Platts - Tuesday, June 20, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Dutch utility Delat investigates new nuclear build London (Platts)--20Jun2006 Dutch utility Delta investigates new nuclear build, according to its new Chairman/CEO Peter Boerma, who said a new reactor could be operating at Borssele by 2016. Delta is half-owner of the 480-MW Borssele PWR, along with Essent. According to the newspaper PZC, Boerma said Delta is looking for partners for a new nuclear plant project, which he estimated would cost about 2 billion euros. He made the remarks during a ceremony in Goes, near the plant site, June 16 at which an agreement was signed by Borssele operator EPZ, Delta, Essent, and the Dutch government guaranteeing a 60- year lifetime for the reactor, until 2033. Boerma's remarks echoed those of his predecessor at Delta, David Luteijn, who said earlier this year that nuclear energy and renewable energy were both necessary for the Netherlands' energy future. For similar stories, request a free trial to Platts Nucleomics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ NRC might issue exemption in July, allowing OPPD to load casks Washington (Platts)--19Jun2006 NRC notified the Omaha Public Power District last week that it might issue an exemption to the utility on July 21, allowing OPPD to begin loading some Fort Calhoun spent fuel into storage casks before a refueling and refurbishment outage at the plant slated to start in September. NRC said the schedule "is very aggressive and reflects the high-priority" the agency is placing on the request OPPD filed June 9. The schedule allows for a request for additional information, or RAI, June 27 with OPPD's response due to the agency July 3. The utility had asked for approval by July 7, allowing it to begin loading spent fuel into four Transnuclear Inc. Nuhoms-32PT storage systems. The parties are scheduled to meet June 23 to discuss the status of the request and any issues needing to be resolved. OPPD needs the exemption from spent fuel storage regulations because it cannot comply with three technical specification requirements in the Nuhoms certificate of compliance (COC). The problematic tech specs relate to transfer cask surface dose rate limits and vacuum drying time for a loaded canister. OPPD is using its 75-ton crane to load the system, which has a 100-ton transfer cask. TN removed 25 tons of shielding from the transfer cask following an analysis under 10 CFR Part 72.48, a regulation that allows minor design changes without NRC review and approval so long as the changes meet specific criteria. In addition to seeking an exemption from the provisions of 10 CFR Part 72 that require users to comply with the terms of the COC, OPPD is seeking an exemption from two provisions of Part 72.48: 72.48(c)(1)(B), which requires changes be limited to those that do not alter the terms, conditions, or specifications of the COC; and 72.48(c)(2)(viii), one of the eight criteria, prohibiting any departure from the method of analysis approved in the COC. After a public meeting and several phone calls with NRC, OPPD officials determined an exemption was needed from Part 72.48 after the utility accepted NRC's position that the modified transfer cask uses supplemental shielding that alters the thermal model used in the COC. An NRC official said last week the agency has granted exemptions from provisions of 72.48 involving licensees not having enough time to implement the requirements, but could not identify past examples of NRC granting exemptions from any of the eight criteria. Industry sources, noting the agency has raised barriers to Part 72.48 in the past, suggested there was no guarantee NRC would approve such an exemption. In this exemption request, one source said, OPPD "wants to make a change they can't make [under Part 72.48] without NRC approval, but they are asking for NRC approval to implement the change through an exemption." A June 7 letter to OPPD from Jack Strosnider, director of NRC's Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), illustrated the high level of agency attention OPPD's plans have garnered. He said NRC understands "the important role that this cask loading campaign plays in completing your upcoming outage," reiterating the "importance of NRC's exemption review process elements," which normally take "several months" to process. He added that while NRC "intends to give high priority to this review, a high-quality submittal is essential for the NRC to complete its technical review of the proposed exemption." The letter summarized several interactions between NRC staff, OPPD, and TN leading up to submittal of the request. If approved, Stronsnider noted, the exemption would be limited to four casks filled with fuel whose residual power ranges from 10 to 12 kilowatts. The current COC is designed for 24-KW fuel. A May 26 e-mail from NRC project manager Joe Sebrosky to Fort Calhoun nuclear licensing supervisor Tom Matthews provides preliminary shielding comments on the draft exemption request. That e-mail indicates NRC is concerned that, even though Fort Calhoun plans to perform all operations using the bare OS197L transfer cask, potential malfunctions have not yet been addressed. Officials also raised dose rate concerns during a May 24 meeting on a draft version of the exemption (Inside NRC, 30 May, 9). In a teleconference May 25, NRC staff told TN and OPPD that the cask vendor's supplemental calculations, which were intended to address NRC's contention that the thermal methodology differs from the COC for the transfer cask when it is inside temporary shielding on a transfer trailer, did not put the issue to rest, according to NRC's summary of the call. TN maintained at the public meeting that the calculations supported its original Part 72.48 analysis. NRC offered OPPD two options for resolving the issue: continuing to work through the inspection process to reach consensus, or amending the draft exemption request to include a request for a change in the method of evaluation. "The exemption could include simplified calculations to resolve the issue," NRC said in the summary. The following day, OPPD notified NRC it would pursue the second option. In a subsequent teleconference May 30, Fort Calhoun officials described their intended approach to modeling heat