Platts - Thursday, June 16, 2005 http://www.platts.com ------------ Hungary's Paks nuclear plant to begin capacity upgrade next year Budepest (Platts)--16Jun2005 Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant will begin an 8% capacity expansion project next year, deputy CEO and chief technical officer Istvan Hamvas told the Enkon conference of the Institute for International Research in Budapest Wednesday. The capacity of the 471 MW unit 4 will rise 3-4% by the end of 2006, and 8% by 2007. Overall, the 150 MW capacity expansion will lower unit costs by 5%. The capacity of each VVER-440 reactor will rise to approximately 510 MW, and the investment has a payback period of 3.5 years, Hamvas said. The expansion of the 467 MW unit 1 will begin in 2007 and conclude in 2008. Units 2 and 3 (a respective 468 MW and 460 MW) will begin the upgrade process in 2008 and conclude in 2009. Output will increase 3-4% for each reactor in the first year of the upgrade due to efficiency improvements. In the second year of upgrade, the full 8% increase will be realized, following the introduction of redesigned fuel elements. To find out more about Platts nuclear publication visit http://www.platts.com/Nuclear/ ------------ NRC issues final EIS for LES enrichment plant project Washington (Platts)--15Jun2005 NRC has published its final EIS for LES' proposed gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant, moving the project planned for Lea County, N.M. closer to a licensing decision. The environmental impact statement (EIS) concludes that the impacts from the proposed facility would be small to moderate and can be mitigated, NRC said today. It added that the application meets the agency's health and safety requirements. LES submitted the application for the facility, National Enrichment Facility, in December 2003. The EIS and safety evaluation report are at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/lesfacility.html. ------------ Bush administration concerned over Senate energy bill costs Washington (Platts)--14Jun2005 A battle could be brewing over the cost of the energy bill, with the Bush administration taking exception to the Senate Finance Committee's first draft for energy tax provisions, which call for $16-bil in funding including incentives for refiners and nuclear plants. In the current high-price environment, subsidies to oil and gas companies should be eliminated, the administration said in a statement released Tuesday by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. It urged the Senate "to be consistent" with the president's fiscal 2006 budget request, which proposed energy tax incentives of $6.7-bil over 10 years dedicated solely to alternative and renewable fuels, conservation, energy efficiency and emissions-free energy. The OMB also said the administration opposes the energy bill's requirement that Bush implement measures to reduce US petroleum demand by 1-mil b/d. "The administration believes that it would effectively require a rapid, near-term increase in corporate average fuel economy standards, which would likely have undesirable safety impacts and may well be impossible to achieve under existing legal authorities," according to the statement. The policy statement weighed in on the current debate over Outer Continental Shelf revenues, with the administration saying it opposes diverting federal OCS revenues to oil and gas producing states. On the issue of climate change, a topic ignored in the current Senate energy bill but expected to be addressed during the amendment process, OMB said the Bush administration "is not convinced of the need for additional legislation with respect to global change, and will oppose any climate change amendments that are inconsistent with the president's climate change strategy." OMB said the president favors increasing the use of ethanol in motor fuels and "strongly supports the inclusion of complementary provisions, particularly the repeal of the Clean Air Act's oxygenate requirement for reformulated gasoline, which would enable greater flexibility in the nation's fuel supply." Not surprisingly, the Bush administration reiterated that it "strongly supports" opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, and encouraged the Senate to adopt an ANWR provision similar to the one included in the House-passed bill. "Opening ANWR is key not only to a truly comprehensive energy policy by increasing domestic production, but also to creating tens of thousands of new jobs for American workers," OMB said. It noted the administration supports language in the Senate bill that clarifies the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to exclusively regulate siting of LNG terminals onshore or within state waters. This story was originally published in Platts Electricity Alert http://www.electricityalert.platts.com ------------ Senate panel silent on federal interim storage Washington (Platts)--14Jun2005 Senate appropriators did not address the question of federal interim storage of utility spent fuel in a $31.2-billion energy and water funding bill for fiscal 2006 that an Appropriations subcommittee approved today. The Appropriations Committee will take up the bill, which would fund DOE at $25.04-billion next fiscal year, on June 16. Both subcommittee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and the panel's ranking Democrat, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, maintained that interim storage was too complicated an issue to be handled hastily as part of an appropriations bill as the House had done. Under the Senate bill, the DOE nuclear waste program would receive $577-million next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The suggested allocation is $84-million below the House's suggested allowance and $74-million below the budget request. ------------