Platts - Monday, April 03, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Nuke fusion project Iter partner ministers to sign accord May 24 Brussels (Platts)--3Apr2006 Ministers from the seven partner countries in the next generation nuclear fusion project known as Iter are to initial the international agreement backing it on May 24 in Brussels, the European Commission said Saturday. The chief Iter negotiators from China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US met in Tokyo Saturday to finalize the top management team and to endorse the international agreement that is to govern the project. Iter's director-general is to be Kaname Ikeda from Japan, while the principal deputy director-general is to be Norbert Holtkamp from the EU. Work on building the Iter project at the agreed site in Caderache, southern France, is due to start later this year. For more news, request a free trial to Power in Europe at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Vermont Yankee can increase power, NRC says Washington (Platts)--31Mar2006 The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has no objections to Entergy's moving Vermont Yankee to 110% power, an NRC Region I spokesperson said today. Entergy received approval March 2 for a 120% uprate, which would increase the unit's maximum power level from 1,593 to 1,912 MW (thermal). But Entergy committed to implement the increase in 5% increments, and a condition attached to its license amendment imposed a 96-hour hold at each plateau. Entergy decided to stay at 105% power beyond the 96 hours because its power ascension program called for conducting further analysis. ------------ Domenici to cut Yucca Mountain's FY-07 cash, may submit own bill Washington (Platts)--30Mar2006 Senate appropriators are expected to cut fiscal year-2007 funding for the Department of Energy's proposed nuclear waste repository project at Yucca Mountain, Nevada after key members of an appropriations subcommittee said Thursday the $544 million being sought for that program was too high. "That has got to come down," the subcommittee chairman Pete Domenici, Republican-New Mexico, said following a hearing on the DOE fiscal 2007 budget request. The panel's ranking Democrat, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, told reporters as he left the hearing he didn't know how the long-delayed program could spend that much money. Reid opposes DOE plans to build a nuclear waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, roughly 100 miles outside Las Vegas. Separately, Domenici said in his opening statement at the hearing he would introduce his own nuclear waste bill if the department didn't present draft legislation to the Senate and House soon. Domenici declined to reveal details of his bill. DOE has been promising a draft bill since early February. Domenici said during the hearing Thursday he would introduce a DOE bill out of courtesy to the administration, but that didn't necessarily mean he would support the entire bill. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ Feinstein's global warming bill to benefit nuclear industry: PG&E Washington (Platts)--30Mar2006 Mandatory cap-and-trade provisions in a global warming bill Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat-California, is expected to unveil next week would make emission-free nuclear power more attractive, according to Peter Darbee, president, chairman and CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric. The San Francisco-based utility has been working with Feinstein on the issue, he told reporters Thursday. Darbee called global climate change a "serious threat to the environment" and said PG&E believes taking a leadership role in helping find a solution would be a win-win situation for the utility. Energy technologies that potentially could benefit from a cap on carbon dioxide emissions and trade of emission allowances include nuclear power, natural gas, and integrated gasification combined cycle technology, Darbee said. Nuclear power is only one that is a mature technology and reasonably priced, he said. Natural gas is mature, but its price is volatile, Darbee said, adding that IGCC is a high-cost technology that is not yet mature. PG&E owns and operates the two-reactor Diablo Canyon nuclear station outside Avila Beach, California. For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ French lower house approves nuclear reform Paris (Platts)--30Mar2006 France's nuclear regulatory reform bill was passed by the National Assembly just past midnight today, after three long sessions of debate. The bill, which creates an independent nuclear regulatory agency, establishes a clearer legislative basis for nuclear licensing, and provides for greater public access to safety and regulatory information, was passed by the Senate March 8. The deputies approved dozens of amendments, including one rebaptizing the new agency the Nuclear Safety Authority--the Senate had kept the government's title of "High Authority for Nuclear Safety"--and another that gives the parliament tighter oversight control. Under pressure from both majority and opposition, the government reversed its earlier decision to fast-track the Nuclear Transparency and Safety Act. That means that instead of a conference committee to iron out differences in the two versions of the bill, it will go through second readings in both chambers, which is expected to happen in the coming weeks. ------------