be installed much later than we expected, which is the cause of the delay," said Tu, adding the No. 2 unit will likely start commercial operations one year after the first one.

The Lungmen plant will be connected to the grid already during trial operations, but electricity supply won't be stable because of the testing done during the period, she said.

-By Alex Pevzner, Dow Jones Newswires; 8862-2502-2557; alex.pevzner@ dowjones.com

Chinese expert warns of nuclear talents vacuum

2009-03-11T14:04:00.001+01:00

[Despite the large construction infrastructure, it appears China has nuclear workforce supply concerns.]

http://en.ce.cn/National/stech/200903/04/t20090304_18386107.shtml

Last Updated(Beijing Time):2009-03-04 09:45

China is in great need of nuclear science talents from the young generation, a nuclear physicist said on Tuesday.
Zhu Zhiyuan, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Branch, said China must step up efforts to attract and cultivate more young nuclear talents, in order to meet the demand of the country's future development.

China, realizing the huge potential of the nuclear power as a "clean energy", has already strengthened nuclear science education in recent years, said Zhu, who is here to attend the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body.

However, these efforts could not at once make up for the lack of nuclear specialist education in the country caused by previous insufficient attention towards the field for more than a decade.

"Many young people at the time were simply afraid of nuclear technologies, while others assumed the prospect of nuclear power as unpromising," Zhu said.

Even now, few of the students enrolled in nuclear physics departments of Chinese universities or research institutes chose the field as their top choice, Zhu said, adding that he himself chose the subject inspired by Nobel Laureate Lee Tsung-Dao and Yang Chen-ning back in the 1970s along with many youths of his age.

He said the country's development of nuclear power and the civil or medical use of nuclear technologies are both indispensable from the cultivation of nuclear talents.

"China now needs a batch of young ambitious people to devote themselves to the nuclear science, to explore the world of physics," Zhu said.

Source:Xinhuanet

Economy to slow US nuclear power growth: NRC head

2009-03-11T14:02:00.000+01:00

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/11032009/323/economy-slow-nuclear-power-growth-nrc-head.html

LOS ANGELES, March 10 (Reuters) - An 'excessive exuberance' for expansion in the U.S. nuclear power industry has calmed because of the global credit and economic crisis, the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Tuesday.

Separately, a GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy official warned that the lack of credit will slow the pace of U.S. nuclear power development.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Dale Klein said in the past two years he worried whether there would be enough NRC staff to review an avalanche of licenses for new nuclear power plants, none of which have been ordered since the 1970s.

'Today, of course, the picture looks a little different ... it seems like the global economy has resolved the issue of what I referred to as an 'excessive exuberance' to be in line for the first new reactor builds,' Klein said in a speech to NRC staff in Washington.

Also on Tuesday, in response to question from Reuters, an official with reactor builder GE Hitachi said financing will slow U.S. nuclear power development.

'Recent market developments are influencing the pace of new power plant projects in the U.S. industry-wide,' said Danny Roderick, senior vice president for nuclear plant projects.

'The global financial climate is causing some U.S. customers, primarily ones that are relying on the capital markets to finance their projects, to reprioritize needs and consider options for the construction of new nuclear power plants,' he added.

While U.S. nuclear power development may be slowed, a rise is still on the way, Roderick said.

'The underlying need for power has not gone away,' Roderick said.

General Electric Co and Hitachi (Xetra: 853219 - news) separately had been building nuclear reactors since the 1950s. They created the alliance GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in 2007 and have worked together on boiler water reactor technology since 1967.

'GE Hitachi is well-positioned to succeed in markets globally and lead the nuclear renaissance,' said Roderick.

Since 2007, the NRC has received applications for 17 new nuclear reactor operating licenses covering 28 new reactors. It expects to get a total of 22 applications for 33 new reactors by end-2010.

Last month, company sources said the field was narrowed to five U.S. companies for $18.5 billion in government-backed loans to build new nuclear power plants. One company official last month said two or three projects will get the loan help.

The cost of a new reactor ranges from $5 billion to $12 billion, depending on size, design and the site. Most new reactors are proposed to be alongside existing reactors which can hook up to existing or expanded transmission lines. This alleviates some of the resistance from local residents who are used to a nuclear power plant being nearby.

There are 104 working nuclear power reactors in the United States that provide about 20 percent of the electricity generation in the country, which is about the same as produced by natural gas power plants.

Coal-burning power plants make about half the electricity in the United States, but are also the single leading U.S. source of emissions of carbon dioxide, far and away the leading greenhouse gas.

Nuclear power emits no CO2, but its development has been thwarted in the United States since the late 1970s over safety concerns and nuclear waste storage issues.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall and Eileen O'Grady; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

Who are the Swedish antinukes?

2009-03-01T21:54:00.013+01:00

Reflections after seeing a documentary at Roxy cinema, Örebro, Sweden
1 March, 2009

I had this event in my calender for 2 weeks ago already. The film "I have Cesium in my blood" ("Jag har cesium i blodet") by Swedish journalist and documentalist living in Brasil, Lars Westman. After the film, a discussion on nuclear waste permanent storage was announced, with my colleagues at Örebro university participating at the panel. Announcement below.

