Platts - Friday, April 27, 2007 http://www.platts.com ------------ Areva's sales revenue dips in first-quarter 2007 Paris (Platts)--26Apr2007 Areva's first-quarter 2007 sales revenue was down slightly to eur 2.47 billion, but the French vendor said it expected a "significant increase in sales revenue" for the full year. Areva said in an income statement April 26 that during the first quarter, it had signed a contract with Electricite de France for more than Eur 1 billion worth of fuel supply for the period 2008-2012. It said it had also contracted with EDF to supply the nuclear steam supply system for the EPR under construction at Flamanville-3 (that contract is said to be worth upward of Eur 700 million). Among other first-quarter developments, Areva said sales for its Reactors and Services division were down 4% compared to first-quarter 2006 on a reported basis, to Eur 513 million (and down 8.5% at constant consolidation scope and exchange rates). It said the change "mainly reflects a seasonal lull in the Nuclear Service business," as well as lower sales revenue from the Olkiluoto-3 EPR project in Finland due to revision of that project's construction schedule in late 2006. ------------ Putin calls for higher share of nuclear, coal, hydro generation Moscow (Platts)--26Apr2007 Russia's president Vladimir Putin Thursday said Russia needs to increase its power generation by two thirds by 2020 and raise the share of nuclear, coal and hydropower generation. In his annual state-of-the-nation address, Putin said state and private companies were to invest to Rb12 trillion ($467 billion) to reach the target. Putin prioritized the development of the electricity sector among the country's other large-scale projects, saying the program would involve the construction of new and upgrade of existing power plants and expansion of grids. He also called for a focus on non-gas generation. "Significant changes in the structure of electricity generation are needed through increasing the share of atomic, coal and hydropower generation," Putin told the Federal Assembly, Russia's dual-house Parliament. During the whole Soviet period, 30 nuclear power units were commissioned, Putin said, while over the next 12 years, 26 more of advanced technology would be launched. Putin called for the creation of a special corporation, which would unite atomic energy organizations and work on domestic and external markets, and secure the state defense interests. A special law will need to be passed, he added. He also said that with vast hydro resources, only 20% of Russia's hydrogeneration potential is being used. "In other developed countries, it is 70-80%," he added. Putin called for the construction of new large hydropower plants, especially in Siberia and Russia's Far East. Russia, with its significant coal reserves, should also focus on coal power generation by advanced technology, he said. ------------ GE tells NII it intends to pursue ESBWR design acceptance London (Platts)--26Apr2007 GE told regulator NII it intends to pursue ESBWR design acceptance, should the UK government decide to support new nuclear construction, Nuclear Installations Inspectorate spokesman Mark Wheeler said April 25. A letter of intent dated April 16 was sent by GE Energy President/CEO of nuclear business Andrew White to NII Chief Inspector Mike Weightman. "We aren't assessing anyone's design at the moment," said Wheeler. He noted that NII's parent organization, the Health and Safety Executive, had said it would not accept any formal design assessment applications until the UK government had made a positive decision on nuclear. The government is expected to publish several energy policy decisions in a White Paper expected next month. Four reactor vendors -- GE, Areva, Westinghouse and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. -- have expressed interest over the past several months in introducing their designs to the UK market. Wheeler declined to comment on whether other letters of intent had also been received by NII. ------------ US, Japan unveil nuclear energy collaboration plan Washington (Platts)--25Apr2007 A joint US-Japanese "action plan" on nuclear energy was presented to the two countries' leaders this week, DOE said in an April 25 statement. The plan covers collaboration "on policies and programs that support the construction of new power plants" in both countries. Also included is work under the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, an effort launched by the US last year to develop new types of reprocessing plants and fast reactors. Akira Amari, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced in January their commitment to draw up the plan, which was presented to President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during Abe's visit to Washington, DC this week. The plan was signed earlier this month by Bodman, Amari, and two other Japanese ministers. ------------ Scrap treatment at Cadarche MOX plant must end by June 2008 London (Platts)--25Apr2007 Treatment of Pu scrap at the closed Cadarche MOX plant must be finished by June 2008, France's Nuclear Safety Authority, ASN, said in a March 21 decision posted this month on its web site, http://www.asn.fr. The Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, CEA, the formal licensee of the Cadarache site, had asked to postpone the end of scrap treatment at the Atelier de Traitement