Platts - Wednesday, December 13, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ Progress Energy picks site in Florida for potential new reactors Washington (Platts)--12Dec2006 Progress Energy picked a site near its Crystal River Energy Complex in Florida for potential new reactors. The company announced December 12 it was looking at building up to two reactors at a 3,000-acre site in Levy County, about eight miles north of the Crystal River station. The Crystal River site includes Progress Energy's only reactor in Florida and four coal-fired units. If it decides to build a new reactor, the unit could go online around 2016, Progress Energy said. A reactor technology has not been chosen, it said. ------------ Uranium spot prices rise to at least $65/pound; more gains seen Washington (Platts)--12Dec2006 The spot price of uranium jumped this week to at least $65 a pound and is expected to rise even higher next week based on the results of an auction of 260,000 lb U3O8 Friday by Texas-based Mestena Uranium. Price reporting companies have over the last several days raised their spot price indicators. TradeTech moved its indicator December 8 to $65/lb U3O8, up $1/lb over the price it published a week earlier. Ux Consulting moved its indicator on Monday to $65.50/lb U3O8, up $2.50/lb over the price on December 4. But a number of analysts are saying that it is likely that some, and perhaps all, of the 260,000 pounds being auctioned by Mestena could go for at least $70/lb. --Michael Knapik, newsdesk@platts.com ------------ Progress Energy Florida picks Levy County site for new nuke unit Boston (Platts)--12Dec2006 Progress Energy Florida Tuesday said it had selected Levy County, Florida, as the site of a new nuclear plant the utility is considering building. Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida, said the site selection "is not a decision to build a nuclear plant. That decision won't be made for a year or longer. But it is a critical step in ensuring that nuclear power remains open and viable for future years." "Progress Energy Florida currently owns and operates one nuclear plant, an 838-MW unit at its Crystal River station in Citrus County, on a site that also includes four coal-fired units with a combined capacity of 2,302 MW. The Crystal River station is about eight miles south of the Levy County site. Progress Energy, the parent of Progress Energy Florida and Progress Energy Carolinas, told the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November 2005 that by early 2008 it planned to submit two applications for combined operating licenses for new nuclear facilities--one for Florida and one for the Carolinas. Each COL, if approved by the NRC, would allow for the construction of up to two reactors at each site. Progress Energy Carolinas said in January that it had picked its Harris nuclear station near New Hill, North Carolina, as the site of what would be its next nuclear plant in the Carolinas. The Harris site was originally planned for four nuclear reactors, but because of changing economic conditions in the 1970s and 1980s, only one reactor was built. --Housley Carr, newsdesk@platts.com ------------ Poland proposes to take 25% stake in Baltic nuclear plant London (Platts)--12Dec2006 Poland has proposed to take a 25% stake in a Baltic nuclear plant at Ignalina, in parallel with the agreement last week to build a 400-kilovolt connection between the Polish and Lithuanian power grids. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his Lithuanian counterpart, Gediminas Kirkilas, signed the "energy bridge" agreement December 8 in Vilnius. The direct-current connection is expected to cost about 304 million euros and to be completed by 2011, with partial financing by the European Union. Poland is proposing to co-finance the plant, which would be between 800 MW and 1,600 MW, with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The latter countries earlier this year agreed on a tripartite nuclear project to replace Ignalina-2, which Lithuania must close by the end of 2009. However, a Lithuanian energy official said the three Baltic countries must first agree to let the Polish Grid Company, PSE, join the project and decide how the project should be structured and financed. ------------ USEC, NMC sign uranium enrichment contract Washington (Platts)--11Dec2006 USEC and Nuclear Management Co. have signed a contract worth more than $130 million, USEC announced December 11. Under the contract, which runs from 2007 to 2013, USEC would provide uranium enrichment for the fuel to be used in five units operated by NMC -- Point Beach-1 and -2, Prairie Island-1 and -2, and Monticello. ------------ Coalition seeks to intervene in Vogtle reactor ESP application Washington (Platts)--11Dec2006 A coalition of groups on Monday filed a petition with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission opposing Southern Nuclear Operating Co.'s plans for potential new reactors at the two-unit Vogtle in Georgia, documents showed. Southern Nuclear filed an early site permit application with NRC in August for two reactors at Vogtle. The five groups--the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Center for a Sustainable Coast, Savannah Riverkeeper, and Atlanta Women's Action for new Directions--submitted a petition Monday seeking to intervene in the NRC proceeding. The groups' petition seeks to raise arguments in five areas, including the early site permit application's impact on the aquatic resources of the Savannah River and environmental impacts of terrorist attacks, documents showed. --Tom Harrison, tom_harrison@platts.com ------------ Rule change may have Florida consider fuel mix in plant approval Boston (Platts)--11Dec2006 Florida Public Service Commission's staff said Monday it has recommended the PSC adopt rule changes to direct the commission to consider fuel diversity and other, related issues when deciding whether to approve future nuclear and fossil-fired plants. The proposed change, which the PSC will consider at its December 19 meeting, would direct the PSC "to take into account the need for electric system reliability and integrity, the need for adequate reasonable cost electricity, the need for fuel diversity and supply reliability, and the need to determine whether the proposed [fossil or nuclear] plant is the most cost-effective alternative available." PSC staff also recommended that the commission exempt utilities proposing to build new nuclear plants from the requirement that they issue request for proposals for power-supply alternatives. Florida Power & Light, Progress Energy Florida and other utilities in the state support the proposed change. FP&L is planning to build new coal-fired plants to keep pace with rising demand and to increase the diversity of its fuel mix, and both FP&L and Progress are considering the possibility of building new nuclear plants. ------------