Platts - Monday, January 30, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ GRS resists Gabriel pressure to rank older reactors as less safe London (Platts)--30Jan2006 The German federal government's prime nuclear safety consultant is resisting political pressure from regulator Sigmar Gabriel to rank older reactors slated for shutdown under Germany's phase-out as less safe than newer units, Nucleonics Week has learned. Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit mbH (GRS) has told Gabriel, as it responded to the same demand from his predecessor Juergen Trittin last year, that all 17 German reactors meet safety standards and ranking is not justified. Gabriel is chief nuclear regulator, head of the Federal Ministry of Environment & Nuclear Safety (BMU), and a politician from the formally antinuclear Social Democratic Party (SPD). Last week Gabriel said he opposed utilities' plans to request life extensions for the four reactors. Gabriel said they were Germany's oldest and therefore its least safe units (NW, 19 Jan., 1). Gabriel, like Trittin, tried to get GRS to rank the reactors by their safety, sources said. Both Gabriel and Trittin, the architect of the phase-out, wanted the rankings as support for keeping the phase-out schedule on course. However, GRS has told Gabriel?as it did Trittin last year?that there is no difference in safety among the units, sources said. The oldest units are Biblis-A and -B, Neckarwestheim-1, and Brunsbuettel, representing about 4,000 megawatts of installed generating capacity. All four units are likely to produce the remaining kilowatt-hours (KWH) they are allowed under the phase-out within the next four years. In 2005, Trittin, then BMU head and a leading Green politician, commissioned a study from GRS that was intended to compare the safety of all 17 operating German LWRs. At the time, sources said last week, BMU sought ammunition from technical experts to resist pressure from reactor owners to extend lifetimes of reactors next on the shutdown schedule. Pressure on Trittin's SPD-Green government to reverse the phase-out had mounted as the country headed toward an election last fall. GRS reported to Trittin last year that all operating German power reactors meet current technical safety standards and that a comparison of the units was not justified, according to well-placed sources. The report has not been released publicly. Trittin told GRS that he "wanted a listing or ranking of all the reactors from most safe to least safe," one German expert said. GRS told Trittin such a ranking "made no sense on technical grounds. Either a reactor meets the technical standards or it doesn't," the source said. According to sources, Trittin then refused to pay GRS for its work on the report. GRS declined to comment on the study Jan. 24. Reactor safety studies GRS carries out for BMU that are not made public are proprietary and may also be subject to a government security classification, officials said. The full story was published in Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ FPL Energy and IP&L close Duane Arnold deal Washington (Platts)--27Jan2006 FPL Energy and IP&L closed their deal on Duane Arnold, the two companies announced today. In statements, they said FPL Energy was paying Interstate Power & Light Co. (IP&L) about $373-million in cash, "subject to customary post-closing adjustments," for IP&L's 70% share in the 630-MW BWR, as well as nuclear fuel, inventory, and other items. IP&L, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., said it also was retaining about $8-million in decommissioning funds. German nuclear power output rises 10% in December: VGB data ------------ London (Platts)--27Jan2006 Output at Germany's 17 working nuclear power plants was 14.789TWh in December, up from 13.436TWh in November, the latest figures from producers' association VGB show. The biggest producer was again Eon's 1,475MW Isar-2 reactor, which generated 1.107TWh, up from 1.078TWh the previous month. At 201GWh, RWE's Biblis-B reactor produced the least amount of power due to an unscheduled maintenance outage between Sep 2 and Dec 30. In November, it was ENBW's Philippsburg-1 plant, which produced 388GWh. The average load factor of the 17 reactors last month was 86.56%, up from 82.26% in November. For more information, take a trial to Platts European Power Daily at http://europeanpowerdaily.platts.com. ------------ Iran says Russian nuclear proposal not good enough Tehran (AFP)--27Jan2006 A Russian proposal to carry outsensitive nuclear fuel work outside Iran to allay fears Tehran is seeking the bomb is "not sufficient" for the Iranians, a top nuclear negotiator said Friday. The Islamic republic's national security chief Ali Larijani nevetheless said that talks with Moscow on the complex initiative -- which involves enriching Iranian uranium on Russian soil -- would continue. "The Russian proposal is not sufficient for Iran's nuclear energy needs," Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by the officialnews agency IRNA. "The Russian proposal has certain capabilities, but this capability is not sufficient for Iran's nuclear technology," he said on his arrival back from China, where he has been discussing the mounting crisis. But Larijani, who heads Iran's Supreme National Security Council, did say that "one can not say that it is a negative proposal". "We had a round of talks over it and we will do the next round," he said. Larijani did not say when further talks would be held, although officials have already indicated that another meeting with theRussians is likely to take place in mid-February. Moscow's idea to enrich uranium outside Iran is seen as a way out of a growing crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions and has been backed as a possible solution by China, the United States and European Union. Iran says it only wants to make nuclear fuel for nuclear power stations it has yet to build, although the ultra-sensitive process of enriching uranium can also be extended to making atomic weapons. The West is determined to prevent this work