Platts - Friday, February 10, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Cost of Global Nuclear Energy Partnership may hit $62-bil: Bodman Washington (Platts)--9Feb2006 Partnership would likely reach between $20-bil and $40-bil, and possibly as much as $62-bil, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Thursday. Testifying at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the administration's FY-07 budget request, Bodman said GNEP, in which the US and other countries would provide fresh nuclear fuel for power reactors around the world and recover the spent fuel for recycling, would "be very expensive and take a very long time." But he added that the reprocessed waste resulting from the initiative would remain toxic for 1,000 years rather than the one million years envisioned for ordinary spent fuel. Bodman said he hoped GNEP's development costs could be reduced through help from other countries. Senators said after the hearing that nuclear energy ratepayers would also have to help pay for GNEP. Sen Raymond Burr (Republican-North Carolina) told reporters he no longer supports developing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, and said the US should concentrate instead on reprocessing. Burr said the Yucca Mountain project is being brought to a standstill by legal problems. Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (Republican-New Mexico) said the Nuclear Waste Fund could help pay for GNEP. "Look, I don't think we've figured out who's going to pay for that," Domenici said. "Right now we've got [$18-bil] sitting in a trust fund that's supposed to be for Yucca, but it's really the utilities paying for completing the fuel cycle. I'm not suggesting that they would sit by and let us use it [for GNEP], but this may not be a total government expenditure as we put it together." A DOE spokesman said the department will make a "go, no-go" decision on whether to proceed with GNEP after three years of study. The administration is seeking $250-mil for GNEP in FY-07. For more information, take a trial to Platts Electricity Alert at http://electricityalert.platts.com. ------------ NAS: Spent fuel, high-level waste transport safe Washington (Platts)--9Feb2006 number of challenges must be addressed," NAS said today in a press statement accompanying its report, which was requested by Congress. NAS said "a separate, independent study of the security of such shipments against malevolent acts is also needed." The report also provides recommendations on DOE's Yucca Mountain, Nev. repository project. The report is on the NAS Web site at: http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/0309100046?OpenDocument ------------ Workers union says report finds fault with nuclear security firm Washington (Platts)--9Feb2006 Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, a union for security officers said Thursday. Wackenhut provides security at both complexes, with the security contract out for bidding, along with another contract out for bidding at the Nevada Test Site operated by DOE, said the Service Employees International Union. Decisions about whether Wackenhut will be retained as the security coordinator at both sites is expected soon, said SEIU, which represents workers in several fields, including health care, cleaning and security. The DOE inspector general report found that there are no contractual incentives to reduce overtime at Oak Ridge and the Y-12 complex, where Wackenhut may have received an increase in profit of almost $1-mil in overtime at Oak Ridge, SEIU said. In addition, SEIU said Wackenhut received unusually high award fees and high performance scores at Oak Ridge and Y-12 despite several incidents that compromised security, including not providing the hours of training it reported to the DOE, discharging live ammunition into a refrigerator, and sending armed guards to intercept a mock attack team whom they mistakenly believed to be intruders. "This underscores the absence of accountability around nuclear security," said Stephen Lerner, director of property services division at SEIU. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. A report from the inspector general at the US Dept of Energy found that security firm Wackenhut has profited from major cost overruns at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, a union for security officers said Thursday. Wackenhut provides security at both complexes, with the security contract out for bidding, along with another contract out for bidding at the Nevada Test Site operated by DOE, said the Service Employees International Union. Decisions about whether Wackenhut will be retained as the security coordinator at both sites is expected soon, said SEIU, which represents workers in several fields, including health care, cleaning and security. The DOE inspector general report found that there are no contractual incentives to reduce overtime at Oak Ridge and the Y-12 complex, where Wackenhut may have received an increase in profit of almost $1-mil in overtime at Oak Ridge, SEIU said. In addition, SEIU said Wackenhut received unusually high award fees and high performance scores at Oak Ridge and Y-12 despite several incidents that compromised security, including not providing the hours of training it reported to the DOE, discharging live ammunition into a refrigerator, and sending armed guards to intercept a mock attack team whom they mistakenly believed to be intruders. "This underscores the absence of accountability around nuclear security," said Stephen Lerner, director of property services division at SEIU. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ Decision on Point Beach sale to come this year Washington (Platts)--8Feb2006 Beach, CEO Gale Klappa said today during a conference call with analysts. Wisconsin Energy is reviewing all options for the plant, which include selling it, continuing its current management by Nuclear Management Co, running the plant by another third-party, or running it by Wisconsin Energy staff, he said. In June 2005, Klappa raised the possibility of selling Point Beach, but said the company would not make that decision in the near term. ------------ US NRC gives Duke-Cinergy merger necessary approvals: firms Washington (Platts)--8Feb2006 Duke Energy and Cinergy said Wednesday the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission had granted the two companies approvals related to Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke and Cincinatti-based Cinergy's planned merger. On Tuesday, the NRC approved an application filed by Duke Energy in connection with the merger that transfers certain operating licenses from Duke Energy to its utility, Duke Power, the companies said. The merger, announced May 9, 2005, remains subject to shareholder approvals and other closing requirements. Special meetings for shareholders of both Duke Energy and Cinergy to vote on the merger are to be held on March 10. The companies expect to close the merger as early as April, they said. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ Swedish nuke phase-out timetable 'beside the point': minister Stockholm (Platts)--8Feb2006 A timetable for a Swedish nuclear phase-out is "completely beside the point," Minister for Sustainable Development Mona Sahlin said Tuesday after a visit to the interim storage facility for spent fuel. There was no point setting a timetable for plants to shut down because it dependend on when replacements were ready. Sahlin told local journalists in Oskarshamn, where the facility is located, that nuclear would be phased out at the same pace that alternate generation is available. The Swedish government is officially committed to shutting down the country's ten operating reactors and eventually replacing them with renewable generation. For more information, take a trial to Platts Electricity Alert at http://electricityalert.platts.com. ------------