The film itself was impressive - just as the picture on the announcement. It was about a case that took place in Brasilian town Goiania in 1987 where a radioactive container from an old hospital was occasionally thrown away and found by local people who desided to dismantle it and sell as valuable metals. The case is described here.

For sure, there were a lot of personal stories, broken human lives and awful pictures of people damaged by radiation.
And after 1 hour of watching this, all the spectators were invited to the cellar of the cinema hall, where they arranged a discussion with the producer of the film Lars Westman and a few other people (among them my colleague Mats Eriksson who did a research on media images of nuclear power, and Andreas Oberstedt who teaches a course in nuclear physics at our university).

Just from the very beginning I noticed a few people in the hall who had a yellow mark on their coats... Like this (Says "Atomic power? No, thanks!):

By the time the discussion was about to start, I found myself in a room full of antinukes. It looked like they all knew each other, were very well organized, distributed leaflets and some environmental newspapers.
In some of my previous notes I was wandering why is this country so openly antinuclear when it comes to public opinion. There should be people around who write these poorly argumented articles against the development of nuclear technology, pointing back at Chernobyl and extreme cases like Brazilian one.
Now, here they are.

Not to offend anyone, but I felt like watching a POLITBURO session of Brezhnev times. Average age of the audience was around 50-60, some were much older. There were a couple of young faces (students, I suppose), and some middle age people who did not seem to be very active.

So, what did we discuss then? First, the panel spoke, and Anders Oberstedt said a key thing in the debate. He said: "All your fears come from your ignorance", meaning people who are openly against nuclear power, do not have enough information about it. An, inspite of him giving a reasonable explanation of his pro-nuclear position, showing factual information in form of graphs and figures on climate change... this audience started throwing questions and comments against him.
"Aren't you oversimplifying the reality with showing just this CO2 emission graph?" - cried an agressive guy who could well be my grandpas father. The rest applaused.
"How can I be informed and not ignorant if the papers do not publish much on this?" - said one lady. (When I commented back to her that there is enough info on the web, in case she is interested, she replied she was not a computer user).
The debate that was supposed to be about the film landed into a pro and antinuke antagonism. To the honour of Mr. Oberstedt, he could well defend his position, with reasonable argumentation. I am not sure if any of the people in the hall went away persuaded (such people as a rule are not that flexible), but status quo remained.
I agree that these people are not informed and educated well enough to see the scale of the energy challenge that their country faces. And I am not surprized that Swedish government does not have an open debate on issues like removing the ban for new reactor construction in Sweden. After years of antinuclear propaganda, it's not that easy to persuade the people who get all the information from TV and papers, and are not even willing to study and think themselves. They are too much used to the fact that someone thinks for them.
Anyway. There was no fighting this evening at the cinema cellar, the discussion was very fruitful from the point that various opinions met. As one young guy said correctly, this debate has to move from the small room to the place where many more can participate - to internet fora.

Norway, Finland to finance dismantling of radioisotope power supplysources in Baltic Sea

2009-02-26T15:01:00.000+01:00

[Another article showing other applications of nuclear technology.]

http://www.interfax.com/3/474990/news.aspx

MURMANSK. Feb 26 (Interfax-AVN) - A contract on dismantling
navigation equipment and the installation of alternative power supply
sources in the Baltic Sea will be signed in St. Petersburg in March, in
line with an agreement reached at a meeting in Kirkenes between Gunnar
Kjonnoy, the governor of the Norwegian province of Finnmark, and
Murmansk region Governor Yury Yevdokimov, Nikolai Sigin, Yevdokimov's
press secretary, told Interfax on Thursday.
The contract envisions the disposal of 71 radioisotope
thermoelectric generators and installation of alternative power supply
sources on 56 beacons in the Baltic Sea in 2009-2012.
The project's cost is 50.2 million Norwegian kroner, and Finland,
which also wishes to join the project, will contribute 1.35 million
euro.
The installation of alternative power supply sources on beacons
within the area of responsibility of the Russian Baltic Fleet will
follow the dismantling of all the 153 radioisotope thermoelectric
generators within the area of responsibility of the Northern Fleet's
hydrographic service in the White Sea and the Barents Sea.

Nuclear power can help halve CO2- expert

2009-02-26T13:08:00.000+01:00

Nuclear power can help halve CO2 emissions and double energy production by 2050, an expert in nuclear energy has said on a visit to Northern Ireland.

Prof Bertrand Barré, chairman of the International Nuclear Energy Academy, said last night that the twin objectives of emission reduction and increased production within 40 years would not be attainable without nuclear power.

Prof Barré, who delivered the eighth Sir Bernard Crossland Lecture at Queen’s University, Belfast last night, said greater reliance on nuclear and renewable energy sources was an “immense challenge”. If managed correctly it would be of huge ecological and economic benefit to the entire planet.

“Today, 80 per cent of the world’s energy is produced by burning oil, coal and gas, and this puts CO2 into the atmosphere.

Prof Barré insisted that increasing energy production twofold was imperative in ensuring that developing countries could attain “a decent level of life”.

