Platts - Monday, March 01, 2004 http://www.platts.com ------------ German nuclear power plants top of the world in production terms London (Platts)--1Mar2004 Germany's nuclear power plants continue to be leaders of the world in terms of production, according to a world- wide study including information by Platts Nucleonics Week Monday. As reported by the German nuclear forum, the DAtF, E.on's Isar-2 nuclear power plant came first in production terms for the fifth time in a row, with production of 12.32TWh. Six of the world's most producing nuclear plants are located in Germany. With only 19 reactors, Germany generated the fourth-largest amount of power from its plants, following the United States, France and Japan. Nuclear energy covers about one-third of Germany's demand. In terms of baseload power, nuclear plants deliver as much as 50% of demand. Nuclear power generation has doubled since the mid- 1980s. The share of nuclear power is about 17% world- wide. 483 reactors are online in 31 countries. By the end of 2003, 32 new reactors were under construction in 12 countries. ------------ Swedish investigator struggles with nuclear phase-out challenge London (Platts)--1Mar2004 Bo Bylund, the Swedish government investigator on nuclear power phase-out, looks unlikely to recommend that the country's nuclear plants can be closed prematurely, according to reports. The investigator, who is due to deliver his report to the government this April, is said to believe Sweden cannot afford to use even the conservative phase-out model being implemented in Germany. Until now this has been widely regarded as the most likely option to be embraced by the investigator and so the government. Bylund revealed his position at a recent conference, as reported by the weekly news magazine Affarsvarlden in February. The investigator said the German model was inappropriate because Sweden had a greater reliance on nuclear (nuclear makes up 40-45% of Swedish output compared to 30-35% in Germany), and more stringent environmental requirements for new plant. ------------ N.Y. regulators to hold hearings on Ginna sale Washington (Platts)--27Feb2004 Two public hearings on Rochester Gas & Electric's (RG&E) proposed sale of Ginna will be held March 18. The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) announced today it is seeking public input on RG&E plans to sell Ginna to Constellation Energy Group for $422-million, as well as a rate change request to increase RG&E's annual electric revenues by about $80-million. RG&E originally asked to increase revenues by $105-million, or a 16.2% change, the PSC said. The state regulator said RG&E attributed the increases to plant-related and capital costs, and to operating and maintenance expenses. RG&E revised its revenue requirement partially because of the pending Ginna sale, the PSC noted. The March 18 hearings, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., will take place at two locations in Rochester, N.Y. Comments can be submitted on the PSC Web site at http://www.dps.state.ny.us. ------------ NRC makes new Davis-Besse demands Washington (Platts)--26Feb2004 NRC placed new demands on FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. (Fenoc) for restarting Davis-Besse. In a letter to Fenoc today, NRC spelled out two conditions that are to be contained in a forthcoming order. First, Fenoc must conduct a mid-cycle visual inspection in the first cycle after restarting to insure there is no boric acid leakage. Davis-Besse has been shut for two years after severe boric acid corrosion was found in its reactor head. Second, Fenoc must "contract with independent outside organizations to conduct comprehensive assessments" of the plant's operations, safety culture, and other issues. The assessments are to be conducted by year's end and "annually thereafter for 5 years," NRC said. An agency official told Platts that it was up to Fenoc to propose the assessment, but NRC staff is of the view that "independent" means the assessment will be conducted by entities outside the company. In its letter, NRC said Fenoc's acceptance of the conditions is necessary for restart approval but the "letter does not imply that permission from the NRC to restart will be forthcoming." The NRC official said Fenoc had accepted the conditions. ------------ Westinghouse wins TVO fuel contract Paris (Platts)--26Feb2004 Westinghouse announced it won a three-year BWR fuel contract from Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Delivery of the fuel to TVO's Olkiluoto-2 BWR in Finland will begin next year and run through 2007, Westinghouse said. Westinghouse Sweden (then Asea-Atom and later part of ABB) provided the original fuel load for the reactor in 1979. The vendor supplied subsequent reloads for Olkiluoto-2 during 1981-1997 and again starting in 2002, Westinghouse said. No information was available at press time on the value of the contract. ------------ Duratek reports loss despite record income Washington (Platts)--25Feb2004 Duratek said it achieved a record income from operations of $34.9-million for 2003, up from $28.8-million in 2002, but reported a net loss, attributed to one-time charges, of $21.9-million, or a loss of $1.62 per share. In an earnings release today, Duratek attributed the record income to strong performance in its Commercial Services Segment. In 2002, it reported net income of $12.5-million, or 72 cents/share. ------------ Court says NRC can license Utah spent fuel facility Washington (Platts)--24Feb2004 NRC can license away-from-reactor spent fuel storage facilities, a federal appeals court ruled today. Utah and a Native American group opposing the eight-utility consortium Private Fuel Storage LLC's (PFS) plans to develop a storage site on an Indian reservation in Utah had challenged NRC's authority to issue licenses for privately owned facilities. The challengers argued that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 superseded any authority the agency had under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it found no evidence that Congress intended to prohibit construction of such facilities when it directed DOE to build a national federal repository. ------------ U.K.-Russia cooperating with nuclear submarine dismantling London (Platts)--24Feb2004 U.K. Trade Minister Nigel Griffiths was in Russia to view nuclear submarine dismantling work today, the biggest example of U.K.-Russian cooperation under the G8 Global Partnership. Griffiths is the first U.K. minister to visit the Zvezdochka Shipyard in Severodvinsk, where two nuclear powered multi-purpose submarines are undergoing 6 months of dismantling, due to end this fall. Griffiths said the U.K. government's Department of Trade & Industry had worked hard with its G8 partners to start to tackle the challenges posed by the cold war nuclear legacy. In 2002, G8 leaders pledged to provide up to (U.S.)$20-billion over 10 years for a new global partnership against the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The U.K. pledged to make up to $750-million available and currently has three separate projects under way at Atomflot, Andreeva Bay and Severodvinsk with a total cost of 40-million pounds (around $75- million at current exchange rates). ------------