The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission took applications to build seven new nuclear reactors in 2007, with 25 more licensing requests expected through 2009. [Source: Associated Press, "Companies in race to provide fuel for US 'nuclear renaissance'", March 10, 2008]
There are currently 36 nuclear power plants under construction, in 14 countries
[Source: Mark Henderson, "Nuclear power 'is critical to Britain's future'", The Times (London), August 18, 2003, p. 10 (Copyright 2003 Times Newspapers Limited)]
March 16, 2008
Fresno Nuclear Energy Group envisions building n-plant in California, with spent fuel reprocessed in France
Former labor union leader John Hutson is head of the fledgling Fresno Nuclear Energy Group that wants to build a 1,600-megawatt power reactor on 80 acres of city land, using ef fluent from a wastewater treatment plant for cooling. "This is not Wall Street businessmen," Hutson said. "These are farmers. They are salt-of-the- earth guys who know how to get things done." Hutson said his idea is to avoid the state moratorium by not producing any waste. Used fuel would be shipped to France for reprocessing
[Source: David Whitney, "Nuclear industry wants a reboot | Even in California, where new plants are barred for now, plans are afoot", The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, California), March 16, 2008, p. 1]
March 11, 2008
* Florida - Levy County n-plant price triples | Progress Energy's planned plant costs $17-billion
March 8, 2008
* Nuclear renaissance expense may prompt utility teaming in Florida
March 7, 2008
* CPS Energy seeks rate increase to fund such things as investigating new n-build
March 6, 2008
* Power plant construction costs compared - gas, coal, nuclear 2006-7
* New n-plant build considerations - Exelon
* New n-plants - incentives in Energy Policy Act
March 5, 2008
* Friends of the Earth protests Duke plan for new n-plant
March 3, 2008
This is from the front page of today's The Namibian.
See full text of this story via the web version of this article.
February 27, 2008
This is from the front page of today's The News & Advance, of Lynchburg, Virginia.
See full text of this story via the web version of this article.
February 26, 2008
This is from the front page of today's Chattanooga Times Free Press, of Tennessee.
See full text of this story via the web version of this article.
February 24, 2008
This is from the front page of today's Sunday Victoria Advocate, of Texas.
February 23, 2008
This is top story on front page of today's Folha de S.Paulo, of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Argentina and Brazil have agreed to joint construction of a new nuclear power plant.
February 19, 2008
This is from the front page of today's The News & Observer, of Raleigh, North Carolina.
See full text of the referenced article Nuclear, not coal, is plan at Progress.
Highlight: Progress CEO Bill Johnson said "We need to prepare for 10, 20, 30 years out... The best option right now is advanced nuclear." ... The Raleigh electric utility said Monday that it would apply today for a federal permit to add a second nuclear reactor at the Shearon Harris plant in Wake County within a decade. ... Progress is negotiating with nuclear vendor Westinghouse on equipment and parts and expects to sign a contract in about two years.
February 9, 2008
This is the top story on front page of today's Austin American-Statesman, of Texas.
See full text of this story via the web version of this article.
January 31, 2008
This is from the front page of today's The Asahi Shimbun, of Japan.
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Constellation's options on whether to site first new EPR in Maryland or New York was front page news in both states today:
This is from the front page of today's The Sun, of Baltimore, Maryland.
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This is from the front page of today's The Post-Standard, of Syracuse, New York.
January 30, 2008
This is from the front page of today's The Denver Post, of Colorado.
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January 30, 2008
This is from the front page of today's Turkish Daily News, of Turkey.
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January 30, 2008
This is from the front page of today's The Sanford Herald, of North Carolina.