(Source: Irish Times)

Italy seeks nuclear power revival with French help

2009-02-26T13:04:00.001+01:00

Silvio Berlusconi's government wants Italy to overcome a two decades-old taboo on nuclear power and start building plants to ensure clean and secure energy sources, it said on Tuesday ahead of a nuclear deal with France.

Volatility in oil prices and the clash between Russia and Ukraine over gas pipelines has highlighted how risky Europe's energy sources can be, making nuclear power -- with virtually zero carbon dioxide emissions -- a more attractive option.

Italy's centre-right government, which has been talking about new capacity despite a 1987 referendum suspending building new nuclear plants in Italy after the Chernobyl disaster, said Italy needed to secure its own clean energy supplies.

"In coming years we must lay the first stone of a safe and clean Italian nuclear plant," Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told local television. "Nuclear power is an important source of energy supply for Italy."

As French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Berlusconi held a bilateral summit due to produce a deal on nuclear cooperation, Frattini said Italy wanted to take advantage of France's "very advanced technology and experience in the subject".

Sweden, which had voted to phase out nuclear power in a 1980 referendum, now plans to lift the ban and Britain is drawing up plans to revive its nuclear plants.

Italy's plans may face political resistance, but Berlusconi has a strong parliamentary majority and the main centre-left opposition is on its knees after recent election defeats.

"The time scale on nuclear power stations will be long but the important thing is to give the green light," Berlusconi's spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti told reporters on Tuesday.

Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said on Monday Italy and France would sign an accord on "all aspects of nuclear power, from cooperation at the European level to security, technological cooperation, training, decommissioning and industrial cooperation in other countries".

Scajola says Italy needs eight to 10 European Pressurized Reactors (EPR), known as improved third-generation plants.

But analysts ask how utilities would fund this and what delays might arise from wrangling over whether the sector would be overseen by an independent regulator or a government agency.

The Italian and French media said the cooperation pact would involve Italy's dominant power utility, Enel, taking a 12.5 percent stake in France's second EPR reactor.

Enel already owns a 12.5 percent stake in France's first EPR which is being built at Flamanville in northwest France and will be operated by French power giant EDF.

In turn, EDF could take part in a joint venture with Enel in Italy to build a nuclear plant.

Sarkozy told Italian newspaper La Stampa in an interview published on Tuesday that EDF and Enel "will constitute two components of the trans-Alpine energy axis we're launching".

(Source: Reuters)

Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant crosses a milestone

2009-02-26T12:56:00.000+01:00

Iran’s Bushehr atomic power station crossed a major milestone on Wednesday following an announcement that the construction of the facility had been completed and a series of tests that would lead the formal commissioning of the 1000MW plant had commenced.

Sergei Kiriyenko, visiting head of Russia’s nuclear agency, Rosatom told reporters at Bushehr that the construction of the plant was now complete. “The construction stage of the nuclear power plant is over, we are now in the pre-commissioning stage, which is a combination of complex procedures,” he said. Mohsen Shirazi, spokesman of the atomic energy agency said dummy fuel rods were now being inserted in the reactor as part of the comprehensive tests that were scheduled. He said virtual fuel made of lead, which was designed to imitate nuclear fuel was being loaded in the plant.

“Virtual fuel which does not have uranium will be loaded in the core of the reactor,” the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Mohammad Saeedi, told Iranian state television. “The main units, especially the primary circuit, back-up systems and sub-units are tested to remove any failure that could happen in the commissioning stage,” he said.

Iran is building the Bushehr facility with Russian help under a $1-billion contract.

(Source: The Hindu)

Greens in "panic" over growing split on nuclear power

2009-02-25T21:15:00.002+01:00

[Looks like there is more discussion going on in the environmental community on the nuclear issue.]

http://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=2300§ion=Carbon%2CIndustry

25-02-09

Green Party leaders in the UK have attempted to reign in a growing split within the party over the role of nuclear power in tackling climate change.

This week saw a prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Party revealing that he was now "reluctantly" supporting new nuclear power stations because of growing concerns about climate change.

Chris Goodall, now facing calls to be deselected as Green candidate for the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, wrote a column in the Independent on Monday where he also raised his concerns with the growing economic incentive to use coal power.

In response, the leader of the Green Party in the UK, Caroline Lucas, said: "There is no need for anyone to panic themselves into thinking nuclear power is a possible solution to climate change."

Ms Lucas, MEP for South East England, said: "Of course the government and the nuclear lobbyists will try to use fear of climate change to divide the Green movement and argue for nuclear power. But we must hold our nerve."

Speaking to New Energy Focus today, sources working in Brussels suggested the growing split over the nuclear question was not confined to Britain, but was becoming a major conflict area.

"The stance against nuclear had always been the one issue that they all agreed on," said one source close to the Greens in the EU. "But now, some of them are questioning that, with the growing concern about climate change."

Greens around the world are now asking whether the global movement is right to take a "rigid" stance against nuclear power. The movement has its roots among anti-nuclear protest groups in the 1970s.

Goodall
Mr Goodall has written books including 10 Technologies to Save the Planet, a tome that included carbon capture and CHP as two of the 10 listed technologies, but did not include nuclear power.

