Platts - Saturday, December 16, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ NRC reaches settlement with former Davis-Besse worker Washington (Platts)--15Dec2006 NRC and a former Davis-Besse worker have reached a settlement in the worker's enforcement case. In a December 13 order, an NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board approved a settlement agreement between the agency and Steven Moffitt, a former technical services director at FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co.'s Davis-Besse plant. In an immediately effective order in January, NRC had imposed a five-year ban on Moffitt's participation in NRC-licensed activities because of his alleged role in providing false information to the agency in 2001 on the state of the Davis-Besse reactor pressure vessel head. Under the December 13 order, which was released the next day, Moffitt cannot work in NRC-licensed activities until January 2008. For two years after that, he can work in such activities but only at or below the level of a "first-line supervisor." He also is expected to use his "best efforts" to talk to NRC and industry groups about his experience at Davis-Besse. Continuing FY-06 funding could slow US NRC reviews: Chairman Washington (Platts)--15Dec2006 US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff might have to slow its review of new plant applications, power uprates and license extensions if Congress does not approve the agency's fiscal-year 2007 budget request, Chairman Dale Klein said Friday. If Congress does not approve the request, they could instead approve a resolution that would keep the agency operating at FY-06 funding levels for all of FY-07. The agency is anticipating a $95 million, or 12%, hit to its budget if lawmakers approve a year-long continuation of last year's budget level, he told reporters at a Washington media breakfast hosted by The Energy Daily and cosponsored by Areva. Klein said NRC could not absorb such a large reduction without it having an impact on its activities. While the agency's goal is to hire 200 employees each year in 2006, 2007, and 2008 to meet future workload demands, that, too, might have to be scaled back, he said. He said NRC commissioners are looking at possible options and have not yet made any decisions on what areas would have to be cut back. The agency will not reduce its oversight of the existing plant fleet under any scenario, however, he said. --Jenny Weil, jenny_weil@platts.com ------------ Idaho nuclear plant developers mull ethanol production sideline Washington (Platts)--15Dec2006 A proposed nuclear plant in Idaho might be used to produce ethanol in addition to generating electricity, Alternate Energy Holdings said Thursday. AEHI, a small, Virginia-based company focused on green energy sources, said a cogeneration plant is under consideration as a way to use surplus thermal heat from the nuclear plant to lower the costs of producing bioethanol from locally grown grain. AEHI is assisting a farmers cooperative, the Rural River Co-op, in developing a reactor near Bruneau, Idaho. The concept of plant process byproduct use is under discussion with Rod Stucker of RM Enterprises, a Boise, Idaho-based agricultural and ethanol consulting company, AEHI said. The original concept had envisioned the farmers using some of the electricity for irrigation and selling the remainder on the market. ------------ Forsmark uprating to be postponed London (Platts)--15Dec2006 Uprating at Forsmark will be postponed due to problems with management and routines that surfaced at the Swedish plant this summer, plant management said in a statement December 14. Goeran Lundgren, chairman of the board of Forsmarks Kraftgrupp said that management wants to focus on meeting requirements for improvement set by the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, or SKI, which has the plant under special oversight. Uprates that were scheduled in 2008 will be postponed until 2010 and those set for 2009 will be done in 2011. Forsmark-1, at 1,005 MW, and Forsmark-2, at 1,010 MW, are scheduled to be uprated by 120 MW each. Forsmark-3, at 1,200 MW, is scheduled to be uprated by 170 MW. All are Asea BWRs. ------------ California company exploring building EPRs in Fresno Washington (Platts)--14Dec2006 A company in California is exploring building two US EPRs in Fresno, despite the state's moratorium on new nuclear construction until there is a repository to dispose of its spent fuel. John Hutson, CEO of Fresno Nuclear Energy Group, told Platts December 14 that Fresno Nuclear wants to pursue a public-private ownership partnership for the plant, and is looking at siting it next to the wastewater treatment facility. The company is working with UniStar Nuclear (a Constellation-Areva partnership) to decide whether to pursue an application for a combined construction permit-operating license, he said. ------------ Paks CEO expects unit 2 to return next month Stockholm (Platts)--13Dec2006 Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. expects to bring unit 2 back online in early January, CEO Jozsef Kovacs said at a news conference December 13. Both the recovery of severely damaged fuel from a cleaning tank in the unit's service pool and regular maintenance work will be completed before the end of this year, he said. An official of the ministry of economy said he expects a precise date for the restart to be announced within one week. ------------ 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 ------------