from taking placeinside Iran. Iran first appeared cool to the Russian idea when it emerged several months ago, then implicitly rejected it and then embraced it as the beginnings of a possible compromise. Russia, which has a lucrative one billion contract to build and fuel Iran's first nuclear power station, is eager to prevent the crisis from ending up in New York. But some Western diplomats have accused Iranians of trying to buy time and avoid being referred to the UN Security Council. The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board is to hold an emergency meeting on Iran on Feb 2 -- when such a referral could take place -- leaving just a small window for a newcompromise. Iran insists it has the right to conduct fuel cycle work as a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and denies seeking weapons. It has also been steadily backing away from a voluntary suspension of fuel cycle work agreed to by its former, more moderate, nuclear negotiators. On Jan 10 Iran resumed enrichment research, prompting a new US and EU push for Iran's case to be sent the Security Council. But Larijani warned that "any sort of haste and irrational behaviour would lead to unfavourable circumstances in the region." Iran has threatened to resume industrial scale enrichment and limit IAEA inspections if its case is sent to the Security Council -- moves certain to escalate the crisis. The EU has been negotiating with Iran for more than two years in the hope of persuading the country to voluntarily limit its nuclearactivities. A previous offer of trade and other incentives has already been rejected by Tehran. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ AP1000 design certification rule to be published tomorrow Washington (Platts)--26Jan2006 The AP1000 design certification rule is set to be published tomorrow in the Federal Register. The rule amends the agency's regulations (10 Code of Federal Regulations) to certify the 1,100-MW advanced PWR as an approved standard plant design that can be referenced in combined construction permit-operating license applications. The effective date of the certification will be 30 days from Jan. 27. It will be valid for 15 years. ------------ Ontario greens call on OPA to build CHP, renewables not nuclear Philadelphia (Platts)--26Jan2006 The Ontario Clean Air Alliance on Thursday issued a critique of the Ontario Power Authority's Dec 9 supply-mix report, and urged the provincial government to reject OPA's call for more nuclear power. OCAA said, among other things, that OPA "is counting on new nuclear plants being built on budget and performing flawlessly over their entire lifespans--two things that have never happened in Ontario." The environmental group also criticized OPA for projecting a growth rate for electricity consumption "that is almost twice the actual growth rate since 1990," and asserted that OPA "has skewed its proposed capital budget massively toward new supply instead of efficiency and conservation." OCAA proposed that the government instead direct OPA to buy 1,200 MW of new renewable generating capacity and 1,000 MW of new combined-heat-and-power capacity over each of the next five years, including 500 MW of CHP capacity in downtown Toronto. It also called for the government to direct OPA "to aggressively pursue baseload [hydroelectic] imports from Manitoba, Quebec and Labrador;" to encourage residential and commercial customers to switch from electric to natural gas heating systems, thereby reducing peak demand by 1,500 MW; and to direct distribution utilities to increase their spending on energy efficiency and conservation programs to 1%, 2% and 3% of total revenues in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively. For more information, take a trial to Platts Electricity Alert at http://electricityalert.platts.com. ------------ German state ministry defends safety of Biblis nuclear plant Freiburg (Platts)--26Jan2006 The environment minister of the German state of Hesse, Wilhelm Dietzel, said Wednesday the Biblis nuclear power plant, which covers more than half of the state's power demand, would be able to operate safely to the end of its technical lifetime should Germany reverse its plans to phase out nuclear power by 2020. Biblis consists of two units, one with a capacity of 1,225MW and the other with 1,300MW. The debate over the future of German nuclear power reopened with the change of government last year, though chancellor Angela Merkel has said she would stick to the nuclear phaseout plan agreed by the previous government and industry in 2001. Economy minister Michael Glos said recently that nuclear would be on the agenda of the government's energy summit in April. Speaking at a local political gathering in the state's capital of Wiesbaden, Dietzel said that if there were to be a capacity transfer from newer to older power plants, this would extend the life of Biblis, adding that work to achieve this would be voluntary. He also said that federal environment minister Sigmar Gabriel and his predecessor Jurgen Trittin did not doubt the safety of German nuclear power plants. "Biblis has always been safe, but that does not mean that the demands we make for the safety of nuclear units are not growing constantly," said Dietzel. The minister said Biblis was equipped with an emergency system which was in line with all regulations, adding that Biblis differs from other reactors in that its power supply and long-term feed-in of water was controlled on site and not from a separate location. "If one wants to decommission nuclear power, one has to have a realistic concept on how to replace it," said Dietzel. "Germany cannot exit from nuclear power and coal at the same time and go int a dependency on gas. This is not about ideology, but about security of supply and that is safer the more varied the energy mix is." For more nuclear stories, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Constellation seeks NRC OK for limited construction in 2007 Washington (Platts)--25Jan2006 Constellation Energy plans to seek NRC permission to begin limited construction