But expanding on his views as stated in the Independent this week, Mr Goodall said that "in the medium term, we need nuclear as fast as possible because otherwise we get more coal".

He suggested the current low price of carbon and fuels meant coal power was being increasingly prioritised by energy generators, with plants that were due to closed perhaps staying open with new pollution control equipment fitted to meet Europe's new Large Combustion Plants Directive.

"We've got into this mess simply because we didn't invest heavily enough in onshore wind, tidal or wave power in the last two decades," Mr Goodall said.

While accepting the challenges associated with nuclear power, even in the long-term, Mr Goodall suggested it might be necessary to provide base load capacity in the energy network, suggesting that biomass power stations would require too much land area for crop cultivation.

We are making so little progress with other technologies that I reluctantly conclude that we also need to sponsor nuclear power.
Chris Goodall, Green Party candidate"I do think that the public debate needs to move beyond the ritualised and stale statements of both the pro- and anti-nuclear groups," he concluded. "We are making so little progress with other technologies that I reluctantly conclude that we also need to sponsor nuclear power in the UK."

Lucas
Dr Lucas agreed with the urgency needed to "drastically" reduce emissions in the UK, but said it would take "many years" to build new nuclear power plants, in which time she said renewable energy and efficiency programmes could be set in place.

She said: "We can organise a massive programme of energy-saving measures for every home and business in the UK starting right now. We can get renewable energy sources into place rapidly if we unclog the planning system and set up the kind of incentives used so successfully in Germany and Spain."

COMMENTARY: Talking quietly about nuclear power

2009-02-17T19:00:00.001+01:00

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/COMMENTARY+Talking+quietly+about+nuclear+power/1135243601679

By Annamari Sipilä in Brussels

Talking about nuclear power is an art and a discipline all its own. One of the skills is branding the opposite camp's arguments as exaggerated, biased, politically-charged, or long on emotions and commensurably short on facts. For this reason the European Union has tended to steer clear of a broad discussion on the future of nuclear energy. Nobody wants a ruckuss.

The two sides, for and against, have been too from from one another for a sensible dialogue.

But the EU itself does not decide on whether the use of nuclear power in Europe increases or not. The choice of forms of energy belongs to each member state individually.

The chain of influence travels from the member-states back to the Union. When a sufficient number of EU members resolve to favour nuclear power, it will inevitably begin to be reflected in the Union's own stand on the matter, and on decisions and actions from the top.

In the course of the last year, more and more EU members have begun to lean towards nukes as a source of energy, or have at least shelved earlier plans to give up nuclear energy for good.

There are three main reasons behind this, and they can be condensed into the names of three cities: Kyoto, Moscow, and Lisbon.

Kyoto means the fight against climate change. It requires a massive reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, which in turn - in the view of the pro-nuclear lobby - requires the building of additional nuclear reactors.

Moscow means the European union's dependence on imported energy. The gas crisis in January indicated that the EU countries are rigid with fear - and with cold - in the face of Russia, when Moscow orders that the natural gas taps be shut.

Lisbon, then again, is the same as the Lisbon Strategy, which is basically the EU's ongoing development plan to make itself into "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion and respect for the environment by 2010".

The economic crisis does admittedly carry a threat that "Lisbon" should be exchanged for "Washington": would nuclear power be of help when the credit crunch emanating from the United States is plunging Europe into recession?

The new champions of nuclear power include Britain, Italy, Poland, and Estonia. Sweden no longer rejects the idea with main force, and a similar decision is now expected in Belgium.

Austria remains the strongest critic of nuclear power within the EU fold. The German line will be determined by the results of this autumn's elections.

The Union's energy ministers will be congregating in Brussels on Thursday of this week.

The agenda is also to include talk about nuclear energy.

The ministers are expected to draw a line that nuclear power is one resource among others when the EU tries to improve its energy security. It doesn't sound like much.
But in fact it is quite a lot.

Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 17.2.2009

The writer is the Helsingin Sanomat correspondent in Brussels.

Continuing the theme of Wind VS Nuclear

2009-02-17T14:14:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I was checking some articles on energy, and came across a peculiar one in the New American, that compared the human casualties caused by nuclear power and wind power. The author stresses that there has been no fatalities during the entire history of nuclear power in America (Chernobyl is a different case - but still, it was not an ordinary reactor found everywhere in the world). To compare with wind... Let me quote it here.

There is an organization, the Caithness Windfarm Information Forum, that keeps data on wind power-elated accidents and/or design problems. Caithness is based in Great Britain, where homeowners have already grown tired of the noise and other wind turbine generated problems. Their "Summary of Wind Turbine Accident Data to 31 December 2008" reports 41 worker fatalities. Most, not unexpectedly, were from falling as they are typically working on turbines some thirty stories above the ground. In addition, Caithness attributed the deaths of 16 members of the public to wind-turbine accidents.

A summary of accidents includes:

• 139 incidents of blade failure. Failed blades have been known to travel over a quarter mile, and that is from turbines much smaller than those being manufactured today. This type of accident has caused some European countries to require a minimum distance of about one mile (2 km) between occupied housing and wind turbines.

