Platts - Wednesday, November 23, 2005 http://www.platts.com ------------ State regulators okay sale of IP&L's Duane Arnold share Washington (Platts)--22Nov2005 Iowa regulators approved sale of Interstate Power & Light Co.'s (IP&L) share of Duane Arnold to FPL Energy, though they all said they had reservations about the way IP&L handled the deal. The vote today by the three members of the Iowa Utilities Board was 2-1, with Chairman John Norris and board member Curt Stamp voting in favor of the sale and board member Diane Munns voting against it. The members particularly criticized what they said was IP&L's failure to explore adequately options for relicensing the plant after its current license expires in 2014. Stamp, who characterized his vote as one to "not disapprove" the sale, expressed his "displeasure" at being placed in an "all-or-nothing position" in which the only way to achieve relicensing was to approve the sale. IP&L, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., owns 70% of the plant, which is operated by Nuclear Management Co. ------------ UK PM Blair "hasn't made up his mind" on nuclear: energy minister London (Platts)--22Nov2005 UK Prime Minister Tony Blair "hasn't made up his mind" whether to start building new nuclear power stations, contrary to newspaper reports, energy minister Malcolm Wicks said in an interview on the BBC's "Newsnight" TV program late Monday. Wicks denied reports in "The Times" newspaper Monday morning that the UK's nuclear power program would be restarted under plans backed by Tony Blair. According to the newspaper, Blair has decided that nuclear is the only way to reduce carbon emissions while securing the country's energy future. "The position of the government and of Tony Blair is that we have got to review these things," Wicks said. "I'm nuclear neutral on this and I think that's the right way to be at the beginning of a review. I can assure you that it's going to be an honest review, looking at the evidence. At the end we may say 'yes' to nuclear but we may say 'no'." Wicks said there was a "realistic chance" that the government would not plump for the nuclear option. But Norman Baker, environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrat party, said Blair's position on the issue was clear. "Malcolm maybe nuclear neutral but the Prime Minister certainly isn't, he's been trailing his pro-nuclear credentials for months now," Baker said in the short debate. "(Science and innovation minister) Lord Sainsbury, all his close advisors want nuclear." Wicks said the government remained "very committed to renewables," but that they were not the answer to the UK's energy needs. "One of the problems here, and Norman contributes to this, is that people think there is one silver bullet and they pit the renewables lobby against the nuclear lobby." "The fact of the matter is that we are going to need a mix of energy sources, and one of the issues, that you are focusing on, is should nuclear be a part of that mix. May be, may be not." For more nuclear news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Cogema plans U exploration in Finland and Sweden Stockholm (Platts)--21Nov2005 Cogema has applied for a license to prospect for uranium at 184 sites in southern and eastern Finland, and approval is almost certain to be given, the official in charge of the country's mining operations told NuclearFuel. Krister Soederholm, chief inspector of mining at the Ministry of Trade & Industry, said that unless there is a very clear environmental or social reason against granting a license, approval is routine. But he added that getting approval to actually mine uranium "is a totally different story." Cogema, a subsidiary of Areva, also recently applied to look for uranium in Sweden, following the lead of two other mining companies that said higher uranium prices had opened new possibilities for profitable uranium extraction. Soederholm said that Cogema has had claims on the sites for almost a year and that he expected the prospecting application because the claims will expire soon. He said that all of the sites need to be checked to ensure that none are considered protected sites. Cogema also needs to provide additional information about the sites before the application can be reviewed, he said. Soederholm added he expects the ministry to make a formal decision early next year. Cogema expects to spend Eur 1.7-million on the prospecting. Residents, especially in eastern Finland, have already expressed concern about Cogema's plans, as have environmental groups and the Finnish Greens. "I understand why people are concerned," Soederholm said, "but the uranium has been there all the time. This is just a research project." In a statement, the company said it intends to have public meetings to discuss its plans. In addition, Soederholm said the ministry will also have to inform land owners, local authorities and the general public about the application and Cogema's plans. Cogema said that following initial prospecting, it will narrow the number of sites to those with the most potential. Soederholm said that if Cogema applies for a license to mine uranium, the government will respond positively only if the company demonstrates that the activity "would...be of significant benefit to the country." He added Cogema would also need economies of scale to justify exploiting the deposits. "I don't think there would be any reason to start up small-scale mining if there are going to be more problems than benefits," he said. Separately, in a statement in August, Michael Hudson, president and CEO of Vancouver-based Mawson Resources, said his company had identified an 11.6-million pound deposit of uranium oxide northwest of the municipality of Maala in northern Sweden. Hudson said that rising uranium prices mean the company has "a renewed interest in uranium exploration in Sweden. The company is extremely pleased to have identified such an advanced project on our land." Mawson has a variety of mining permits for large areas in that part of the country, where it is also prospecting for gold. As in Finland, Swedish mining permits are granted for specific sites and Swedish officials say they cannot issue a permit that limits what can be extracted. Ireland's Minmet plc has kept a lower profile than Mawson about its exploration, but in April said it wants to mine alum shale in northern Sweden which contains uranium as well as a number of metals, including nickel. Like Mawson, Minmet officials said the rising price of uranium, and the other metals, means the project could be profitable. Swedish uranium mines were closed many years ago, and uranium needed to fuel Swedish reactors is now imported. Swedish Environment Minister Lena Sommestad and other government officials have said they oppose uranium mining in the country. Minmet management says the company would use in situ leaching mining, which it says has "a substantial environmental advantage" because it does not require excavation and underground operations. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nuclear Fuel at http://nucfuel.platts.com. ------------ Institutional investors shore up initial trading of EDF stock Paris (Platts)--21Nov2005 Institutional investors shored up Electricite de France's (EDF) stock in initial trading today, compensating for what brokers said were "massive" sales by private investors. EDF common shares closed today at 32 euros (roughly U.S.$37.52), the same price at which they were introduced at noon and the price the government charged individuals who had reserved EDF stock over the past three weeks. Analysts said many private investors had apparently counted on making a quick profit on the EDF shares, based on what happened to Gaz de France stock prices, which gained 23% its first day of trading last July. The French government sold a total of 13.9% of the utility company to private and institutional investors in EDF's initial public offering, the largest in French history. Institutions were allotted 40% of the total sale; the general public 45%; and EDF employees, 15%. Some 5-million individuals received shares in the French utility, which has been state-owned since 1946. EDF now has more shareholders than any other French company. ------------