January 29, 2008
October 30, 2007
* Finland - land rights purchased for new N-plant, may come online by 2016-18
October 16, 2007
Utah - water rights agreement for new n-plant build by private equity group, Transition Power Development
As first disclosed by the industry news service SNL Energy and verified by Utah state legislators Rep. Aaron Tilton (R-Springville) and Rep. Mike Noel (R-Kanab), Transition Power Development, a private equity group, is considering building a nuclear power plant in Utah. Tilton, an owner of Transition Power, told the Deseret Morning News that the plant's site is not confirmed. The group has signed an agreement to secure water rights for a nuclear power plant. If approved by water regulators, the plant's enormous water demands would be supplied by the Kane County Water Conservancy District, whose executive director is Noel. Noel is chairman of the Legislature's Public Utilities and Technology Committee, and Tilton is vice chairman. Also, both men are members of the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee, which is co-chaired by Noel. Transition Power paid the water district $10,000 upon signing the water agreement. The group will pay $100,000 annually for five years until construction starts. Then, the payment becomes $500,000 a year until power generation begins, when it jumps to $1 million annually.
[Source: Joe Bauman and Bob Bernick Jr., Two Utah lawmakers have ties to nuclear plant; But Tilton and Noel see no conflict of interest, Deseret News (UT), Oct. 16, 2007 12:37 a.m. MDT]
October 16, 2007
Florida - FPL files for certificate of need for two new n-plants at Turkey Point
The filing today marks the beginning of a process that could take up to 12 years, FPL officials said. The proposed Turkey Point Units 6 and 7 would add between 2,200 and 3,000 megawatts of power to the electricity supply and provide power for more than 1 million residential customers, FPL said. The new units would have to be approved by Florida Governor Charlie Crist and the Cabinet.
[Source: Palm Beach Post, "FPL files to add two nukes at Turkey Point", October 16, 2007]
March 23, 2007
2016 is earliest expected in-service date for a new Duke n-plant
This was mentioned in Fitch Ratings announcement that it has upgraded the Issuer Default Rating and individual issue ratings of Duke Energy Corporation and each of its subsidiaries. Fitch mentioned that Duke's ratings benefit from the company's largely coal and nuclear based generation mix, which tends to limit fuel cost volatility.
[Ref: Fitch Ratings press release, "Fitch Upgrades Duke Energy and Subsidiaries", March 23, 2007]
March 15, 2007
Amarillo Power will forego Early Site Permit, and submit (in 2008 Q4) a combined construction permit and operating license application for dual-USEPR site
The Texas utility told NRC that more details will be forthcoming next month. USEPR is the US Evolutionary Power Reactor, which is based on the EPR -- European PWR -- design by Areva and Siemens. Constellation partnered with EPR consortium to market the US version, and congratulations are surely in order. Your humble nuclear.com editor had the pleasure to visit with some of the UniStar team at Calvert Cliffs last year, and was a bit skeptical when they predicted that they would be the first to break ground on new build in the USA. I'm not so skeptical anymore.
[Ref: letter from Amarillo Power LLC's Chairman of the Board George R. Chapman, to NRC, dated March 15, 2007 - see pdf here]
March 14, 2007
*
TXU to Select Mitsubishi US-APWR for New Nuclear Power Generation
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries press release
US-APWR reactor technology developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) is selected by TXU for its new nuclear-fueled power generation capacity.
TXU plans to file applications for combined construction and operating licenses using US-APWR technology for 2-6 gigawatts at multiple sites including Comanche Peak site which has two units in operation. The filings would facilitate commercial operation of the units starting from 2015 to 2020. Friday, March 9, 2007, TXU formally notified its reactor selection to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and launched the preparation of Combined License (COL) application per 10 CFR Part 52.
MHI has developed the US-APWR based on technologies for a 1,538 MW APWR planned for use at the Tsuruga Power Station Units 3 and 4 of the Japan Atomic Power Company. A variety of modifications are added in reflection of the demands of U.S. customers for enhanced performance; improvements include the world's highest level of thermal efficiency (39%), a 20% reduction in plant building volume, 24 months fuel cycle length, and greater economy by increasing the power generation capacity to 1,700 MW class which is the world largest class. MHI is planning to construct the US-APWR in cooperation with a major engineering and construction company, Washington Group International Inc. in U.S. MHI is jointly promoting this US-APWR with Mitsubishi Corporation in U.S. market.