•110 incidents of fire. When a wind turbine fire occurs, the local fire departments (without 30-story ladder trucks) can do little but watch. This isn't a problem unless the wind is blowing sufficiently to scatter the debris into dry fields or woodlands — or maybe onto your roof.

• 60 incidents of structural failure. This includes turbine failure and tower collapse failures. While not now a problem for the public — except having to gaze upon at a bent-over wind turbine — it may well become one as governments, under pressure from environmental activists, encourage marginal- and hastily-sited wind projects in urban areas where such an accident could kill and maim.

• 24 incidents of "ice throw" with human injury. These data may be a small fraction of actual incidences, with 880 icing events reported in a 13-year period for Germany alone.

Whole article can be found here.

This type of information is rarely published by advocates of wind. Figures speak for themselves.

A Saturday morning article. Nuclear VS wind power in Sweden

2009-02-14T07:46:00.006+01:00

Recently we discussed Sweden's turn to nuclear power - decision to build new reactors after the old ones a phased outs, which we nuclear bloggers and many other reasonable people around the world saw as a wise and rational step for Sweden on path to its energy security.

However, living in Swedish province and reading local papers, one can notice that the Swedes themselves are far from accepting nuclear as a sourse of energy. Yesterday, for example I got fresh ETC Örebro, a paper where anyone can express opinion, that is considered "alternative". And there I found a whole bunch of articles where various private people advocate wind power, expressing an open anti-nuclear attitude. Even blaming the state and big companies for disregarding wind as an option, polluting our green Sweden with nuclear waste that we do not know what to do with, and other arguments like that.

I live in Sweden for more then 4 years now in total, and I'm not surprized to hear this. Swedes, once they believed in one propaganda, do not change their mind easily. They will debate and prove in front of everyone that this is what they think (just because someone managed to put it into their minds on an axyomatic level).

"Environmentalists" can be proud with their PR results in this country - more then the USSR can be proud of communism propaganda. People in Sweden are even less free to choose their opinion - they cannot doubt things that seem fundamental for them at a certain time.

"We mind our environment, and this is why we will never let dirty nuclear power plants to be built in this country." That's the basic statement I hear. Then, when I ask "WHY?", a surprized pause follows, and they continue remembering Chernobyl (which they know surprizingly little about), TMI, consequences of uranium mining etc. - a complete antinuclear PR pack at the most primitive level. This is what you hear from the man in Sweden in street. Once you say you are pronuclear, you feel like "people's enemy". Because you are an outsider - "not like us".

I desided to do a small calculation. One average large wind power device produces about 68 000 kWt per year (at wind speed not below 8 m per second). This is about 7.76 kWt per hour. Then I went to Ignalina NPP website that has good statistics on hourly output. Ignalina-2 only RBMK-1500 (izwini, Aladar, for using just this reactor - I just had quick access to these figures :=))) for 14.02.2009 produces 1326,55 MWt per hour. This is correspondent to an hourly output of about 1 500 wind agregates (Up to 1 MWt, at wind speed 8m/s, on condition that the wind is constantly blowing). Spectacular, huh?

No doubt, wind agregate could be a solution for a small farm in a windy place on some island like Gotland where it always blows, at least 3m/s. Especially if that farm is far away from any other electricity connection. Sweden has a lot of scattered places like that, especially in the upper North. But once there is a need of supplying industry - like the one Sweden has - and coping with a growing demand for electricity in cities, a safe modern nuclear plant is certainly a better and more reliable solution.

Or, maybe, Swedes would like to be the first to fulfill the Obama-like plan and go over to renewables completely by 2015? This country is already loosing a lot of jobs. Life here is hell expensive compared even to countries like Germany, I am not talking about Ukraine and ex-USSR which I am more familiar with. Business is moving away. Domestic population is ageing and dying out, while more "fruitful", active and believing Iraqis, Iranians and Somalis are replacing them.

IMHO Swedish society needs a challenge to wake up from being naive children, looking at the world through pink eyeglasses. Energy challenge is already there. But these people also need to learn how to survive without the caring state that thinks for them, pays their bills and tells them what to do. These people need to come out of their greenhouse.

$50 billion increase in US DOE Loan Guarantee funds cut from final US Stimulus package

2009-02-12T14:06:00.001+01:00

The US House-Senate conference committee axed a proposal to include $50 billion in federal loan guarantees that could have been utilized by the nuclear and coal industries as well as for renewable energy projects.

This increase would have expanded the current DE loan guarantee program funding of $18.5 billion and allowed more new nuclear power plants to obtain critical US government loan guarantees.

Called Title 17, the Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program, the provision would have put aside $50 billion to guarantee loans under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for eligible projects, to remain available until committed.

