Platts - Tuesday, October 05, 2004 
http://www.platts.com

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Sweden eyes natural gas in short term after switch from
nuclear

London (Platts)--5Oct2004

Sweden will turn to natural gas as a short term solution
for power generation as it decommissions its nuclear
power generators, Sweden's ministry for trade and
industry said Monday. 

"During a change-over period, the use of natural gas
must be allowed to increase in a balanced manner.
Especially important is it to use the possibilities of
natural gas in effective power production in combined
heat and power units," the ministry said, following its
announcement that talks with the nuclear industry about
the decommissioning process had broken down. The
government's desire is that Sweden will base all its
energy consumption on renewable energy in the long term.
"But it is not realistic to expand hydro, wind and bio
energy in such a short time that it can replace nuclear
while we at the same time reduce the use of coal and
oil," it said. Sweden's natural gas consumption was
around 10TWh in 2003. The country's high pressure gas
network is restricted to the southwestern part of the
country.

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Sweden's phase-out negotiations end

Stockholm (Platts)--4Oct2004

Negotiations for a voluntary phase-out of Swedish
nuclear power have collapsed, and the government said
today it will use its legal right to order Barsebaeck-2
shut next year. Government negotiator Bo Bylund told a
press conference in Stockholm that the nuclear industry
wanted guarantees from the state so that specific terms
of a phase-out agreement could not be changed by
subsequent governments or parliaments, while the
government wanted "a gentlemen's agreement." But in a
joint statement, nuclear utilities Fortum, Vattenfall,
and Sydkraft said they were surprised at the
government's move to end negotiations, which have been
going on for two years. Minister for Trade, Employment &
Communications Leif Pagrotsky said today that about two
years after Barsebaeck-2 is shut, the government will
review the country's energy situation to determine which
of Sweden's remaining 10 units should be shut next. He
added that closure will probably be based largely on
age, with the oldest units shutting first.

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Finnish lawmaker expects Leningrad lifetime to be
extended

Stockholm (Platts)--1Oct2004

Russian aluminum producer Siberian Ural Aluminum Co.'s
(SUAL) decision to build a smelter near the Leningrad
nuclear station means that "the already old power
plant's lifetime will be further extended," Finnish Left
member of parliament Pentti Tiusanen said today.
Tiusanen wants the Finnish government to ask Russian
officials for more information about the environmental
consequences of the aluminum factory. SUAL officials had
said they would build the plant if they could get a good
enough electricity price, following the recently
completed modernization of Leningrad-1. Tiusanen said he
learned of the decision to build during a visit to the
St. Petersburg region last week.

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BNFL nuclear supercompactor being dismantled

Washington (Platts)--30Sep2004

The largest nuclear supercompactor in the world is being
dismantled after having crushed its last piece of
material from three DOE gaseous diffusion buildings in
Oak Ridge, Tenn. The $13-million facility operated three
years, processing up to 2.3-million pounds of metal a
week, BNFL Inc. said yesterday. It saved the department
roughly $100-million in disposal costs, the company
said. BNFL Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of British Nuclear
Fuels plc, and its parent company are discussing the
possible use of the facility in the U.K., so it might be
reassembled there, BNFL Inc. spokesman Colin Jones said.

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