Platts - Friday, June 24, 2005 http://www.platts.com ------------ French energy policy bill passes Paris (Platts)--24Jun2005 France's parliament formally passed an energy policy bill yesterday calling for construction of a "demonstration nuclear reactor of the most recent design" during the next "multiyear (generating capacity) investment planning period" foreseen under France's electricity market act of 2000. That reactor is expected to be of Framatome ANP's EPR design, but the law does not specify a design. The energy policy bill was approved by both houses a year ago but a conference committee was needed to agree on a common version of the legislation. Under the compromise law, Electricite de France will be obliged to buy windpower from independent generators without a 20-MW threshold that the National Assembly had attempted to legislate. ------------ USEC's enrichment contract with Exelon extended through 2012 Washington (Platts)--23Jun2005 USEC Inc. said today it will now supply Exelon with enrichment services through 2012. The contract extension, valued at about $400-million, means that USEC will continue to supply more enrichment services to Exelon's 17 reactors than any other supplier. This extends a contract USEC and Exelon signed in 2003 for enrichment services over the 2005-2010 period. The extension could give USEC a boost in finding financing for its new American Centrifuge plant, an analyst said. Although Exelon is a member of the Urenco-led LES consortium, which also wants to build a centrifuge plant, Exelon is likely to bow out of LES once the plant is licensed, analysts believe. One source said that Exelon would like to see USEC succeed so that there is a competitive alternative to Urenco centrifuges. ------------ Dutch CDA party calls for more nuclear to reduce CO2 emissions Brussels (Platts)--23Jun2005 The Dutch Christian Democrat party CDA called for more nuclear energy in a report on sustainable energy released Thursday. The report calls for nuclear plant Borssele to remain open but also for new nuclear power plants to be built. The CDA is concerned about dependence on energy imports and wants to move long-term energy provision to renewables, particularly solar, wind and biomass. But the report says that in the short term there are two options for reducing CO2 emissions--storing CO2 in empty underground oil and gas reservoirs and nuclear. A press statement said the committee wants to "leave open the option of nuclear energy, given the urgency of the climate problem." An environment ministry spokeswoman said the minister would not oppose more nuclear plants but that there would be conditions particularly on waste and safety. She also questioned whether any companies would want to undertake new nuclear projects in the Netherlands. This story was originally published in Platts European Power Alert http://europeanpoweralert.platts.com ------------ Global risk of WMD attack as high as 50%, experts say Washington (Platts)--22Jun2005 Global risk of a WMD attack in the next five years is as high as 50%, according to a survey of experts released by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) today. The experts' average estimate of risk of a nuclear attack in the next five years is about 16%, Lugar said in the report. "The unique survey of 85 top international scholars, policy makers, diplomats, and technicians probed the attitudes of experts on both proliferation threats and international responses," Lugar's office said in a press statement. The report is available at http://lugar.senate.gov/reports/NPSurvey.pdf. ------------ Duke Power to pick site, size of new nuclear plant by year-end Philadelphia (Platts)--22Jun2005 Duke Power expects to select a likely site--and the likely size--of its planned nuclear power plant by the end of 2005, but won't decide until sometime later in the decade whether to commit itself to actually developing the plant, Duke Power CEO Ruth Shaw said Wednesday. The plant, if developed, would not come online any sooner than 2014 or 2015, Shaw said. She said that given the technological and security requirements of nuclear build, Duke is more likely to develop the facility at a 'greenfield' site than at one of its three existing nuclear plants in North and South Carolina. Shaw said that, as previously announced, Duke is seeking approval to build up to 2,200 MW of fossil-fired capacity. It wants to build one and possibly two 800-MW coal-fired plants at its Cliffside station on the border of North Carolina's Rutherford and Cleveland counties, with the first unit coming online as soon as 2010. It also wants to build a 600-MW, natural gas or oil-fired plant at its Buck station in Rowan County, North Carolina, as soon as 2008. This story was originally published in Platts Electricity Alert http://www.electricityalert.platts.com ------------ Bush to ask G8 nations to spur energy efficiency in China, India Washington (Platts)--22Jun2005 President Bush Wednesday said he will press the G8 group of leading industrial countries next month to address Asia's growing energy demands, which have helped drive US oil prices to record levels. In remarks after touring a nuclear power plant in Maryland, Bush said he would ask the G8 at its summit in Scotland to develop a "comprehensive energy plan" aimed at boosting energy efficiency in fast-growing China and India. China's crude use has soared in part because it has increasingly relied on oil-fired generators to meet its electricity demand. Bush also lobbied Congress to complete a wide-ranging energy bill it has been unable to pass since the start of his administration in 2001. Since March, the president has repeatedly pressed lawmakers for the energy bill, saying it would help the US economy and improve security. The House has passed a bill and the Senate is expected to follow suit Thursday. The two chambers would then have to resolve differences between their bills and pass a compromise measure before sending Bush a final bill. This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com ------------ German govt says political change threatens climate goals Freiburg (Platts)--22Jun2005 The German government warned Wednesday that the country might fail to meet its environmental goals if a change of political leadership in elections this fall led to changes in climate protection policy. The environment