See complete article at: 'Nuclear Pork' Cut Out of Final Recovery and Reinvestment Package

Investors interested in building new nuclear reactors in Bulgaria - minister

2009-02-12T13:00:00.000+01:00

There is private investor interest in building units 7 and 8 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, Economy and Energy Minister Peter [Petur] Dimitrov said Wednesday [ 11 February] in a discussion of Bulgaria's Energy Strategy by 2020.
In 2007 Bulgaria exported and transitted 4,500 million kWh and 2,800 million kWh of electricity, respectively, Dimitrov said. The network capacity is for about 9,000 million kWh, he specified.
"If units 7 and 8 are built, we hope to transit at least 18,000 million kWh in 2030; the export capacity may increase up to 33,000 million kWh," the minister further observed. By then the capacity of the electricity transiting network is expected to equal some 15,000 million kWh, so efforts should be made for its extension.
There is considerable shortage of electricity in Turkey, Croatia, and Macedonia, Dimitrov also said.
The economy and energy minister also said that the state would not allocate funds for this project and it should fully rely on private capital. Some of the biggest companies in nuclear power engineering were allegedly showing interest in the project.

(Source: EnergyCentral)

China Pushes Major Energy Projects Despite Economic Downturn

2009-02-12T01:19:00.000+01:00

http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=1299

Posted on Feb. 10, 2009

By Lee Geng

Although the rest of the world is slowing down, China is increasing its investments in major energy projects. During a speech last week at a national energy conference in Beijing, vice premier Li Keqiang told attendees that the spending will occur in the gas, electric power, coal, oil refining and petrochemical sectors. In additon, Li called for increased investments in renewable projects such as hydropower, wind and solar power.

The energy conference marks the first time in 17 years that China has convened a national meeting on energy. The conference underscores the importance that China’s leadership is placing on energy, and it is occurring at the same time that demand is slowing. Since October, China's power generation has declined for three consecutive months, indicating a slowdown in industrial activities nationwide as export demand has plummeted. Last year, China’s coal consumption growth rate fell by 1.6 percent and power demand was down by 9.57 percent. Crude oil consumption fell by 2 percent compared to 2007 levels.

Although energy growth has slowed, “we can’t stop building energy projects because of that,” said Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration. Zhang told conference attendees that over the long run, China’s energy demand will grow. Although the global financial crisis has slowed the need for energy, it has not changed the fundamentals of China’s economic development, as the country is still in the process of urbanization and industrialization.

Zhang also called on China to take advantage of the current demand contraction to adjust the energy structure by closing small coal-fired power plants in favor of larger ones. He also wants renewed emphasis on nuclear power. China currently operates 11 nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of about 9 gigawatts, which supply about 1 percent of the country's electricity. By 2020, the country hopes to have as much as 70 GW of nuclear capacity. Zhang said that China will begin building nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 8.4 GW in 2009, part of a plan to invest some $84.8 billion in the power industry. The nuclear plants to be built will be located in Zhejiang, Shandong and Guangdong provinces. China will use third-generation nuclear power technologies, such as the AP1000 developed by the United States-based Westinghouse Electric Co, industry officials said.

On the wind power front, Zhang said that over the next decade, China will build several wind farms with capacity of over 10 GW in Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Jiangsu provinces. China has repeatedly raised the target for wind power, with the latest adjustment calling for boosting the capacity to 100 GW, up from the earlier target of 30 GW.

Russian firm may sign nuclear fuel deal with India

2009-02-09T12:21:00.001+01:00

Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL expects to sign a $780 million contract for fuel supplies to Indian nuclear power plants, a spokesman for Russia’s state nuclear power corporation Rosatom has said.

The contract, if signed, could make Russia the first country to supply nuclear fuel to India since the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted a three-decade ban on nuclear fuel sales to the country on Sept 6, 2008.

“The contract is likely to be signed on February 11 in Mumbai,” the spokesman said Saturday.

Under the deal, Russia would supply 2,000 tonnes of uranium pellets to India.

In December, the French company Areva and India’s Atomic Energy Department signed a deal for the supply of 300 tonnes of uranium to be used in Indian nuclear reactors under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

The fuel contract would be another step in burgeoning nuclear cooperation between Russia and India.

On Dec 5, Moscow and Delhi signed an agreement to build an additional four reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, where it is finishing two reactors under an earlier contract, and construct new nuclear plants in India.

TVEL is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of nuclear fuel, which it supplies to 73 commercial (17 percent of global market) and 30 research reactors in 13 countries.

(Source: SindhToday.net)

Sweden: Nuclear power plant staff happy

2009-02-09T12:19:00.000+01:00

The new agreement in the coalition government to open up for more nuclear power in Sweden is good news for the power plant staff.

One of the plants is in Forsmark, a small village on the coast only 150 km north of Stockholm.

One of the emplyees, Linda Bergman is happy:

- I think the new agreement is good. It provides us with at least some belief in the future and it is good also to show that all kind of energy sources are needed, she says to Swedish Public television SVT.

Also Lennart Hallin, who is working there is positive:

- It is really nice to hear. We see this as a sign that there is a future for all people who work here and that we can still get educated people to move here from different parts of Sweden. This is good, Hallin says to SVT.

It has been discussed before to add a new reactor to the nuclear plant. This is probably not probable even after the new agreement.

The spokesman for Forsmark, Claes-Inge Andersson, says to SVT that if new reactors are to be built, it will have to belong to the new generation. Therefore it is not probable that it will be placed there.

The existing reactors in Forsmark´s power plant has around 20 years left.