MHI has established MHI Nuclear Energy Systems Inc. (MNES), a wholly owned subsidiary, in Washington, D.C., and has started procedures to submit an application to NRC for Design Certification of the US-APWR. MHI makes good progress on formal application for Design Certification that will be conducted through the end of 2007.
TXU's selection is believed to be based on the US-APWR's excellent economy, proven safety and reliability, and MHI's comprehensive capability to undertake engineering, fabrication, construction, detailed maintenance and supply of high reliability fuel. In Japan, MHI has engaged in the construction of 23 Pressurized Water Reactors and is constructing one nuclear power plant. MHI will pursue further deployment of the US-APWR technology and promote US-APWR to the utilities who are under consideration of their new reactor type.
March 4, 2007
* TVA to discuss resuming construction of Watts Bar-2 with NRC at March 12, 2007 meeting
March 2, 2007
* 
Nuclear industry sees fertile ground in green Europe
Peter N. Spotts, Christian Science Monitor
... while European energy companies have been actively looking to sell their nuclear power technology to the Asian and American markets, they are finding the door shut to them at home. The European Commission has proposed that by 2020 at least 20 percent of Europe's power should come from renewable energy sources, such as wind towers for electricity and biofuels for transportation. The goal would be to shrink energy consumption, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and reduce Europe's dependence on foreign oil and gas suppliers. The commission steered clear of making any recommendations regarding nuclear power, saying each country would be left to make its own decisions about whether to add, cut, or maintain nuclear reactors. The absence of any recommendations involving nuclear power, which now generates 30 percent of the electricity in the EU as a whole, has pleased longtime opponents. "Of all different energy options, nuclear was the loser," says Mark Johnston, a lobbyist for the international environmental group Greenpeace.
While EU surveys have found some shift in public attitudes toward nuclear power, opinion remains generally negative. A survey of 1,000 people in each of the 27 EU member countries recently found only 37 percent of those interviewed favored nuclear power, while 55 percent said its risks outweighed the advantages. While those questioned were less concerned than in the past about the safety of reactors, but were still worried about what to do with stockpiles of nuclear waste, says Ms. Blohm-Hieber.
In France, for example, 80 percent of electricity is generated by nuclear power. A new-generation nuclear reactor has been approved and is set for construction on the Normandy coast, one of only two new reactors being built in Europe. The state-owned electrical utility, EDF, remains committed to developing new nuclear plants and has been seeking to export its technology to Britain and Asia. And the French nuclear generator manufacturer Areva is aggressively looking for new customers outside France and is in negotiations to sell reactors to China. But the French appear less enamored of nuclear power than their energy industry or government. The EU survey on nuclear power found that 52 percent of people in France believed the risks of nuclear energy outweighed its benefits because of the unresolved issue of how to dispose of nuclear waste. The survey also found that 56 percent of the French believed nuclear power could easily be replaced by renewable energy sources like wind power. Other polls have found that climate change and global warming are major preoccupations for a large majority of people in France.
* 
Nuclear plant planning moves ahead
Williston Pioneer (FL)
Two representatives from Progress Energy spoke to the Williston Rotary Club on Tuesday and brought the group up to date on work being undertaken to possibly get a nuclear power plant built in southern Levy County. Gail T. Simpson, manager of Public Policy and Constituency Relations for the company, pointed out that within 50 years the "population is expected to double in the state of Florida." The speakers commented that Progress Energy has to start thinking about that now, even though its needs might be 10 or 20 years away. "We haven't made a final decision to build," Simpson said. "We haven't purchased the land. There are still more tests to be done."
Simpson was aked why Levy was chosen. "The Levy County location is a preferred site for a lot of technical and other reasons... There are very few places that using that much water would not have an impact." The Levy County site would draw water from the Gulf. "We also needed a couple thousand acres in a rural area", she said.
The company still has a lot of processes and permitting to go through, including the state, the Public Service Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "We'll file an application with the NRC by the end of next year," Simpson said. "They require all sorts of information," including weather data and soil borings.
