Platts - Wednesday, January 11, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Bradwell station defueled early, BNG says London (Platts)--6Jan2006 The U.K's Bradwell magnox station has been defueled three months ahead of schedule, said Bradwell manager British Nuclear Group (BNG). Bradwell's two 123-MW units ceased electricity production the end of March 2002 after 40 years of service. The removal of the final fuel element from unit 2 on Dec. 30, 2005 marked the end of a 33-month defueling program, said BNG. Unit 1 completed its defueling in mid-September 2005, 26 days ahead of schedule. In total, 41,194 fuel elements have been removed from the two reactors. BNG said its staff will now begin to concentrate on moving fuel stored in the site's ponds to the Sellafield reprocessing complex. All fuel should have been removed from the site within the next six months, it said. ------------ Four former Davis-Besse workers banned from NRC-licensed work Washington (Platts)--5Jan2006 Three former Davis-Besse workers will be barred from NRC-licensed activities for five years and a fourth will be banned for a year, the agency announced today. The orders, which were issued yesterday, were for the former workers' roles in providing "incomplete and inaccurate" information to the NRC in 2001 on the condition of the unit's reactor vessel head. Last April, NRC fined Davis-Besse operator FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. $5.45-million for related violations and imposed a five-year ban on another former employee. NRC Region III spokesman Jan Strasma said today the NRC does not plan to take any further action against the company or individuals, unless new information emerges from a still-ongoing Department of Justice investigation. The results of that investigation are expected to be announced soon. ------------ Gas crisis fuels nuclear energy debate in German government London (Platts)--4Jan2006 The gas supply dispute between Russia and Ukraine has reignited the nuclear power debate in Germany, which has pledged to phase out all atomic fuel by 2021. Germany, which imports about 35% of its 100-bil cu m/yr of gas demand from Russia, should not turn its back on nuclear power, said its economics minister Michael Glos in parliamentary debate Tuesday. Nuclear technology, he added, was "fit for the future." "The minister has said that he hopes the last word [on nuclear] has not been spoken and there was no harm in trying to find out more," a spokesman for the ministry said Wednesday. The new "grand coalition" government between the ruling CDU and the SPD party agreed late last year to uphold the so-called "atom consensus" agreed between the previous SPD-Green party coalition with industry in 2001 to withdraw the country's then 19 nuclear power plants after an average lifespan of 32 years. Germany has since closed two reactors. Glos, who is a member of CDU partner, the CSU, has an ally in research and technology minister Annette Schavan of the CDU, who warned against the end of nuclear research. CSU chief and Bavarian minister president Edmund Stoiber also supports Glos, saying the subject would be discussed next week in a closed meeting of the federal cabinet. GLOS WANTS TO AVOID COALITION CONFLICT According to a report by the BBC Monitoring Service Wednesday, Glos repeated his demand that, in view of the gas dispute, phasing out nuclear energy must be rethought. He added though that his party wanted "fair" talks with the SPD and did not want to start a coalition conflict. But SPD general secretary Hubertus Heil said the coalition treaty was "very unequivocal" with regard to the nuclear phase-out, while parliamentary state secretary in the environment ministry Michael Mueller, also of the SPD, said the atom consensus was irreversible. "In the interests of the coalition succeeding, I can only advise Mr Glos not to touch it," said Mueller. The future "really does not lie in nuclear energy," he added, noting that worldwide uranium deposits would be exhausted in about 25 years. Thus the energy policy of the future must concentrate, he said, on energy efficiency and renewable forms of energy. The Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) supported the economics minister's nuclear energy-friendly position. Carsten Kreklau, a member of the BDI chief executive secretariat, said: "A balanced energy mix is part of a reliable energy supply. Nuclear energy must play a role in this, also in the future." Ulrich Kelber, deputy chairman of the SPD Bundestag group, said giving up nuclear energy had nothing to do with gas deliveries from Russia. "Mr Glos should know when a battle is lost," said Kelber. For more information, take a trial to Platts European Power Daily at http://europeanpowerdaily.platts.com. ------------ Virginia seeks NRC Agreement State status Washington (Platts)--4Jan2006 Virginia says it wants to become an NRC Agreement State. In a Dec. 14 letter, released by NRC yesterday, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner said he feels Virginia "should assume a more prominent role in the protection of its citizens from unnecessary radiation." To that end, Warner said, the state intends to pursue an agreement with NRC to assume oversight of certain radioactive material within its borders. Warner noted that radioactive materials are used by Virginia's industry, universities, and healthcare system. "While such usage benefits all of us, radiation safety has always been a prime concern," he said. There are currently 33 NRC Agreement States. NRC is expected soon to approve an agreement that would make Minnesota the 34th Agreement State. ------------ Framatome ANP to replace two steam generators at TMI-1 Washington (Platts)--3Jan2006 Framatome ANP will replace steam generators at Three Mile Island-1, parent company Areva said today in a press release. Scheduled for delivery in 2009, the two new once-through steam generators offer "significant operability and reliability improvements and reduced maintenance costs," Areva said. The contract amount was not disclosed. Areva supplied this type of steam generator to Arkansas Nuclear One-1 in 2005, the company said. Both units are of the Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) design. Areva owns B&W's former nuclear power assets. ------------ Enercon to develop plant licensing applications for NuStart Washington (Platts)--10Jan2006 Enercon Services Inc. will prepare two new plant licensing applications for the multi-utility consortium NuStart Energy. Enercon said today that it was awarded a "multimillion-dollar" contract to develop a combined construction permit-operating license (COL) application referencing two Westinghouse AP1000s at Tennessee Valley Authority's Bellefonte site and another COL application for General Electric's ESBWR at Entergy's Grand Gulf. The Tulsa, Okla.