activities in 2007 at a site where a new nuclear power plant might eventually be built, the company said today at a meeting with NRC staffers. Constellation expects to begin core boring at its Calvert Cliffs site in late March, but does not need the agency's permission to perform that work. However, it would need approval for limited work authorization (LWA) for excavation for the plant foundation, clearing or grading of temporary access roads, or installing temporary construction support facilities, among other preparatory activities. Constellation officials said they have not yet committed to Calvert Cliffs as the new plant site but did not provide a date for a decision. The company, with the help from its UniStar Nuclear business partners Framatome ANP Inc. and Bechtel, plans to file a combined construction permit-operating license in mid-2008, it said. ------------ Nuclear 'less appreciated' than other sources, EC survey finds Washington (Platts)--25Jan2006 About 12% of European Union (EU) citizens surveyed support prioritizing the development of nuclear energy, far less than the percentage supporting solar and wind power, according to a public opinion poll by the European Commission (EC) released this week. The survey of more than 29,000 people was conducted in October and November 2005 in 25 EU states and "acceding and candidate countries" by Eurobarometer, the public opinion analysis sector of the EC. The results reveal that "citizens consider renewables, research and technology as the main means at [the] national level to reduce the current energy dependency," the EC said in a Jan. 24 press release accompanying the report. "Almost half of all EU citizens (48%) believe that their national government should focus on developing the use of solar power followed by promoting advanced research for new energy technologies (41%) and developing the use of wind power (31%)," the EC said. Some 40% of Europeans, "most likely those who are more sensitive to environmental issues, would be prepared to pay more for energy from renewable sources, and "27% would even accept an increase of 5%," the EC said. Support for prioritizing nuclear energy development by national governments varied in the nations surveyed, from a high of 27% in Finland to a low of 2% in Cyprus, Greece, and Malta, the EC said in the full report. Such support was found to be 8% in France, 17% in Germany, and 18% in the United Kingdom. About 47% of EU citizens "believe Europe is the best level for determining energy challenges," but 37% of respondents consider national decision making "to be the most appropriate level to make decisions on energy related issues," the EC said. Though "no great variation" in opinions based on socio-demographic factors was noted, "[i]t can be mentioned that men are slightly more positive about promotion of advanced research and nuclear power as government actions while the younger the respondent is the more likely he or she is to support governmental regulation to reduce the dependence of oil. Those in the political left are more inclined to support the use of solar power than their counterparts," the EC said in its report, which is on the Eurobarometer Web site at http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_247_en.pdf. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ US senator says Iran oil fears should spur ANWR drilling Washington (Platts)--25Jan2006 Concerns about the potential impact on Iranian oil supplies of the current standoff over Tehran's nuclear program should spur US policymakers to open areas currently off limits to oil and gas exploration, the chairman of the US Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee said Wednesday. New Mexico Republican senator Pete Domenici told an audience of energy specialists in Washington that any disruption of Iranian oil exports could result in an energy crisis in the US, and that lawmakers should be motivated to pass legislation approving drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and open portions of the US Outer Continental Shelf which are currently closed to hydrocarbon development. Iran faces being hauled before the UN Security Council over its resumption earlier this month of sensitive nuclear activities, although the European Union has said it is not seeking sanctions in the short term. Tehran has not explicitly threatened to withhold oil in the event of sanctions being imposed, although some media and analysts have interpreted as a veiled threat remarks by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggesting that Iran has "leverage" and comments in a similar vein by other senior officials. Domenici appeared to discount the likelihood of any embargo on Iranian oil exports, not least because it would be difficult for other oil producers to compensate for the loss of Iranian oil. Iran currently pumps close to 4-mil b/d of crude and exports around 2.5-mil b/d. "Its easy to say we're just going to boycott [Iranian oil]...but you've got to figure out the results and I don't know if the world could accommodate" the loss of Iran's oil exports, he said. US light crude prices climbed above $69/bbl this week on supply disruptions in Nigeria, a key supplier of light crude to the US, and concerns about Iran. Prices were back down in the mid-$60s Wednesday, however, as the US Energy Information Administration announced week-on-week builds in commercial stocks of refined products. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, will meet Feb 2-3 in Vienna to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue -- two days after the OPEC oil cartel, of which Iran is a member, meets in the Austrian capital. Citing projections of lower oil demand in the second quarter, Iran has called for a 1-mil b/d cut in OPEC production from the beginning of April. The International Energy Agency, which represents many of the world's major oil consuming countries, last week forecast a 1.9-mil b/d drop in oil demand in the second quarter. For more information, take a trial to Platts Global Alert at http://globalalert.platts.com. ------------