The other speaker, Rosemary Fagler, spoke about the economic benefits, including property taxes, 1,000 to 2,000 construction jobs, 500 permanent jobs and increased local investment. When asked by the Pioneer whether they would ask for tax breaks, which many industries do as they move into an area, they said things like that hadn't been considered as yet.
October 25, 2006
*
UPDATE:TXU Plans To Build, Operate New Nuclear Generators
Dow Jones/Easy Bourse (Communiqués de presse) (France)
NEW YORK - TXU Corp. (TXU) said Thursday it plans to file applications with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build nuclear plants that will ...
*
SA to spend R6bn on nuclear reactor
Business Day (South Africa)
SA has set aside R6bn over three years to fund plans to build an advanced nuclear reactor, the National Treasury said today. 'A ...
*
Duke: Critics mistaken on nuclear costs
Charlotte Business Journal
*
Construction works at Cernavoda nuclear units to start in 2007
Portalino (Italy)
Construction works at units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear power station in SE Romania will start simultaneously at the beginning of next year with a series ...
*
Greenpeace asks Romania not to build nuclear plants
Reuters AlertNet (UK)
BUCHAREST, Oct 25 - Environment group Greenpeace urged Romanian authorities on Wednesday not to build two new nuclear reactors for the Cernavoda ...
July 11, 2006
* British Energy: Don't count them out of new nuclear build
July 4, 2006
* China - 2 new 1080-MW units approved for Hongyanhe; online by 2011
* China - 600-MW plant planned for Hunan province, the nation's first non-coastal site
July 1, 2006
* Russia's plans for new nuclear power plants
June 30, 2006
* Turkey's plans to build 3 n-plants by 2015 draws interest from Russia, including proposal from Putin
June 28, 2006
* UK considers streamlined 3-1/2-to-4-year licensing process for new n-plants
* [2006-03-23] New nuke plant may be ready by 2015
Jackson Clarion Ledger
* [2006-03-18] Duke Energy Should Be Denied Taxpayer Subsidies to Build New Nuclear Reactors; Better Alternatives Exist
Public Citizen
* [2006-03-17] Duke Power's goal: S.C. nuclear plant
Stan Choe, Charlotte Observer
* [2006-03-16] US hopes for "rebirth" of nuclear power: Bodman
Reuters
* [2006-03-16] Duke Power Selects Cherokee County Site for Nuclear Plant Application
PR Newswire
* [2006-03-16] Duke, Southern to study new South Carolina nuke
Reuters
* [2006-03-16] Duke, Southern plan nuclear plant in S.C.
Paul Nowell, Knoxville News Sentinel
* [2006-03-16] Duke picks Cherokee County for possible nuke plant
Stan Choe, Charlotte Observer
March 3, 2006
Nuclear renaissance? Too early to say, sez S&P
It is "too early to speak about a nuclear renaissance," a recent report on Europe by the rating agency Standard & Poor's concluded. "The market environment is now significantly riskier than it was when the original nuclear plants were built," said Peter Kernan, an analyst at S.& P. who was a co-author of the report. "Operators would need to be convinced there is a sound and robust business case" for building a plant before they start devoting capital to it, Mr. Kernan said. He said there was no evidence yet to suggest that. ... [T]he sale last month of Westinghouse's former nuclear division to Toshiba ... added to the talk of a rebirth of nuclear construction, but analysts say that most of it is still just that -- talk. In the United States, Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman recently referred to more than a dozen new reactors on the drawing boards, but not one has yet been ordered, and industry analysts do not expect to see any orders until late 2007, at the earliest... China has announced its intention to quadruple its nuclear output in the next 20 years, but at the same time the country has also stated that it wants to develop its own reactor. Politicians in Italy, Britain and Poland have been examining the merits of new nuclear plants. But to date, the only nuclear plant being built in Europe is a Finnish reactor that was the focus of 12 years of debate before construction began last year.
