Platts - Monday, November 27, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Vattenfall Europe starts ops at Krummel nuke waste site Freiburg (Platts)--24Nov2006 Vattenfall Europe has taken into operation its intermediate storage facility on the site of its Krummel nuclear power plant, the German generator said Friday. Six "castor" containers of 52 spent fuel rods were stored at the site. The intermediate storage site was completed in the summer this year and cost Eur34 million ($44 million) to build. The company has permission to operate the facility for 40 years, during which time 80 castor containers with 52 spent fuel rods each can be stored. The permission for the facility was given in 2003. Under Germany's nuclear decommissioning agreement, the country agreed not to send spent fuel rods abroad for reprocessing from July 1, 2005. This meant that the operators of nuclear units had to build intermediate storage facilities on the sites of nuclear power plants or nearby. Those facilities are to store the spent fuels until Germany decides on a final storage site. This should be taken into operation by 2030. There is no final storage site for nuclear waste in the world, Vattenfall Europe said. ------------ Russia to spend $10 billion on nuclear decommissioning London (Platts)--23Nov2006 Russia will spend roughly US$10 billion decommissioning nuclear facilities between 2008 and 2015, Andrey Malyshev, deputy head of Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom, told a London decommissioning conference November 22. He said the sum does not include costs for 65 nuclear submarines still to be decommissioned. More than 100 nuclear facilities have already been shut for various reasons, he said. The conference, organized by IBC Global Conferences, was notable for its large contingent of Russian cleanup experts, not only from Rosatom but from the power generation sector, the research establishment, and uranium enricher JSC Techsnabexport, or Tenex. A Malyshev aide said Tenex was present because of enrichment facility cleanup issues. Malyshev said the Russians had decided on this particular conference because of the opportunity it provided to exchange opinions and practical experience. "We look forward to future cooperation, both as colleagues and possibly as contractors," he told attendees. ------------ Report explores nuclear's potential in Australia Paris (Platts)--22Nov2006 Nuclear power could provide a third of Australia's electricity by 2050, cutting the country's greenhouse gas emissions by up to 18% in that year, a government-appointed task force reported in draft conclusions published November 21. The panel was asked to review uranium mining, uranium processing and the potential contribution of nuclear energy in Australia. As reported in Nucleonics Week October 19, the panel said its consultations "revealed support for the expansion of Australian mining and export of uranium," but that "high commercial and technology barriers could make market entry difficult" for uranium conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication. Nuclear plants could be producing power in Australia within 10 to 15 years, with one scenario seeing deployment of 25 reactors between 2020 and 2050. The task force said the first, indispensable step is to establish "a single national regulator" for nuclear issues "supported by an organization with skilled staff." The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet asked for feedback on the draft report by December 12. The final report is scheduled for completion at year's end. The full report and associated studies can be accessed at: www.dpmc.gov.au/umpner/reports.cfm. ------------ Entergy to seek 20-year extension of Indian Point nuke licenses Washington (Platts)--22Nov2006 Entergy Wednesday said it would ask the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend for 20 years the operating license for its two-unit Indian Point nuclear station north of New York City. The decision is likely to prove controversial, given efforts by local and environmental groups to shut the plant down given its proximity to the city and perceptions that it provides a tempting target to terrorists. In a statement Wednesday, Mike Kansler, president of Entergy Nuclear Northeast, called the facility "vitally important to the economic and environmental health of our region." Entergy said Kansler was joined in announcing the decision by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and environmentalist Patrick Moore. Indian Point's two units in Buchanan, New York, generate more than 2,000 MW, the company said. "Since our purchase of Indian Point five years ago, we have invested hundreds of millions in enhanced security and safety features for these two critically important components of New York's energy infrastructure," Kansler said at a news conference at the Riverfront Library in Yonkers, New York. As part of its ongoing effort to constantly improve security, Entergy said it has worked closely with the team of security experts at Giuliani Partners, the consulting firm Giuliani heads, who said Indian Point "has endeavored to continually keep its security at the highest level." Giuliani said his firm came to that conclusion based on their "extensive and ongoing review" of the security measures and training procedures at Indian Point, including the use of highly realistic "force-on-force" drills whereby mock terrorists, played in some instances by former US Navy Seals, have tested the plant's security defenses. Meanwhile, Moore, the co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace, explained how his one-time opposition to nuclear power has changed because of the emergence of compelling scientific facts. He now views nuclear energy as an important ally in the effort to halt global warming, Entergy added. "There are obviously some who might find it surprising that a co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace would have anything good to say about nuclear power. But climate change is a serious and growing problem today and nuclear energy holds the greatest potential to meet that threat," Entergy quote Moore as saying. "In downstate New York, which has arguably the worst air quality of any region in the country due to high levels of ozone and particulate pollution, emission-free nuclear power is an absolutely critical part of the equation to cost effectively secure cleaner air. It is well established that this pollution has harmful health effects, especially for children and the elderly, and needs to be addressed now," Moore added. A National Academy of Sciences study also recently warned that the loss of Indian Point's capacity would result in higher levels of environmentally harmful greenhouse gas emissions because the bulk of the replacement power would require the burning of dirtier fossil fuels, Entergy said. Agreement signed to move ITER project forward Paris (Platts)--21Nov2006 Officials from six countries and the European Union signed the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, implementing agreement November 21 in Paris, marking the end of a 20-year process to organize international cooperation in building the world's next nuclear fusion device. The ITER, designed to achieve a sustained