in the transfer cask, which is inside the transport trailer supplemental shielding. The utility said the thermal calculation would use a heat load of 18.4 KW, compared to the 24-KW design basis, according to a summary of the call. Though calculations were not complete at the time, the utility and TN indicated the fuel cladding surface temperature ranged as high as 700 degrees Fahrenheit. "The staff noted that this was near the 752 degrees F limit provided" in interim staff guidance, the summary said. "The staff cautioned Fort Calhoun to consider simplifying options in their exemption request that would overwhelm the uncertainty in the thermal calculations that Fort Calhoun intended to provide as part of its exemption request." The summary on June 6 teleconference indicates TN stood by its original 72.48 analysis. The summary does not indicate whether NRC agrees with TN, but staff said during the public meeting that an inspection might be scheduled to follow up on any lingering staff concerns. Concerns about the 72.48 analysis, which TN conducted and Fort Calhoun is adopting, include what NRC contends is a change to the thermal method of analysis and a change to how some shielding calculations are evaluated. While the shielding calculation issue has been resolved, NRC staff last week could not address what steps the agency plans to take to address TN's position on the thermal analysis, indicating no final decisions have yet been made. For similar news, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ US-Russia threat reduction program extended another seven years Washington (Platts)--19Jun2006 The US-Russia cooperative threat reduction program will be extended for seven years under a protocol signed by both nations, the White House said June 19. Established in 1992 and extended in 1999, the program has assisted in the deactivation of thousands of Russian missiles and warheads and installation of security upgrades at Russian nuclear warhead sites. CTR programs have also "assisted Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine to become free of nuclear weapons and strategic delivery systems, and helped many states to prevent the proliferation of sensitive materials," the White House said. ------------ EPZ, Essent, Delta, minister sign Borssele agreement London (Platts)--19Jun2006 The agreement guaranteeing operation of Borssele until 2033 was signed today by Dutch utility EPZ, its shareholders Essent and Delta, and junior minister for environment Pieter van Geel. The 480-MW Siemens PWR will be 60 years old in 2033. The so-called "Covenant," a civil contract between the Dutch state and the companies, guarantees against political interference in the plant's operation. In return, the utilities commit to keep Borssele's safety within the top quartile of plants of its kind in the world, a condition that will be monitored by a special committee. Essent and Delta also pledged to invest 250 million euros in sustainable energy projects, thus doubling the "CO2 advantage" of not shutting Borssele. The only nuclear power plant in the Netherlands, Borssele has escaped forced shutdown twice in recent years, with management successfully contesting a politically inspired deal to shut it in 2003 and, more recently, the policy of the present coalition government to shut the reactor in 2013. The 60-year lifetime deal was proposed at the end of last year but protracted procedures had prevented its ratification until now. For similar stories, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Borssele granted 60-year lifetime operation Paris (Platts)--16Jun2006 The agreement guaranteeing operation of Borssele until 2033 was signed today by Dutch utility EPZ, its shareholders Essent and Delta, and junior minister for environment Pieter van Geel. The 480-MW Siemens PWR will be 60 years old in 2033. The so-called "Covenant," a civil contract between the Dutch state and the companies, guarantees against political interference in the plant's operation. In return, the utilities commit to keep Borssele's safety within the top quartile of plants of its kind in the world, a condition that will be monitored by a special committee. Essent and Delta also pledged to invest 250 million euros in sustainable energy projects, thus doubling the "CO2 advantage" of not shutting Borssele. The only nuclear power plant in the Netherlands, Borssele has escaped forced shutdown twice in recent years, with management successfully contesting a politically inspired deal to shut it in 2003 and, more recently, the policy of the present coalition government to shut the reactor in 2013. The 60-year lifetime deal was proposed at the end of last year but protracted procedures had prevented its ratification until now. ------------ Senate Foreign Relations chairman endorses US-India pact Washington (Platts)--16Jun2006 US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar Friday called on Congress to approve an agreement between the US and India providing the southeast Asian country with nuclear fuel, technology and reactors. "We should be concerned about the precedent set by this action, and we must ensure that this agreement does not undercut our own responsibilities under the [Nuclear] Nonproliferation Treaty. But I believe that we can do that satisfactorily," Lugar said in remarks prepared for a commencement address at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. While Lugar is a leading proponent of nuclear nonproliferation in Congress, he had not taken a position on the India agreement until Friday, an aide said. The agreement is pending before his committee. "Both houses of Congress are working through language that would guide our policy toward India," Lugar said. "I believe we can help solidify New Delhi's commitments to implement strong export controls, separate civilian nuclear infrastructure from its weapons program, and place civilian facilities under [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards." The Indiana Republican said the agreement, which President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed in March, would be "a powerful incentive" for India to cooperate closely with the US to stop proliferation of nuclear materials. For similar news, take a trial to Platts Inside Energy at http://insideenergy.platts.com. ------------