Platts - Thursday, June 26, 2008 http://www.platts.com ------------ Areva employees kidnapped in Niger released to Red Cross Washington (Platts)--25Jun2008 Four Areva employees in Niger who were kidnapped June 22 by the Nigerien Movement for Justice, or MNJ, have been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Areva said June 25. The employees "are well and should be leaving for France very soon," the company said in a statement. The MNJ is a Tuareg dissident group seeking a bigger share of the financial benefits from uranium mining in the Arlit region. ------------ China to add 45 GW of nuclear capacity by 2030: EIA Washington (Platts)--25Jun2008 World nuclear power capacity is expected to grow by one-third by 2030 as more countries, especially China, India, Russia and the US, add nuclear power plants and shift away from plants that burn fossil fuels such as coal, the US Energy Information Administration said Wednesday in its 2008 outlook. World nuclear power capacity is expected to rise to 498 GW in 2030, up from 374 GW in 2005, the EIA said in its yearly outlook. China is expected to add 45 GW of net nuclear power capacity by 2030, with Russia adding 18 GW, India adding 17 GW and the US adding 15 GW. Declines in nuclear capacity are forecast in Europe, where Germany and Belgium are phasing out nuclear power and retiring old plants and reactors without replacing them. Coal, however, will still be the largest single source for power generation in 2030, the EIA said, rising to 29% of energy consumption in 2030, up from 27% in 2005, led by rapid increases of coal use in China, which has nearly doubled its coal consumption since 2000, the EIA said. China accounts for 71% of the increase in world coal consumption in EIA's estimate, the agency said. --Daniel Goldstein, daniel_goldstein@platts.com ------------ DOE IG reiterates Yucca legal counsel not in conflict of interest Washington (Platts)--24Jun2008 The US Department of Energy's inspector general is standing by his office's finding that no conflict of interest existed when the department selected the law firm Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius LLP in 2007 as its legal counsel on matters related to a repository planned for Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Inspector General Gregory Friedman took the stance in a letter Monday that responded to concerns Jeanne Davidson, director of the US Department of Justice's commercial litigation branch, had raised in a letter sent the previous week. DOE's Office of Inspector General issued a report in April that said Morgan Lewis was not involved in a conflict of interest. The report added, however, that the OIG found the lack of documentation on DOE's selection of the contractor "disturbing," especially with the amount of controversy surrounding the repository program. "We are concerned that your report has made an assumption about the Department of Energy's authority over matters that are in litigation, which is unfounded," DOJ's Davidson said in the June 16 letter to Friedman. Nevada's congressional delegation had questioned DOE's selection of Morgan Lewis, saying that a conflict of interest existed because the firm also represents nuclear utilities that are suing the federal government over DOE's failure to begin disposing of utility spent fuel by a 1998 contract date. "Positions that Morgan Lewis has taken or will take in support of its SNF [spent nuclear fuel] cases to the Court of Federal Claims may directly conflict with Morgan Lewis' representation of DOE in matters relating to the licensing of Yucca Mountain," Davidson's letter added. --Elaine Hiruo, elaine_hiruo@platts.com ------------ US nuclear fleet operating at near maximum output, NRC says Washington (Platts)--24Jun2008 With Duke Energy's Catawba-1 nuclear generation unit reaching 98% capacity Tuesday after exiting a refueling outage, almost all of the nation's nuclear plants are operating at 95% capacity or higher as the summer peak demand season arrives, according to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The 1,145-MW Catawba-1 unit in York, South Carolina, was at 82% capacity early Monday after it started to exit a refueling and maintenance outage last week. The adjacent and same-sized Catawba-2 unit, which underwent a refueling outage in fall 2007, is operating at full power, the NRC said. Several nuclear units are usually shut for refueling or maintenance, generally in the fall or spring, but with the latest round of refueling outages coming to a close very few plants are operating much below their full capacity, according to Tuesday's reactor status report from the NRC. Among the 104 operating reactors in the US, the only unit below 90% capacity now is Energy Northwest's 1,175-MW Columbia plant in Richland, Washington. That plant, which has been at 85% capacity for several weeks, has been operating at reduced capacity at the request of customer Bonneville Power Administration. BPA has asked Energy Northwest to back down the output of the plant on occasion as the region has had plenty of hydroelectric power due to rains and the spring snow melt, which started late this year. The PPL Susquehanna-1 nuclear generating unit is operating at 94% capacity, and has been at that level since increasing output earlier this month after operators reduced output in response to a change in recirculation flows. The Susquehanna plant is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, and is operated by PPL Susquehanna. All other units are at 96% capacity or higher, according to the NRC. --Tom Tiernan, tom_tiernan@platts.com ------------ Areva says four employees kidnapped in Niger Paris (Platts)--23Jun2008 Four Areva employees in Niger were kidnapped by the Nigerien Movement for Justice, or MNJ, in the Arlit region on June 22, Areva said in a press statement. Areva said the employees were in good health and were able to contact Areva management and that their families had been informed. Areva said it was collaborating with the Nigerien and French authorities to try to free the employees. No further updates were available on June 23. The MNJ is a Tuareg dissident group seeking a bigger share of the