Platts - Monday, May 22, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Trade court issues decisions May 18 favoring Cogema-Eurodif London (Platts)--22May2006 A trade court May 18 issues decisions favoring Cogema-Eurodif in the French enricher's long-running trade litigation with USEC. In a case dealing with countervailing duties on Cogema exports of low-enriched uranium to the US, the US Court of International Trade in New York entered judgment on the Commerce Department's "remand determination." In response to earlier decisions and directives from the CIT and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, Commerce had revised its determination. Commerce's revision said that import duties apply only to LEU exports in which Cogema provided both the uranium feed and the enrichment component -- not to those for which Cogema provided only the enrichment. In a companion case, dealing with antidumping duties, the CIT told Commerce to rewrite its determination so that duties are not applied to the enrichment component. Last year the CAFC ruled that enrichment is a service, not a good, and therefore is not subject to US trade duties. The CAFC then sent the cases back to the CIT to oversee Commerce's implementation of the decision. USEC today issued a statement saying yesterday's CIT decision was "not unexpected." The company said it anticipated filing an appeal with the CAFC and, perhaps, with the US Supreme Court. For similar stories, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ NRC to hire 350 new employees by June Washington (Platts)--19May2006 NRC will have hired 350 new employees by the end of June, NRC Chairman Nils Diaz said yesterday. The agency says an increase in staffing is needed in preparation for new plant licensing reviews, so it has launched an aggressive recruitment and hiring program. Diaz told the industry at the Nuclear Energy Institute's annual conference in San Francisco that the efforts have been so successful that the agency has outgrown its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. NRC plans to move 250 employees into a nearby facility in about four months, Diaz said. He told Platts that the exact location would probably be announced next week and he could not say which employees would be moved to the new facility, only that they would be from the same division. ------------ President Bush calls for new nuclear power plants in the US Washington (Platts)--19May2006 President George W. Bush said the US must start building new nuclear power plants "to maintain our economic leadership and strengthen our energy security." Speaking today in a videotaped message to the Nuclear Energy Institute's Nuclear Energy Assembly in San Francisco, Bush repeated his call for an expansion of clean energy sources, including nuclear power. In his nearly five-minute address to the conference, Bush said his administration has taken steps to encourage nuclear construction. These include the launch of the Nuclear Power 2010 initiative, proposed legislation to advance the licensing and construction of the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, repository, and the signing of an energy bill containing several financial incentives. He said these steps were aimed at starting nuclear construction by the end of the decade. For similar news, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ Koeberg-1 returned to the grid May 17 London (Platts)--19May2006 Koeberg-1 was returned to the grid yesterday following installation of a replacement rotor in its electric generator, which was damaged in December, South African utility Eskom announced. The generator stator had been repaired on the Koeberg site, west of Cape Town. The replacement rotor is on loan from Electricite de France. Eskom said May 17 that the 900-MW-class PWR was producing 270 MW and was expected to be operating at full power by the fourth week in May. However, Eskom CEO Thulani Gcabashe exhorted Cape electricity consumers to continue to moderate demand, saying that Koeberg-2 would be shut for refueling and maintenance on May 22 and would remain down through most of July. Demand projects indicate a shortfall of up to 400 MW in the Western Cape during that period, Eskom said. Koeberg-2 has been operating in stretchout mode awaiting the restart of the first unit. For similar stories, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Bush continues advocating new nuclear Washington (Platts)--18May2006 President George W. Bush said the US must start building new nuclear power plants "to maintain our economic leadership and strengthen our energy security." Speaking today in a videotaped message to the Nuclear Energy Institute's Nuclear Energy Assembly in San Francisco, Bush repeated his call for an expansion of clean energy sources, including nuclear power. In his nearly five-minute address to the conference, Bush said his administration has taken steps to encourage nuclear construction. These include the launch of the Nuclear Power 2010 initiative, proposed legislation to advance the licensing and construction of the Yucca Mountain, Nevada repository, and the signing of an energy bill containing several financial incentives. He said these steps were aimed at starting nuclear construction by the end of the decade. ------------