Friday 29 June 2007

Exelon selects sites for new nuclear plant

Two sites in southeast Texas have been selected by Exelon Nuclear for combined construction and operation licences. The COLs are the first stage in getting approval for new nuclear plants, Exelon hasn't decided whether or not to build plants at those Texas locations.

Their VP of new plant development, Tom O'Neill, says that "Nuclear energy is safe and clean and has a low operating cost." and that's why Exelon think nuclear will be an important part of Texas's future energy mix.

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European companies propose US enrichment plant

French nuclear company Areva is proposing the Enrichment Technology Company - a joint venture with British/Dutch/German company Urenco - be involved in the building of an enrichment plant in the US. The plant could be up and running by 2013, reaching full capacity by 2017. The plant would be yet another one planned to be built in the States, along with the National Enrichment Facility and the American Centrifuge plant.

All these new plants are needed because the amount of enriched uranium available from old nuclear weapons is reducing. Currently up to half of the nuclear fuel used in the US comes from Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles.

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Thursday 28 June 2007

Todays Top Nuclear News Events

US group that will mananges UK sites takes over Nukem

Energy Solutions, the company that will manange the UK's nuclear sites, has bought US nuclear was management company Nukem Corporation. Nukem Corp is a subsidiary of Nukem GmbH, a German company that will now focus on its main business of fuel cycle services and consulting activities, mainly targeting European and Asian markets.

Energy Solutions was formed in 2006 form the merger of a number of waste and decommissioning businesses and has taken over a number of other businesses, including Nukem, in its short lifetime.

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Lithuania adopts new law for nuclear build

Lithuanaia has passed a new law that states that it will hold a 34% stake in a project to build a new nuclear reactor at Ignalina. Other partners countries intending to collaborate on the new Lithuanian project are Latvia, Estonia and Poland. At least one new unit is due for construction by 2015. Lithuania wants to build new nuclear plants to boost its energy independance.

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US government deputy energy secretary backs nuclear

"No person can be serious about climate change without being serious about greatly expanding nuclear power." according to Clay Sell, US deputy energy secretary.
Sell said that inituatives such as the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, which seeks to address proliferation concerns, would enable a world where nuclear power becomes the primary global source of electricity. Sell said that nuclear energy was the only mature technology with potential to provide large amounts of completely emissions free baseload generation.

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US Company gets funding for nuclear plant

A company in the US called Alternative Energy Holdings Inc has secured funding from an investment company called Cobblestone to back the building of a new nuclear plant in Idaho. There's a long way to go, but the project has got the backing of the leader of the local Shoshone-Paiute community of the Duck Reservation

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UN team visits North Korea

A team from the UN's IAEA will be visiting the Yongbyon reactor in North Korea today. The reactor has been used to produce plutonium for the North Korean's weapons programme. The North Korean's promised to close the reactor down in exchange for the release of $25 million aid, that's been frozen by the US.

The EU believe North Korea is 'committed' to clising the reactor and the US want full closure by the end of 2007

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Ukraine signs nuclear pact with South Korea

Government officials in Kiev has recently signed a number of agreements with South Korea to boost cooperation and exchange of technology and expertise.

The South Koreans have factories producing a wide range of pipe work for nuclear power plants. The Ukrainians don't have as much expertise, so they hope the South Korean companies will set up manufacturing plants in Ukraine.

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Boeing out, BWXT in for American Centrifuge plant

In the US the American Centrifuge plant is going to be supplied with parts by BWXT Technologies, rather than Boeing.
USEC, the company who will operate the plant when completed, don't expect any delays as a result of the switch. The Centrifuge technology being used is ten times more energy efficient than the gas diffusion technology it is replacing, helping to cut down lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions,

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Tuesday 26 June 2007

26 June - Todays Top Nuclear News Articles

Brazil recommended to restart construction of its third reactor

The National Energy Policy Council in Brazil have recommended to President da Silva that construction should resume on the third nuclear power plant at Angra. The president will make the final decision. He has made positive statements about nuclear energy in the past. The restart of construction of Angra 3 could prove to be the start of a new programme of nuclear power construction in Brazil.

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US Regulator proposes changes that could speed new reactor construction

One of the things that slows down new nuclear build in the US is the time taken to get a combined Construction and Operating Licence. The NRC has looked at ways too speed up the licence process. They believe they cut it it down from around 42 months to between 27-36 months.

Around 27 licence applications are expected for new reactors over the next few years.

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Finns look for site for another reactor

Fennovoima, a business consortium made up of Finnish and Swedish industry and energy companies, is talking to representative from municipalities across Finland about possible sites for new nuclear reactors. Finland's fourth nuclear is currently under construction, The local government of Loviisa, already home of two nuclear plants is talking to Fennovoima. Up in Simo, in south-west Finnish Lapland, discussions are taking place as to whether a nuclear reactor could be built there. An announcement of 6-8 to potential places for new nuclear plants will probably be announced by Fennovoima in July.

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New Uranium Mine in India

India has opened a new uranium mine and a mill to process the mined uranium. India is trying to increase its domestic uranium production capacity so it is less reliant on imports. India is looking to expand nuclear generation to help meets its growing energy needs. It is also looking at developing nuclear fuel cycles based around Thorium, an alternative nuclear fuel that India is rich in.

go to the full article here

Monday 25 June 2007

Latest World Nuclear News Events

1. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries set up Fast Breeder reactors

Mitsubishi have set up a company (Mitsubishi FBR) to develop fast breeder reactors for a Japanese national nuclear . They plan to have a demonstration reactor running by 2025 and plan commercial units by 2050. Fast breeder reactors can either be set up to generate more fuel than they use - or can be configured to 'burn' some used nuclear fuel waste products.