ministry outlined in a report the achievements it had made toward climate protection targets in case the ruling SPD-Green Party coalition loses to the opposition CDU party in the September polls. "We have to remain on track for the environment so that Germany will become more modern and fit for the future," said the ministry. As achievements it listed emissions trading, Kyoto protocol targets, new subsidies for renewable energy, the decommissioning of three nuclear reactors and the ending of nuclear waste shipments in favour of storage. The CDU has announced it would extend the life of nuclear power units and cut back on subsidies for renewable power. It would also cut targets for generation sourced from renewables, the report said. The CDU does not share the government's faith in renewables accounting for 20% of power generation by 2020 and the government fears it will not be able to complete the selection process for a final nuclear waste storage site should it lose the election expected Sep 18. Greenpeace Deutschland said the government had carried out "positive and necessary steps" in the renewables sector, while the CDU's policy lacked concept and was unclear. "To think of bringing back nuclear power when there are unanswered questions in terms of storage, safety and terrorism is dangerous," a spokesman said. Party representatives across Germany are also inconsistent, Greenpeace said, with the CDU in the north-German state of Schleswig-Holstein stating it did not want to change renewable energy subsidies. "It seems like they don't all want the same thing to happen," said Greenpeace. "Instead of actually supporting green power, which saves the environment and creates jobs, they want to go backwards." Eon and RWE declined to comment on the ministry's report. This story was originally published in Platts European Power Alert http://europeanpoweralert.platts.com ------------ NRC gives APS go-ahead to restart Palo Verde-3 Washington (Platts)--21Jun2005 NRC has given Arizona Public Service (APS) approval to restart Palo Verde-3, and the restart could begin today, according to APS spokesman James McDonald. No information was available on when the reactor might reach full power. NRC issued the approval today after receiving data from APS that supported the utility's position that there was an adequate safety margin despite earlier elevated temperatures of certain materials within the unit's pressurizer. The elevated temperatures did not damage the pressurizer and were caused by pressurizer heater elements that Framatome provided and installed in November. Framatome notified APS earlier this month the heating portion inside each element was roughly 8 inches lower than it should have been. APS already has replaced those elements. Framatome is conducting a root-cause investigation and engineering analysis on when the error occurred. The company also will take apart some of the elements removed from Palo Verde-3 to gain further insights. The 1,368-MW reactor has been down since APS took it off line May 22 to fix a reactor coolant system pump. ------------ EC starts second, detailed, nuclear decommissioning funds probe Brussels (Platts)--21Jun2005 The European Commission has started its second nuclear decommissioning funds survey, an EC official said Monday. "We have sent questionnaires to all 25 European Union member states, plus Romania and Bulgaria, asking them about their nuclear decommissioning plans,' said Ute Blohm-Hieber, head of the nuclear energy and waste management unit in the EC's nuclear directorate. "The questionnaire is more detailed than last year--we want them to fill in the gaps in last year's report, and give more details on their strategy and what the money will be spent on." Last year the EC simply asked the 14 member states with nuclear power plants to confirm and update the information it already had. Few added any detail. "We know the first report was not satisfactory," the EC's nuclear energy director, Christian Waeterloos, told the European Parliament energy committee. "It was based on the available information." This year's survey similarly depends on voluntary cooperation--those surveyed are not obliged to give details. This story was originally published in Platts European Power Alert http://europeanpoweralert.platts.com ------------ NRC staff updates commission on uprate activities Washington (Platts)--20Jun2005 NRC staff has approved power uprates at five nuclear units since last June, resulting in an additional electric capacity of 245 megawatts, it told the commission in a paper released today. The paper, Secy 05-98, provided an update on uprate-related activities since the staff's last report in June 2004. The staff said it has approved a total of 105 power uprate requests since 1977, resulting in an increase of 4,417 MW. There are 11 other requests under review, including three measurement uncertainty uprates (for less than 2%), two stretch power uprates (for up to 7%), and six extended power uprates (for increases as high as 20%). Based on results of a January survey, the staff said it expects uprate requests from 28 units over the next five years. ------------ Barton may try to add Clear Skies during energy bill conference Las Vegas (Platts)--20Jun2005 US House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (Republican-Texas) Monday said he will consider adding to the energy bill all or part of the president's Clear Skies legislation if the Senate approves a climate-change amendment during floor debate this week. Sen Jeff Bingaman (Democrat-New Mexico) is expected to offer an amendment to the Senate version of the bill that would require a reduction in US greenhouse gas emission "intensity" beginning in 2010. In remarks to the Edison Electric Institute's annual CEO meeting in Las Vegas, Barton said "if the Senate puts something in the bill, we will look at adding some...or all of the Clear Skies" bill, Barton said. The congressman also said he would support a "realistic" renewable portfolio standard that would include new and existing hydropower and nuclear energy. The Senate Friday approved an amendment requiring generators to obtain 10% of their power from renewable resources by 2020. "I'm not opposed to an RPS, but if we are going to do [one] let's include hydro and nuclear." This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com ------------