Platts - Monday, October 03, 2005 http://www.platts.com ------------ UK's BNFL to sell nuclear clean-up business BNG London (Platts)--3Oct2005 Atomic energy giant British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) is planning to sell its nuclear clean-up business, British Nuclear Group, BNFL's CEO Mike Parker said Friday. "We met this morning and the national officers were advised that, following consideration of a number of strategic options for the British Nuclear Group, the preference of the BNFL Board is that it should be sold. The board feels that this would be in the best interest of the company and its employees and we all wish to see British Nuclear Group in the strongest possible position to win the upcoming competitions," Parker said. On Apr 1, 2005, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority took responsibility for the decommissioning and clean up of all 20 of the UK's civil nuclear sites, previously owned by BNFL. On the sites, work will initially be contracted out to the various businesses under the BNFL Group. In the future, these contracts will be subject to open tender from suitably qualified organizations. The NDA must put half of the UK's nuclear sites out to tender by 2008 and is looking to start the process in April 2006. BNFL is hoping to raise at least GBP150-mil for the business according to the "Financial Times" newspaper at the weekend. "The ultimate decision on any sale or otherwise will be made by the BNFL board after full consultation with all stakeholders and the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry," Parker said. In July BNFL approved the sale of its US Westinghouse plant design and turbines unit. For more nuclear news, request your free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ NRC fills some top posts Washington (Platts)--29Sep2005 NRC announced it has filled several top posts at the agency. Rebecca Schmidt, previously associate director for budget presentation and congressional liaison in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), was named director of the Office of Congressional Affairs. Bruce Boger and Gary Holahan were tapped for newly created associate director positions under a recent reorganization in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). Boger, previously director of the division of inspection program management, will be the associate director for operating reactor oversight and licensing. Holahan, the executive assistant for reactors and research in Chairman Nils Diaz's office, will be the associate director for risk assessment and new projects. The new NRR organization goes into effect Oct. 30. ------------ UK to decide on nuclear power by end of 2006: energy minister London (Platts)--29Sep2005 The UK government will make a decision on nuclear power by the end of 2006, energy minister Malcolm Wicks told the "Financial Times" newspaper Wednesday. The acceleration of the timetable on the nuclear debate reflects the importance UK Prime Minister Tony Blair attaches to energy policy, Wicks told the FT. A government review of energy policy next year would "have to include a proposal about nuclear," Wicks said. "The proposal could be 'no,' it could be 'yes'," he told the newspaper. Wicks went on to say that nuclear and renewable energy were complementary. "Some people are fearful that what Tony Blair said undermines the renewables industry. Well, it doesn't. I'm confident that by 2020, we're going to be getting 20% (of electricity) from renewables," he said. Blair said Britain would have to consider a new generation of civil nuclear power plants if it wanted to address the twin issues of energy policy and global warming, speaking at his ruling Labour Party's annual conference in Brighton earlier this week. In his speech, Blair twinned the energy and climate change issues, saying that in 2006, "building on Britain's Kyoto commitments, we will publish proposals on energy policy." ------------ House proposes three options for short-term energy funding Washington (Platts)--28Sep2005 Several federal nuclear-related programs will continue to be funded at fiscal 2005 levels on a short-term basis after FY-06 begins Oct. 1. The House has proposed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that the Senate is expected to approve later this week. Funding under the CR would be the lowest of three options--the House-passed funding level, the Senate-approved level, or the FY-05 level. The CR, which could be the first in a series, would provide funding through Nov. 18. Under the CR, DOE's repository project at Yucca Mountain, Nev. and its Generation IV advanced reactor programs also would continue to receive prorated funds at FY-05 levels ($572- and $39.6-million, respectively), while funding for DOE's Nuclear Power 2010 program would be prorated at the FY-06 House-proposed level ($46-million). ------------ Areva buys 21.1% of German wind turbine manufacturer Paris (Platts)--27Sep2005 Areva has bought 21.1% of REpower, a wind turbine manufacturer based in Hamburg, the French nuclear/energy group announced today. REpower specializes in high-output turbine technology, particularly suitable for offshore applications, Areva said. It employs 558 people and had revenues of Eur 301-million (U.S.$361-million) in 2004. Areva said wind energy "complements" its base business of nuclear energy and that REpower would also have "sales and industrial synergies" with its Transmission & Distribution division, as T&D represent almost 25% of the total investment in offshore windpower technologies. ------------ Blair says UK needs to consider building new nuclear power plants Edinburgh (Platts)--27Sep2005 UK Prime Minister Tony Blair Tuesday said Britain would have to consider a new generation of civil nuclear power plants if it wanted to address the twin issues of energy policy and global warming. Addressing his ruling Labour Party's annual conference in Brighton, Blair asked: "For how much longer can countries like ours allow the security of our energy supply be dependent on some of the most unstable parts of the world?" He called for "an assessment of all options, including civil nuclear power." Blair twinned the energy and climate change issues, saying that in 2006, "building on Britain's Kyoto commitments, we will publish proposals on energy policy." He said global warming was "too serious for the world any longer to ignore its danger or split into opposing factions on it." In order to combat global warming and develop energy security, Blair called for implementation of the deal on climate change agreed by the industrialized world's leaders at the recent G8 summit in Scotland. Some UK political analysts, during the run-up to the Brighton conference, suggested Blair had been won round to the Bush Administration view that technological development, rather than adherence to specific targets of the kind set down in the Kyoto Protocol, was the way to tackle climate change. In his speech, although he mentioned Kyoto, Blair stressed technology more, saying: "The G8 Agreement must be made to work so we develop together the technology that allows prosperous nations to adapt and emerging ones to grow sustainably." In the energy section of his speech, Blair also said his government was continuing to develop proposals for a fundamental change in transport funding--"including road pricing." John Roberts, john_roberts@platts.com For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------