de Plutonium, or ATPu, to allow treatment of plutonium scrap materials from other facilities on the site. ASN and CEA have been negotiating the deadline since December 2006. The new decision sets it at June 2008 and stipulates that quarterly schedules are to be sent to ASN on the amount of Pu scrap to be recycled and on inventories of material remaining in ATPu and an associated laboratory. ATPu, which has been operated industrially by Areva NC, ceased commercial operation in July 2003. ------------ NRC proposes assessing aircraft impact on new reactor designs Washington (Platts)--24Apr2007 NRC has proposed assessing aircraft crash resistance in new reactor designs. The agency is considering requiring new design applicants to "assess how the design, to the extent practicable, can have greater built-in protections to avoid or mitigate the effects of a large commercial aircraft impact," NRC said April 24. If adopted, the proposed rule would affect new applicants for reactor design certification and applicants for a combined construction and operating license that do not reference a certified design, NRC said. The proposed approach "allows the designers to evaluate potential competing technical factors, such as the response to earthquakes and passive safety systems, while at the same time addressing aircraft impacts," and "should look at areas such as core cooling capability, containment integrity and spent fuel pool integrity," NRC said. Text of a proposed rule will be available for public comment later this year. Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement that NRC is not even committing to evaluate the information and that he would introduce legislation "to require that new nuclear reactors are designed to withstand the impact of a large commercial aircraft." ------------ Tianwan-1 reaches 100% power London (Platts)--24Apr2007 Tiawan-1 has reached 100% power, Atomstroyexport reported. The Russian vendor said April 20 that the VVER-1000 PWR, its first in China, had reached full thermal power and was producing 1,055 MW electric. It said the unit, which produced 2 million megawatt-hours during trial operation so far, will go into commercial operation following further tests and analyses. Completion of pre- startup procedures at Tianwan-2, the twin unit at the site in Lianyungang, is expected in early May, ASE said earlier this month. ------------ Former US DOE official attacks GNEP on nuclear waste risks, cost Washington (Platts)--23Apr2007 The US Congress should halt funding for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, at least until the Department of Energy can provide well-supported estimates on the waste the fuel-cycle initiative is expected to produce, a former official with DOE said Monday. In a report and a conference call with reporters, Robert Alvarez, a senior policy adviser to the Secretary of Energy during the Clinton administration, said the technical and financial risks of the GNEP have not been fully evaluated and that Congress likely would "walk away" from the program if it realized those risks. GNEP is a long-term, multibillion-dollar program to develop new kinds of reprocessing plants and fast reactors. While DOE's plan calls for aboveground storage of GNEP fission products--principally strontium and cesium--for about 300 years, it actually could take 600 years or more for the materials' radioactivity to drop to levels that would allow them to be stored as low-level waste, said Alvarez, who now is a senior scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies. Also, Alvarez said, spent fuel is about 95% uranium, and DOE might have to dispose of the uranium as waste rather than turning it into commercial fuel. That is because of the high cost of removing impurities to meet commercial fuel standards, he said. --Daniel Horner, daniel_horner@platts.com ------------ NRC proposing fine against Entergy for missed deadline Washington (Platts)--23Apr2007 NRC is proposing a $130,000 fine against Entergy for its failure to meet a deadline to have a new siren system in place around the Indian Point station. NRC Region I Administrator Samuel Collins said in an April 23 statement that the agency was concerned about the delay, particularly since Entergy had been granted one extension. The original deadline was January 30, but NRC agreed to give Entergy until April 15 after the company said it needed additional time. More recently, Entergy sought another extension until August 31, but NRC said it hadn't shown "good cause" for the request. NRC said Entergy now has 30 days to let the agency know when the new siren and emergency notification system will be operational. NRC said Entergy will be in non-compliance until the new system, which has battery backup power, is in place. NRC noted, however, that the existing emergency notification system is still functioning. ------------ Sweden's Ringhals-1 uprated by 15 MW electric Stockholm (Platts)--20Apr2007 Power at Ringhals-1 was increased April 20 by 15 MW electric, management at the Swedish reactor said in a statement. The uprate of the 865-MW BWR is expected to allow production of an additional 120 million kilowatt-hours annually and is the first step in an uprate program at the Ringhals plant which will take several years to complete. Vattenfall and E.On Sweden jointly own Ringhals AB, which includes the four Ringhals reactors and Barsebaeck-2. ------------