fusion reaction in a deuterium-tritium plasma and produce 10 times more energy than it consumes, is to be built in Cadarache, in southern France, beginning in 2008. ------------ Tennessee county closes schools after incident at TVA nuke plant Washington (Platts)--21Nov2006 The superintendent of schools for Meigs County, Tennessee, on Tuesday closed schools and sent students home early because of an unusual event declared by the Tennessee Valley Authority at its Watts Bar-1 nuclear plant, TVA spokesman Gil Francis said. The UE, the lowest of NRC's four emergency classifications, was declared at 6:15 am as a precautionary measure to check for reactor coolant system leakage, Francis said. The event was terminated at 7:35 am, he said. The unit has been shut down since September 10 for a refueling outage. There was "no threat, period," including to the public or employees, and the UE declaration should not have resulted in the cancellation of school, Francis said. The county school system has about 1,800 students, said NRC Region II spokesman Ken Clark. ------------ UK energy gap will be larger, closer and more expensive: report London (Platts)--21Nov2006 The UK's forecast energy gap could be larger, closer and more expensive than previously reported, according to a report published Tuesday by energy services company LogicaCMG. The report says that by 2015 the gap could cost UK businesses GBP108 ($204.5) billion a year. Kieron Brennan, managing director of LogicaCMG's energy and utilities business, said: "Action needs to be taken now to reduce the energy gap. We are not trying to scaremonger but our job is to provide guidance to the businesses we work with and help them understand and manage their future energy requirements. We all need to use energy more efficiently and the Government will have to take steps to resolve this issue. If this doesn't happen, it is almost certain that the power will go off and businesses will lose money." The UK Government's energy review, published in July, said that by 2025 energy demand in the UK could exceed supply by 30%. But LogicaCMG's report says that the gap could reach 23% a decade before this, in 2015. The services company said the gap was widening far quicker than anticipated, and would have a significant impact on UK business and households. "The widening of the energy gap is a major issue as potential solutions like nuclear power simply can't be built in time to close it," it added. By 2010, the gap could "potentially" be 5%, the company said. This would require energy intensive industries to shut down at peak periods, causing a cost to business of GBP7.9 billion, LogicaCMG said. The problem will not just occur during the winter months, it said. "If the effects (or assumed effects) of climatic change continue, longer hotter summers will mean that electricity consumption through the hottest months will increase as more air conditioning and cooling systems are used. We are not just looking at dark winters, but stifling summers as well," the company said. LogicaCMG said a new generation of nuclear power plants, which the UK Government has said it supports, would not be avilable in time to prevent the problem. Brennan said: "While nuclear, which some people hope will plug the gap, may be a viable solution for the 2020 period it is not going to be ready in time for 2015 so a range of actions need to be taken." He said other technologies should be considered. "Companies in the UK will also need to look at the use of clean coal, increasing energy efficiency, through smart metering and energy reduction technology; and the energy industry will need to move to a distributed energy model, relying on more bottom-up rather than top down energy provision," he said. ------------ Six countries, EU to sign ITER agreement November 21 Paris (Platts)--20Nov2006 Six countries and the European Union will sign the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor agreement November 21 in Paris, the ITER project team announced. The program to build the ITER at Cadarache in southern France aims to demonstrate prolonged fusion power production in a deuterium-tritium plasma. Members of ITER--China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the US--will meet at France's Elysee Palace, the residence of President Jacques Chirac, to sign the agreement to establish the international organization that will implement the ITER project. The first meeting of the Interim ITER Council will take place after the signature ceremony, the ITER project team said in a statement. Before the agreement enters into force, each country must ratify it. Meanwhile, the ITER Agency, headed by Kaname Ikeda of Japan, will undertake a design review that, according to some sources, could increase the price tag of the construction project, which currently stands at Eur 4.5 billion (US$5.77 billion). Raymond L. Orbach, director of DOE's Office of Science will represent the US at the ceremony. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, is cohosting the ceremony with Chirac and will represent the EU. ------------ BE chief nuclear officer stepped down from his job Nov 17 London (Platts)--20Nov2006 BE chief nuclear officer Roy anderson stepped down from his job effective November 17, British Energy's Bill Coley said in a presentation of the company's half-year results to journalists and analysts. Anderson has "fundamentally completed" his role in the turnaround of the company, Coley said, and his departure from the company was "a joint decision between Roy and ourselves. It looked like an appropriate time (for him) to make a transition," Coley said. Anderson is being replaced by a five-member team comprised of three regional CNOs from within the company (Chris Bakken, Matt Sykes and Peter Prozesky); a chief technical officer, Andy Spurr; and Peter Wakefield, director of safety, design authority and regulation. The three CNOs will focus on specific plants which are grouped in relation to their various technologies, said Coley. Coley said Anderson had brought some "extremely strong players into the company." He noted that three members of the new team had "come into the company since Roy has been with us." ------------ DOE cites contractor CHG for potential safety violations Washington (Platts)--17Nov2006 DOE has cited contractor CH2M Hill Hanford Group for potential nuclear safety violations that resulted in the radioactive contamination of multiple employees. A preliminary notice of violations DOE issued November 17 also said the department is proposing an $82,500 civil penalty against the company. CHG manages the storage and retrieval of highly radioactive and hazardous chemical tank waste at a shuttered DOE nuclear weapons plant at Hanford, Washington. A DOE press statement issued November 17 said the violations occurred in September 2005 and March 2006. DOE said neither event resulted in CHG personnel receiving radiation doses higher than the department's regulatory exposure limits. However, DOE said, the potential violations indicate CHG failed to effectively control radiological hazards and to properly manage equipment used to respond to radiological contamination events. Information on the enforcement action is at (www.eh.doe.gov/enforce/index.html). ------------