MHI only recently announced that they would be developing a fast reactor design that would be used to burn waste products for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, a US-led initiative designed to help address concerns about proliferation.

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2.Belgian government retaining nuclear power as an economic and low-carbon source of baseload electricity

A report commissioned by the Belgian government to help guide energy policy to 2030 has backed retaining nuclear power as an economic and low-carbon source of baseload electricity.

Belgium's Energy Challenges towards 2030 by the Commission on Energy said that to meet current and future energy needs, avoid a doubling of electricity prices and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, Belgium must scrap its policy to phase out nuclear power.

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3.)UK to Dispose of Radioactive Wastes

The UK has begun a consultation on how to choose a site to permanently dispose of its radioactive wastes. The idea is that the public are involved from the very start - having already commented on ways to store the nasty stuff last year through the CoRWM consultation. If everyone has a chance to input to the methods of choosing a site, that should make the next stage - choosing a site - more transparent. The government hopes to build trust so that more communities volunteer to play host to the waste facilities.

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Saturday 23 June 2007

Estonia considering underwater reactor

Estonia is thinking about building a nuclear reactor in shallow waters just of its coast,. It may cost more than an onshore design, but they still think it is worth looking at.

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Uranium is found in the strangest places

A Canadian and South African company are collaborating to see if they can extract uranium from the ashes of coal burnt in the South African coal-fired power stations. Although it is perfectly safe, there's a surprising amount of uranium in some coal deposits. In some cases you can get more energy from the uranium in coal than you can from the coal itself.

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Global companies rush to get approval for UK new build

Four of the main nuclear reactor companies have submited details of their latest designs to the UK Government's regulators. They've also sent details of the electricity utility companies that support them.

If the companies are successful in getting approval then their designs will have got through the first stage of approval, ahead of the start of the next decade when the first applications for actual nuclear construction in the UK could get going.

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Bush facing up to climate change, backing nuclear

George Bush visited a nuclear power station yesterday, the Browns Ferry 1 reactor, that had been mothballed for over 20 year, but has now been restarted. He said that there was no solution to climate change without nuclear energy.


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Thursday 21 June 2007

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries order parts from around the world

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the biggest industrial companies in the world that makes lots of large heavy and very high quality components for nuclear plants - has set up a special office to go out and get orders for the parts from around the world.

Nuclear power plants have design lives of about 40 years, but often the operators replace the large components before then (sometimes increasing generation capacity) and the re-license them to operte longer. Almost all the plants in the USA are licensed for 60 years life now. New plants are designed to have the large components replaced once during a 60-year design life.

Anyway, Mitsubishi heavy already have a large part of this market, they can only see it getting bigger and they want more.


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TVA in the US looking at completing build of unfinished reactor

The Tennessee Valley Authority have summitted an environmental report to US regulators showing that there would be almost no environment impact from them completing construction of the Watts Barr 2 reactor - which they stopped constructing in 1985 because electricity demand then was lower than expected. With electricity demand rising in the US TVA have already restarted one reactor, and are seriously considering completing the Watts Bar 2 plant and building another reactor on their Bellafonte site.

Of course, whilst the completion of the plant would have no environmental impact the operation of the plant would have a major environmental benefit, as its output would avoid the emission of million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

go to the full story here

latest: French nuclear giant Areva

French nuclear giant Areva has put together a group of utitilites that want to build its EPR design nuclear power plant in Great Britain, but the company that holds most of the nuclear sites in the UK, British Energy, is backing all of the horses in the race and keeping its cards close to its chest!

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Old Argentinian uranium mine gets new lease of life

The Don Otto uranium mine in Argentina is to start up again after being closed for over 25 years. Uranium was mined at the Don Otto mine on and off between 1963 to 1981. Over the last two years uranium prices have climbed dramatically, meaning companies are reexamining whether old mines can be operated profitably.

Argentina will need more uranium from 2012 when its third nuclear power station is due to come on line. Currently Argentina imports the 3500 tonnes per annum it needs for its two nuclear power stations, the third power station will take this demand up to 7500 tonnes per annum.

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Areva Update

Whilst browsing Nuclear News on the Internet I came across the best source for this type of news, here is a story you have to read

Areva get enrichment contract from South Korean

AREVA, the French nuclear giant, have signed a contract worth more than one billion euros to enrich uranium for KHNP (Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd).

The enriched uranium will be supplied from Areva's new centrifuge enrichment plant, which is still under contruction in France. The centrifuge enrichment process is much more energy efficient than the gaseous diffusion process currently used in France. AREVA's enrichment competitiors, URENCO, have used the centrifuge enrichment process for many years.

KHNP is a South Korean company that operates 20 reactors and has another 8 in the pipeline, this makes it the fourth largest nuclear power plant operator.

go the the World Nuclear News Site

Nuclear News at it's best

Electricity companies in the US are asking the Government to change the rules of the loan guarantees being offered so that 100% of the loan is covered, instead of 90%, as currently proposed. The electricity companies are being advised by finance experts that the 90% loan scheme won't work well, as it would create "two tier" risk in any finance package to fund the construction of a new nuclear power plant.

The load guarantees are meant to protect companies from the possibility that they start to build a new nuclear power plant and then have a new government policy on nuclear power emerge that might jeopardise the success of that new build project.

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