financial benefits from uranium mining in the Arlit region. In July 2007, Niger expelled Areva's general manager from the country after accusing him of supporting the Tuareg rebel group. ------------ Cameco invests $123.8 million in GE-Hitachi enrichment subsidiary Barcelona (Platts)--20Jun2008 Cameco has invested US$123.8 million for a 24% stake in GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy's subsidiary, Global Laser Enrichment, or GLE. The agreement announced June 20 will enable Cameco and GE-Hitachi to bundle uranium with enrichment services for their customers. Cameco's 24% share under the agreement is held by a US subsidiary of Cameco, Cameco Enrichment Holdings LLC. The remainder of GLE is 51% owned by General Electric and 25% owned by Hitachi. In a statement, Cameco said it does not expect to incur further development and commercialization expenditures relating to GLE until 2010. In a statement, GEH said GLE anticipates startup of its test loop by late 2008 and intends to make a final decision on the construction of a commercial facility as early as the beginning of 2009. Commercial facility licensing activities are under way to support a projected start-up date of 2012, it said. GEH said the GLE commercial facility would have a target capacity of between 3.5 and 6 million separative work units, or SWU. ------------ US House bill excludes amendment on US imports of Russian uranium Washington (Platts)--20Jun2008 A legislative provision that would have linked US import limits on Russian low-enriched uranium to additional downblending of Russian high-enriched uranium was not included in a funding bill passed by the House of Representatives late Thursday. The provision, which was written by Pete Domenici, a Republican senator from New Mexico, was included in the Senate version of the bill. Sources in Congress and the nuclear industry said they do not expect Domenici to press for the amendment when a House-Senate conference committee meets to work out differences in the two chambers' versions of the bill, which primarily funds US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sources said they expect Domenici to look for another legislative vehicle to which the amendment could be attached. --Daniel Horner, daniel_horner@platts.com ------------ Cameco buys 24% stake in GE-Hitachi uranium enrichment venture Barcelona (Platts)--20Jun2008 Cameco, the world's largest uranium producer, has invested $123.8 million for a 24% stake in GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy's Global Laser Enrichment, the company said Friday. The agreement will enable Cameco and GE-Hitachi to bundle uranium with enrichment services for their customers. Under the deal, Cameco and GLE will pursue and collaborate on complementary business opportunities in the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, such as bundling uranium with enrichment. Wilmington, North Carolina-based GLE is commercializing a next-generation enrichment process using laser technology to enrich fuel for nuclear power plants. Current enrichment uses gaseous diffusion or centrifuge technology. Cameco's 24% share under the deal is held by its US-based Cameco Enrichment Holdings subsidiary. General Electric (51%) and Hitachi (25%) own the remainder of GLE. At this time, Cameco does not expect to incur further development and commercialization expenditures relating to GLE until 2010, the company said Friday in a statement. Cameco currently is involved in all steps of the nuclear fuel cycle leading up to uranium enrichment, including the production of uranium hexafluoride, or UF6, the form of uranium required for an enrichment plant. "We are excited about the potential to collaborate more closely with GE-Hitachi through participation in GLE," said Jerry Grandey, Cameco's president and CEO. "Our businesses have potential synergies that can be explored to add value for our shareholders," he said. The venture is well-positioned to identify and capitalize on opportunities resulting from the parties' respective areas of technical excellence in the nuclear fuel cycle, GE-Hitachi said in a statement. "Cameco's investment supports GLE's commercialization of the laser enrichment technology and enables the parties to offer an expanded scope of supply to meet our customers' needs," said Lisa Price, GEH's senior vice president, Nuclear Fuel Cycle. "Integration within the nuclear fuel cycle is an important long-term growth strategy for our business in a highly competitive marketplace," she said. A test-loop facility, designed to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of the technology, is being built in Wilmington. GLE anticipates a start-up of its test loop by late 2008. GLE plans to make a final decision on building a commercial facility as early as the beginning of 2009. Commercial facility licensing activities currently are underway to support a projected start-up date of 2012. The commercial facility would have target capacity of between 3.5 and 6 million separative work units. --David Stellfox, david_stellfox@platts.com ------------ Nuclear power could be included in Italy's new energy strategy London (Platts)--19Jun2008 Nuclear power could make a comeback in Italy under an energy decree expected to be approved by the council of ministers this week, a source close to the Italian economic ministry said June 19. The decree, which includes a proposal for nuclear power generation, will set out a new national energy strategy. If the go-ahead is given for new nuclear construction, the criteria for the choice of nuclear power plant technology will be decided by December, according to Italian press reports. The reports said that the government will also decide by December on possible sites for new plants and is expected to release its new energy strategy by July 2009. Although Italy was the world's fourth largest nuclear energy producer in the 1960s, Enel, the country's premier utility, closed all its nuclear power plants after a national referendum rejected new nuclear reactors in 1987. A national energy plan approved in May 1988 forbade any nuclear power activity except research into "inherently safe" reactors. ------------