Platts - Friday, July 07, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ The CEA signs new four-year goals contract with French government London (Platts)--7Jul2006 The CEA signed a new four-year goals contract with the French government July 5. The contract provides for Eur 3.8 billion (US$4.8 billion) in government subsidies for the research and development agency's civilian programs from 2006 through 2009. The Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique's civilian budget for that period totals a little over Eur 7 billion. Among the goals set by the CEA and accepted by the three ministries to which it reports for civilian programs -- the ministries responsible for economy, industry and research -- is that of developing simultaneously two types of fast neutron reactors. The contract calls on the CEA to propose an "improved" sodium-cooled fast reactor design and to develop "the innovative elements" of a gas-cooled fast reactor "featuring fuel recycling." It also is to support industry in designing and developing a very-high-temperature reactor aimed at producing hydrogen from water or biomass. The CEA is to provide the government in 2009 with the elements needed for decisions on what kind of experimental reactor to build and whether to aim for recycling of minor actinides or only of uranium and plutonium in fast reactors, according to the document. For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Russia to use G8 to display global energy role: DOE official Washington (Platts)--6Jul2006 Russia wants to turn the upcoming G8 summit into a display of its status as a key global energy player, while the US will press for free markets, Karen Harbert, assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the US Department of Energy, said Thursday. She added trade would be among the top US priorities at the July 15-17 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. Harbert, who spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, listed securing critical energy infrastructure, energy markets, and hydrocarbon alternative energy sources as among the energy issues that will be discussed at the summit. Nuclear power will be discussed, she said, noting the US has a long history of cooperation with Russia on nuclear nonproliferation issues. Russian plans for a nuclear waste repository and DOE's new Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program also will be discussed, she said. ---Elaine Hiruo, elaine_hiruo@platts.com For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com or subscribe now at http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=22_41&products_id=67 ------------ We Energies exploring options for Point Beach Washington (Platts)--6Jul2006 We Energies has taken a step toward selling Point Beach or hiring an operator to replace Nuclear Management Co. Concentric Energy Advisors, a consulting firm that has handled several nuclear sales, issued a June 30 letter, on behalf of We Energies, requesting expressions of interest in one or both of the two options. The letter was publicly released this week. In the case of a sale, the letter said, the new owner would be expected to conclude a power purchase agreement of at least 15 years with We Energies. For the second option, the letter said, We Energies would expect the operating agreement to contain "fixed fees and specified incentives." According to the letter's timetable, bids will be due in late November. We Energies "will evaluate bids received in connection with this auction in comparison to continued NMC operation and We Energies operation," the letter said. Each of the two PWRs at the Wisconsin plant is rated at 530 megawatts. ------------ Areva and Urenco sign joint venture agreement London (Platts)--6Jul2006 Areva and Urenco signed July 3 an agreement under which the French company acquires a 50% equity stake in Urenco subsidiary Enrichment Technology Co., or ETC. The agreement was signed by the two CEOs, Anne Lauvergeon for Areva and Helmut Engelbrecht for Urenco. The joint venture, now effective, allows Areva to proceed with construction of a centrifuge enrichment plant on its Tricastin site, the Georges Besse II plant, which is scheduled to produce its first SWU in 2009 and reach initial full capacity of 7.5 million SWU/year around 2016. Areva paid Eur 500 million (US$636.5 million currently) for access to the centrifuge technology, including a down payment of Eur 150 million when a preliminary agreement was signed in 2003. It will invest another Eur 2.5 billion in the first phase of the GB II plant. A French official said the agreement calls for an additional payment if and when Urenco's joint venture in the US, LES, builds a centrifuge enrichment plant to be supplied with machines by ETC. The chairman of ETC is Bart Le Blanc, Urenco's finance director; Pat Upson will continue as ETC's managing director, Urenco and Areva announced. For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ or subscribe now at http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=22_41&products_id=67 ------------ EU members should publicize action on nuclear waste: Lords London (Platts)--6Jul2006 EU member states should be required to set out what action they will take on radioactive waste and publicize the results, the UK's House of Lords EU Committee said Thursday in a report. The report, "Managing Nuclear Safety and Waste: the role of the EU," looked at proposed EU legislation to harmonize the management of nuclear safety and waste across the EU. In addition to the call for EU member states to publicize their plans for waste, the committee concluded that national safety standards "operate satisfactorily within the framework of the UN?s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Convention on Nuclear Safety." and suggested that when member states have been shown to have broken the convention "information on remedial actions and their verification is made publicly available." The report particularly focuses on the involvement of the public. "It is difficult to justify the use of nuclear power in the EU without allaying the public's anxieties about the ultimate fate and potential hazards from radioactive waste," the report said. The committee said that EU member states had been "failing to educate their citizens about the use of nuclear power." It added that the EU should take a lead role in "educating citizens about issues relating to nuclear power, how the safety of nuclear installations is maintained, and of the action taken and options available to Member States to manage the radioactive waste produced." The chairman of the inquiry, Lord Renton of Mount Harry, said: "If there is to be a policy of continuing or expanding nuclear use for future generations it must be allied to a determination by the EU to inform the public better about how high level radioactive waste can be safely managed in the long-term." The Lords would not support EU legislation requiring member states to set timetables to dispose of radioactive waste, the report said. But they "do see a role for the EU to set a long term nuclear energy strategy," it adds. Renton welcomed the interim report from the UK's Committee on Radioactive Waste Management. He added: "It will be essential for the Government to build upon CoRWM's final recommendations as a matter of urgency, and to ensure public views feed into the policy decision taken." For more news, request a free trial to Platts Power in Europe at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ or subscribe now at http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=2_31&products_id=55 http://powerineurope.platts.com ------------ Urenco board okays work to begin on new enrichment plant Washington (Platts)--5Jul2006 Urenco's board approved the start of work on a uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico. The July 5 decision, which was expected, follows the US NRC's June 23 issuance of a license for the construction and operation of the centrifuge enrichment plant by Urenco subsidiary LES. According to a Urenco press release, issued after the board's meeting in Hamburg, Germany, a ceremonial groundbreaking is scheduled for August 29. But Urenco officials have said construction is scheduled to begin this month. ------------