Platts - Friday, September 01, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ French Alstom to build turbine set for new EDF nuke Paris (Platts)--1Sep2006 French electromechanical group Alstom has won a contract estimated at Eur350 ($448) million to supply the turbine-generator set for Electricite de France's planned 1630-MW European pressurized water nuclear reactor at Flamanville-3, the utility confirmed Friday after a meeting of its board of directors. The French electromechanical group was competing for the job with Siemens AG, which is building the turbine-generator set for the first EPR under construction at Olkiluoto in Finland. EDF's board also approved a contract for civil works at Flamanville-3 with Bouygues, valued at about Eur300 million, of which part is to be subcontracted to local enterprises in the Lower Normandy region, according to French daily "Les Echos." Areva's nuclear power unit, Areva NP, which is 34% owned by Siemens and 66% by French group Areva, is expected to be awarded the contract to supply the Flamanville unit's reactor system once EDF receives a nuclear license, expected early next year. That contract was not put out for competitive bidding because EDF claimed only Areva could supply the reactor it wanted. ------------ Palisades' price to drop unless sale completed by March 1 Washington (Platts)--31Aug2006 The Palisades sale needs to close by March 1 to avoid reductions in the sale price, current owner Consumers Energy told Michigan Public Service Commission staffers August 31. Under the sale agreement, the purchase price will drop about $80,000 a day after that date, John Reed, the president of Consumers consultant Concentric Energy Advisers, said in a telephone interview following the meeting. Consumers announced last month it was selling the plant, which is operated by Nuclear Management Co., to Entergy for $380 million. Concentric managed the sale for Consumers. In its presentation, Consumers briefed the commission staff on the company's August 18 application. The application and supporting documents, totaling more than 900 pages, are on PSC's web site (www.michigan.gov/mpsc) as Case No. U-14992. ------------ Consumers says it must sell nuke by March 1 or discount price Washington (Platts)--31Aug2006 Consumers Energy told Michigan Public Service Commission staff on Thursday that it needs to complete the sale of its Palisades nuclear plant to Entergy by March 1 or be forced to discount the price. According to John Reed, president of Concentric Energy Advisers, which is assisting Consumers in the sale, utility officials said in a staff briefing that under the sale agreement, Consumers will be forced to cut the $380 million purchase price by $80,000 for each day after March 1 that the deal does not close. Consumers in July said it was selling the plant, which is operated by Nuclear Management, to Entergy. Because Entergy needs time to prepare for the plant's fall 2007 refueling outage, there will be additional costs if the deal does not close by July 1, Reed said. If the transfer has not occurred by that date, ownership of the plant will remain with Consumers through the end of the outage, and further adjustments in the price will be made, he said. The proposed deal's "total transaction value"--which includes decommissioning funds retained by Consumers and the projected benefits of a 15-year power purchase agreement--is $899.5 million, Reed said. Measured in terms of dollars per kilowatt, the sale of the 798-MW plant would be one of the top two of the more than 20 nuclear plant sales that have taken place in the US, he said. --Daniel Horner, daniel_horner@platts.com ------------ Ernesto could reach coast of Carolinas as hurricane: NHC Washington (Platts)--31Aug2006 Tropical Storm Ernesto's winds have increased to near 70 miles per hour and it could make landfall somewhere along the South or North Carolina coast as a hurricane later Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. In its 2 pm EDT advisory, the agency put Ernesto's center at about 90 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. The storm is moving toward the north-northwest at a speed of nearly 17 miles per hour. The NHC said data from a government reconnaissance aircraft show that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 70 mph with higher gusts. Progress Energy, whose two-unit Brunswick nuclear plant is located near Southport, North Carolina, near where the storm could make landfall, said Thursday that it is closely monitoring Ernesto, but does not now plan to shut down the units or reduce their output. ------------ TXU to develop 2-6 GW of new nuclear generation by 2020 Washington (Platts)--31Aug2006 TXU Thursday said it plans to file applications with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for combined construction and operating licenses for between 2,000 and 6,000 MW of new nuclear generating capacity in Texas. The new plants -- if TXU ultimately decides to build them -- would be located at one to three sites, and would begin commercial operation between 2015 and 2020, TXU said. The company's nuclear announcement is part of a broader plan by Dallas-based TXU to develop new baseload capacity that uses lower-cost fuels such as uranium and coal to generate electricity in wholesale markets now dominated by natural gas-fired generation. TXU previously unveiled plans to develop more than 9,000 MW of new coal- and lignite-fired capacity in Texas, and is in they early stages of developing as much as 5,000 MW of new coal-fired capacity in PJM. "Based on top decile performance at our Comanche Peak nuclear power facility and strong knowledge of the Texas market and customers, TXU is uniquely positioned to commercialize this technology in Texas," TXU Chairman and CEO John Wilder said in a statement. TXU's nuclear plan includes using its existing asset base where possible to bring on the new capacity, including adding more than 2,000 MW of capacity at its Comanche Peak nuclear plant site. "The combination of geology, hydrology, property and community support make it an ideal site for expansion," the company said, adding that TXU "is reviewing its inventory of sites that were identified for nuclear power development over the last 30 years along with potential new sites in Texas and in other states." TXU is currently working with GE, Westinghouse, AREVA and other nuclear suppliers to select a preferred technology incorporating the newest designs and safety features, it said. --Housley Carr, newsdesk@platts.com ------------ Finnish grid company studying impact of sixth reactor Stockholm (Platts)--30Aug2006 The impact of a sixth reactor on the Finnish electricity grid is being studied by grid company Fingrid, company President/CEO Timo Toivonen said in a statement August 30. Toivonen said the review could take at least three years, the same amount of time it took to review the impact of a fifth unit, which is now being built. He added that he believes there would need to be grid investments of several hundred million euros for a sixth unit, more than the investment required to upgrade the grid for the fifth unit. ------------