Source: Stockholm News

Vattenfall Welcomes Swedish Government's Decision on Energy Policy

2009-02-09T12:15:00.000+01:00

Swedish power utility Vattenfall has welcomed the Swedish government's proposed agreement on energy policy, saying that Sweden needs a long-term, widely supported energy policy that incorporates responsibility for climate change issues.
Lars Josefsson, Vattenfall's CEO, said: "It is good that the energy policy is becoming more focused on achieving clear targets and more neutral about the technology required to do so. Vattenfall will contribute to realizing the ambitious targets for climate policy and renewable energy production, which are in line with Vattenfall's strategy.
"Vattenfall is investing billions of Swedish kronor in wind power and other renewable energy sources, and we welcome the fact that the processing of permits for building wind power units is being speeded up. This makes it easier for us to carry out our plan of building units providing 8TWh of wind power in Sweden by 2016."
Vattenfall's CEO has also said that the company is interested in building new nuclear power plants, provided that there is demand for this and it is profitable. He said that the company is also investing in maintaining and modernizing existing plants, and they are expected to continue to be competitive in the future.

(Source: Energy Central)

PBMR nuclear firm eyes US, Canada

2009-02-06T13:24:00.000+01:00

http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page62093?oid=267132&sn=Detail

In the wake of Eskom's decision to abandon a plan to build a second nuclear plant.

Reuters
06 February 2009 11:28

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African nuclear technology firm PBMR hopes to tap the U.S. and Canadian markets in the wake of Eskom's decision to abandon a plan to build a second nuclear plant, a senior company official said.

Development of the company's Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) technology for power plants, scheduled for commercial use by 2014, has been hit by the global financial crisis and funding problems at South African state-owned power utility Eskom , its major shareholder.

The Industrial Development Corporation, a South African state-owned finance institution, and U.S-based Westinghouse, which is majority owned by Japan's Toshiba Corp., also have stakes.

Eskom is struggling to fund a 343 billion rand plan to build new power plants and ramp up its power capacity. Power shortages have forced it to cut supply to industry, including mining firms, and residents.

"The global financial crisis and related impact on funding ... has prompted the PBMR company to consider near-term market opportunities based on customer requirements to service both the electricity and process heat markets," Jaco Kriek, PBMR's chief executive, said late on Thursday night.

Kriek said the U.S. Department of Energy, which is funding development of new nuclear plants, companies active in Canada's oil sands development and South African petrochemical group Sasol, were among those targeted by the company.

PBMR technology could be used to produce enough heat and pressure to extract bitumen from oil sands or enough steam or hydrogen to refine coal products, he said.

The company is considered to be among the world leaders in the development of nuclear reactors that use radioactive material sealed in small pebbles.

Designers of the technology say it is safer than conventional reactors and will improve efficiency, although some environmentalists dispute it.

Sweden scraps ban on nuclear power with plan to replace 10 reactors

2009-02-05T13:53:00.000+01:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/05/nuclear-sweden

Centre-right government wants to build new generation of power stations to help cut carbon emissions
Adam Vaughan
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 February 2009 12.10 GMT
Article history
The Swedish government plans to reverse a nearly 30-year-old ban on building nuclear power plants, giving the green light to a new generation of reactors.

The centre-right government wants the new reactors to be built to replace the country's 10 existing stations.

The decision reverses a 1980 referendum when the majority of voters backed an end to nuclear expansion and the government pledged to phase out nuclear power plants.

But public support has grown since nuclear power has been repositioned as a low carbon energy source and a weapon in the fight against climate change. The decision by Sweden to back nuclear power contrasts with the nation's careful cultivation of its green image. In 2006, Sweden pledged to replace the use of all fossil fuels by 2020, but nuclear was not part of that plan.

Finland is currently the only country in the EU building a nuclear reactor. Its new Olkiluoto plant is being built in partnership with a consortium led by France's state-owned energy company, Areva. The project has been beset by delays and cost overuns, however, and is unlikely to be completed until 2012, three years behind schedule.

In the UK Gordon Brown's government is enthusiastic about building a new generation of reactors, arguing that both tackling global warming and ensuring security of energy supply are critical. German power giants E.ON and RWE are jointly bidding to build three stations, while EDF's takeover of British Energy has paved the way for it to construct a fleet of new atomic stations in the UK.

Areva makes nuclear deal with Delhi

2009-02-05T13:51:00.000+01:00

http://www.godubai.com/gulftoday/article.asp?AID=7&Section=Asia

PARIS: French nuclear giant Areva signed a preliminary deal on Wednesday to provide India with up to six new-generation nuclear reactors, expanding the list of countries that are adopting the technology in response to skyrocketing energy demand.

The Paris-based company says the deal signed with Indian electric utility Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) will pave the way for technical co-operation on at least two and as many as six of Areva's so-called EPRs, or Evolutionary Power Reactors, at the Jaitapur site in the western state of Maharashtra. India has refused to sign non-proliferation agreements and had faced a nuclear trade ban since its first atomic test in 1974.

In September, the countries that supply nuclear technologies agreed to lift the ban, paving the way for lucrative contracts with India.

Areva's statement didn't provide the estimated value of the deal.

Areva will supply two European Pressurised Reactors of 1650 MW each for nuclear plants the French company will build at Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra.

