Platts - Monday, July 24, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Hamoka-5 BWR to be offline "for a considerable period of time" London (Platts)--24Jul2006 The Hamoka-5 BWR will be offline "for a considerable period of time" as a result of findings of problems in the turbines, according to Chubu Electric Power Co. The recently-commissioned ABWR was shut June 15 following indications of vibrations in a low-pressure turbine. It was thereafter discovered that a turbine vane had detached. Since then, Chubu has found cracks in the vanes in all three turbines at the unit. The problem is now under investigation. Chubu Electric said it is currently assuming that the forced outage will extend beyond the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2007, leading the utility to revise downward its forecast business results for 2006/2007. 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 ------------ Norway's UN Ambassador to head General Assembly's First Committee London (Platts)--24Jul2006 Norway's UN ambassador Mona Juul has been elected to head the General Assembly's First Committee, which deals with disarmament issues, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a statement July 21. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said the Norwegians will use the position to continue to push their nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament efforts. 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 ------------ Turbine problems force lengthy outage at Japan's Hamaoka-5 Bonn (Platts)--21Jul2006 The Hamaoka-5 BWR will be offline "for a considerable period of time" as a result of findings of problems in the turbines, according to Chubu Electric Power Co. The recently-commissioned ABWR was shut June 15 following indications of vibrations in a low-pressure turbine. It was thereafter discovered that a turbine vane had detached. Since then, Chubu has found cracks in the vanes in all three turbines at the unit. The problem is now under investigation. Chubu Electric said it is currently assuming that the forced outage will extend beyond the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2007, leading the utility to revise downward its forecast business results for 2006/2007. ------------ UK Wylfa nuclear plant to close as planned in 2010: NDA London (Platts)--21Jul2006 UK nuclear operator Magnox Electric's 1,240-MW nuclear power plant Wylfa will close as planned in 2010, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said Thursday, adding that "there is no realistic case to be made for an extension beyond 2010." The NDA said it had reported its findings to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Alistair Darling "who has agreed with its conclusion." It added that the there was a "significantly negative business case" for extending the life of the plant, which is based on Anglesey, offshore north Wales. The NDA looked at extending the life of the plant two and four years, but found significant costs associated with both timeframes. "Major improvements would be needed for systems on the reactors themselves," the NDA said, "and the safety cases for the reactors would need to be revised." Plant safety upgrades alone would cost between GBP70 and GBP100 million (Eur102.49-146.41 million; $128.68-183.82 million), while the entire project would have an estimated loss of around GBP258 million, the NDA said. Brian Hough, spokesman for the NDA, said that this cost would be in addition to the GBP70 billion already predicted for the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's nuclear power plants. But he added that the final costs of decommissioning were still not clear, and that the NDA is doing "a very detailed study" for the government, which would be published in April 2008. In June, Welsh members of parliament pressed UK energy minister Malcolm Wicks to consider extending the life of Wylfa during a session of the Welsh Affairs Committee. The MPs told Wicks that the plant was an important source of power for local employer Anglesey Aluminium, which uses 12% of all the electricity consumed in Wales (it uses 250 MW). But at that time, Wicks said it would not necessarily be his decision whether or not a life extension would be granted. It was up to private firms, such as the plant operator, and to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which, he said, was studying the issue. Wicks said the issue was not part of the energy review, but being considered separately. He hinted at possible alternatives for the aluminum plant, such as importing power into Anglesey from the national grid, if the connection from North Wales to Anglesey was large enough, or maybe a new plant. Developer Canatxx has at times mooted building a gas plant on the island, though Wicks did not mention that. But, Wicks pointed out, "it's not in my gift" to make such things happen. It was up to private companies. The aluminum company depends on Wylfa because it has a fixed price power supply contract lasting until September 30, 2009 with the plant. When that expires it would likely be too expensive - at current market levels - for Anglesey Aluminium to buy power from the wholesale market to replace that long-term deal. Wylfa is one of the UK's Magnox reactors, a second generation nuclear plant that uses Magnox fuel, which is prepared at the Springfields fuel manufacturing plant. As part of its review of the possible life extension of Wylfa, the NDA review operations at Springfields. The authority said "At Springfields, there are significant difficulties associated with sourcing materials, supply of parts, and availability of plant and people to manufacture Magnox fuel." Magnox fuel is reprocessed at Sellafield, and so the NDA also reviewed the operations of the fuel reprocessing facilities there, and concluded that "additional costs would be incurred from maintaining the Magnox reprocessing plant." It added that regulators would need further assurance over plant safety and environment issues. But although the plant's life will not be extended beyond 2010, the authority is looking at extending its operation by nine months, to December 2010. NDA spokesman Hough said that the authority had a "responsibility to maximize the commercial revenue" from the plant, which is why it is looking at extending the life of the plant to December 2008. The existing nuclear operator license runs out in April of that year, but the NDA believes "there is potential for extending the plant's life to December," Hough said. 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 ------------ Germany's ENBW applies for exemption to keep Neckar nukes online Freiburg (Platts)--21Jul2006 Germany's Energie Baden-Wurttemberg has applied for an exemption to keep its two reactors at Neckarwestheim online despite the rising temperatures, Karl Franz, spokesman for the environment ministry of the south-western state, said Friday. "We will make a decision about this soon, possibly today," he said. "We believe that ENBW has applied for that as a precaution, but in some places, the river is already 27 degrees." Whether the rising temperatures of the water, needed for plant cooling, would mean ENBW will have to reduce output or merely cut is not yet clear. "It could mean a complete switch-off," said the spokesman. Normally, nuclear power plants have to reduce their output if the necessary water for their cooling processes surpasses a certain temperature. The limit for Baden-Wurttemberg is 28 degrees, while rivers in northern Germany have regulatory limits of 26 degrees. 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 ------------ UK government to consider selling part of its BE stake London (Platts)--20Jul2006 The UK government today confirmed it will "actively consider" selling part of its stake in British Energy. In a March 22 announcement of the government?s 2006 budget, Chancellor Gordon Brown said that no final decision on such a sale would be made until the government concluded its energy review. That review's results were published July 11 and suggested new nuclear reactors be constructed as part of a package of carbon-reducing measures. The government bailed out privatized BE in 2002 when the utility got into financial difficulties due to low electricity prices. As part of the company's restructuring, the government's Department of Trade and Industry devised a scheme whereby as much as 65% of BE's equity could be made available to government to be sold to a third party. Reports circulating in the media speculate the government hopes to raise around 2 billion pounds (US$3.7 billion) from the sale of around a third of that stake, riding on nuclear's expected revival. ------------