-based energy consulting company will lead a team that includes Burns & Roe Enterprises, William Lettis & Assoc., MACTEC Engineering & Consulting, and McCallum/Turner. NuStart anticipates submitting the Bellefonte application in October 2007 and the Grand Gulf filing in February 2008, Enercon said. ------------ Michigan report does not recommend adoption of a nuclear plant Washington (Platts)--10Jan2006 New nuclear capacity should not be built in Michigan unless certain conditions are met, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) said in a report released last week. In its report on the state's Capacity Need Forum, an "electric energy planning effort" that included some 60 organizations, MPSC staff said it "does not recommend adoption of a nuclear plant until the NRC permitting process has been used to site one or two new plants and the spent fuel disposal issue is resolved." The report's state energy model recommends adding coal-fired baseload capacity when available. The model assumes a nuclear construction cost of $2,180 per kilowatt, which is considerably higher than most recent industry estimates. The two-volume MPSC report is at http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/0,1607,7-159-- 133381--,00.html. For more information, take a trial to Nuclear News Flashes at http://www.nuclearnews.platts.com. ------------ MARKET UPDATE: Crude oil rises on Iran nuclear concern London (Platts)--10Jan2006 Crude oil rose on Tuesday, trading above $63/bbl in New York, as Iran, OPEC's second-largest oil producer, resumed nuclear research work after a two-year suspension, raising the stakes in its row with the West. Iran's move, which the US said it viewed with "serious concern," heightens the risk of Tehran being brought before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. The UK and Russia also expressed unease. "Iran has the potential to get quite serious," said Mike Wittner, global head of energy market research at Calyon. "The overriding factor since we've come back from the new year is new financial money coming into commodities." February crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 50 cts at $64.00/bbl as of 1515 GMT, after earlier gains in electronic trade. Brent crude in London was 37 cts higher at $62.38. Iran Tuesday said it had removed seals at its nuclear research centers, paving the way for the resumption of work. The country says its nuclear program is peaceful, but the US accuses Tehran of seeking nuclear bombs. The White House said Tuesday that Iran was risking a "serious escalation" in the dispute. "Any resumption of enrichment and reprocessing activities would be a further violation of Iran's agreements with the Europeans," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. 'MONEY COMING IN' NYMEX crude has gained about 5% so far in 2006 as investors pour money into oil and other commodities such as base metals, seeking to beat the returns available in sectors such as equities. "There's a lot of money coming in and a lot of money searching for a home," Wittner said. "Commodities are still viewed as an attractive asset class compared to other asset classes." Tuesday's rally followed a drop in crude prices on Monday, when traders focused on warmer-than-usual weather in the US, the world's biggest oil market, that would dent heating fuel demand. The concern about Iran comes on top of an expected drop in output of benchmark North Sea Brent crude that traders said helped support prices, and a spell of cold weather in Japan, the world's third-largest oil consumer. Daily output of Brent is likely to fall almost 6% next month to 214,285 bbl, the loading program showed Tuesday. Total production is scheduled at 6,000,000 bbl over the 28-day month. "With the weather still cold in other key consuming countries, notably Japan, plus strong transport-driven demand and a number of problems that are contributing to lower crude oil supplies, price risk looks skewed to the upside for now," Kevin Norrish, analyst at Barclays Capital, said in a report. --Alex Lawler, alex_lawler@platts.com For more information, take a trial to Platts Global Alert at http://globalalert.platts.com. ------------ Three Canadian parties oppose nuclear revamp, Liberals neutral Washington (Platts)--10Jan2006 The Ontario Clean Air Alliance, citing a new survey, said that most of Canada's political parties oppose having its federal government subsidize the rehabilitation of Ontario's older nuclear reactors. The Toronto-based OCAA said that its "federal election questionnaire" also found that most of Canada's parties support the development of new east-west transmission lines to facilitate the delivery of hydroelectric power from province to province. The environmental group, which opposes nuclear power, said that Canada's NDP, which was formerly known as the New Democratic Party, Bloc Quebecois and Green Party oppose federal subsidies for nuclear power projects in Ontario. The ruling Liberal Party took a more neutral stance in its response, stating that it "stands ready to work with Ontario in addressing the province's energy needs," but that it "is the prerogative of Ontario...to determine what energy supply mix it will rely upon." The Conservative Party took no position on the issue. The OCAA said that the NDP and the Liberal, Conservative and Green parties all support the expansion of Canada's east-west transmission grid to permit Ontario to increase its imports of hydro power from Manitoba, Quebec and/or Labrador. The Bloc Quebecois said it should be up to each province whether to build new interprovincial lines. Federal elections in Canada will be held on Jan 23. Meanwhile, Ontario is grappling with how best to boost its supply of electricity. An Ontario Power Authority report issued in December urged the province to rehabilitate existing nuclear plants, and build new nuclear and natural-gas-fired plants and wind farms. The Ontario government also has been working toward expanding the province's interconnections with Manitoba and Quebec. For more nuclear stories, request a free trial to Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Oyster Creek to get additional NRC oversight Washington (Platts)--9Jan2006 Oyster Creek will get additional NRC oversight after receiving its second "white finding," the agency said today. White is the second lowest level in NRC's four-level hierarchy, indicating low to moderate safety significance. The finding "stems from a failure by plant operators" to declare an alert when the plant's coolant intake was reduced by sea grass accumulation last August, NRC said. Oyster Creek, operated by Exelon subsidiary AmerGen, is therefore now subject to additional inspections due to its placement in the "degraded cornerstone column" of NRC's reactor oversight process, the agency said. ------------