The Memorandum of Understanding for building nuclear plants was signed by SK Jain, chairman and managing director Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of Areva.

"This is just the beginning," said Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission who was present at the signing ceremony along with Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in the PMO and Anne-Marie Idrac, French Minister for Foreign Trade.

Lauvergeon said the Areva was committed to supply fuel for the lifetime of the reactors, which she pegged at about 60 years.

She said Areva will meet the fuel requirements through its uranium mines located in various countries, including Australia, Kazakhstan and Niger. Though the MoU provides for supply of two nuclear reactors, the order may be stepped up to six at a later date.

All the reactors will be located in a nuclear park Areva has been tasked to develop at Jaitapur.

The cost of one EPR has been estimated at between 5.2 and $7.8 billion, although final costs are subject to negotiation.

The signing of the MoU signals end of India's nuclear isolation and its emergence as a responsible nuclear state, Chavan said.

He said the MoU will pave way for technology collaboration in the nuclear sector and India seeks to enhance significantly its electricity generation capacity.

"We need to quadruple power generation as the nation would require about 63 Giga Watt electricity by 2032," Chavan said.

NPCIL, which currently operates 17 nuclear power reactors with a 4120 MW capacity, hopes to step up atomic power generation to 20,000 MW by 2020.

Currently, EPR-type of reactors are under construction in Finland, China and France.

In December, India signed a contract with Areva for importing 300 tonnes of natural uranium. This is the first commercial agreement for supply of nuclear reactors after India got the historic waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to participate in global nuclear commerce in September last year.

Since then, India has signed inter-governmental civil nuclear co-operation agreements with France, Russia, the US and Kazakhstan.

Once the India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA, signed in Vienna on Tuesday, is ratified, nuclear fuel supplied by Areva will be used in Rajasthan Atomic Power Station units, two of which are already under safeguards for the last three decades.

The nuclear trade embargo was enforced on India after it conducted nuclear tests in 1974.

The Areva-designed pressurised water reactors, which are meant to replace aging reactors around the world whose designs date from decades ago, are already under construction in Finland, France and China.

Areva also has plans to build the new reactors in Britain and the United States, company spokeswoman Patricia Marie said.

NPCIL already has five reactors under construction, which will increase its electricity generating capacity by 2,660 megawatts, from 4,120 megawatts currently.

It operates all of India's 17 existing nuclear reactors.

Lithuania: What will happen after Ignalina is closed

2009-02-04T11:56:00.002+01:00

A plan announced by the future head of Energy ministry of Lithuania to the Baltic Course:

After the decommissioning of the Ignalina power plant at the end of this year, according to the future minister, a part of the needed electricity will be compensated by Elektrenai, cheap electricity will be imported from Russia and a part of electricity will be bought on free market. However, the electricity produced by Lietuvos Elektrine will cost more than in the neighboring countries, because the generators of Elektrenai are non-efficient. The efficiency would become evident only in 2012-2013, when an up-to-date block is built.

Once again - no new Ignalina in plans. Lithuania seems to rely on new plants that are about to appear around in Russian and Belarus in nearest future.
THe end of the most "nuclear" country in the world.

There might be no new power plant in Lithuania - future energy minister said

2009-02-04T11:40:00.002+01:00

This article, when I read it, was actually nothing unexpected. It just took some time till the Lithuanian officials admitted - there will be no new plant. For various reasons, both political en economic, the new station which was so much discussed recently, might never appear. While Russia is about to erect a station in Kaliningrad, so will Belarus, close to Lithuanian border. There will be a replacement - but not in Lithuania.

It reminds me of a classic Russian fable by Krylov about swan, crayfish and pike who tried to pull a cart together, but the problem was that they could not agree on the direction to pull... "The cart is still there". A plant in Lithuania was planned to be shared by 4 countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland). Finally, they all end up going their own way - Poland and Estonia wish to build own plants, and the new-Ignalina project slowly becomes a myth.

Future Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas doubts the erection of a new nuclear power plant. At the conference "Extreme Lithuanian Energy Status", he admitted that the new nuclear power plant seemed unreal. The future minister is concerned not only about reaching the agreement with Estonia, Latvia and Poland. According to him, the current energy situation in Lithuania is not satisfactory.

"I am not convinced that the nuclear power plant could be built. According to the documents that I have seen, an idyllic work of four countries appears to be the smallest problem," Sekmokas told.

Sekmokas stated that the previous Government did not taken any actions because it anticipated the upcoming energy crisis in Lithuania, though the gas terminal and the electricity link with Sweden was necessary to avoid the lack of energy in Lithuania, writes ELTA.

"Latvia blocks the wish of Lithuania to build electricity grid interconnection with Sweden and the construction of gas terminal is late for two years. In the best case, the terminal will be built only after 2012," the future energy minister feared. Zigmas Vaisvila, signatory of the Independence Act, told after the conference seeing no other option than to resume negotiating the extension of the operation of the Ignalina nuclear power plant.

"Today it has become clear once and again that Lithuania has no alternative after the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant at the end of 2009. I think that the European Commission must consider the negative situation in Lithuania and make correct conclusions," Vaisvila said.

Source: The Baltic Course