[Source: Matthew L. Wald and Heather Timmons, "Much Talk of a Nuclear Renaissance, but So Far Little Action", The New York Times, March 3, 2006, p. C3]
February 6, 2006
Over 130 reactors are being built, planned, or under consideration world-wide
Source: US Dept of Energy presentation, "The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership: Greater Energy Security in a Safer, Cleaner World", February 6, 2006
February 27, 2006
* China - 2 or 3 new n-plants a year through 2020 needed to meet national goal
February 18, 2006
* China - perhaps June decision on next 4 n-plants
January 3, 2006
* Pakistan may buy $7-10 billion worth of Chinese n-plants, adding 3600-4800 MW online by 2025
January 1, 2006
OECD - 10 new n-plants under construction, with firm orders for 17 more
At the start of 2006, there were 352 nuclear units in operation in 17 OECD member countries, the same as a year earlier, according to the latest edition of Nuclear Energy Data (the 'Brown Book'), just published by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). Nuclear electricity generation in the OECD totalled 2236 TWh in 2005, some 1% less than in 2004. In all, nuclear power plants produced 23.2% of the electricity generated in OECD member countries during 2005. Nine reactors are expected to be shut down over the next five years, all in the OECD Europe region. Five of these are in the UK. At the start of 2006, ten nuclear units representing a total capacity of 8.6 GWe were under construction in OECD countries, with firm commitments for 17 more representing a total capacity of 30.2 GWe. (NEA, 27 June; see also News Briefing 05.22-1)
[Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA
October 31, 2005
* NRC/NRR reorganizes, in part to prepare for new-reactor licensing
April 18, 2005
Pakistan plans more n-power plants
The Canberra Times (Australia), p. A6
Pakistan has announced plans to triple its nuclear power capacity by 2015 by adding 9000 megawatts of new nuclear capacity. Currrently it has two reactors with a combined capacity of 425MW. By 2030 it expects to add a further 7500MW capacity.
April 16, 2005
* Govt goes ahead with nuclear plant plan
Leony Aurora, Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
Seeking solutions to the steady increase of energy demand in Indonesia amid declining oil output, the government has decided to go ahead with plans to construct nuclear power plants, with the first one to begin construction in 2010. The chief of Indonesia's National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan), Soedyartomo Soentono, said that the first 1,000-megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant was expected to be delivered in 2016. Three more plants of similar capacity, which will be built in Muria in Central Java, will follow in 2017, 2023, and 2024, respectively, he said on Friday.
"Nuclear plants can produce power at about 3.5 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh), if their capacity is above 600 MW each," Soentono said. State power distributor Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) at present spends about 6 U.S. cents to produce 1 kwh of electricity using oil.
To be able to start construction in 2010, the government has to get all required site permits by 2006. A tender to build the planned power plant is expected to commence in 2008. If the history of nuclear power in this country is any indication, however, the nuclear naysayers should not lose any sleep. For more than 40 years, successive governments have talked up building nuclear power plants but none have ever been constructed.
November 6, 2004
Pebble-bed reactor R&D in China, US - towards a cost-competitive, meltdown-proof alternative
As well as expanding its complement of conventional nuclear facilities, China's government-backed research establishment is focusing its attention on a revolutionary type of nuclear reactor that may be smaller, cheaper and much safer than current models. Pebble-bed reactors, as these new models are known, have been on the scene since the earliest days of the nuclear era. The uranium in these reactors is encased in billiard-ball-sized graphite pebbles that advocates say cannot get hot enough to melt down and are "prepackaged" for long-term disposal without reprocessing. For the past six years, research teams at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and a team at Tsinghua University in Beijing have been working independently on studies of the technology. The Tsinghua researchers have built a 10-megawatt (thermal) research reactor, and last year, the US Department of Energy and the China Atomic Energy Authority signed an agreement to work together in pursuit of a reactor that MIT says "could become a cost-competitive, meltdown-proof alternative to today's commercial nuclear power plants".
The jury is still out on pebble-bed technology, and anti-nuclear energy activists point out potential problems, including the fact that the reactors are built without a surrounding containment building - making the reactor, some say, more vulnerable to terrorism. Higman says FoE is reserving judgment ...
[Source: Stephen Pincock, "Science Matters: The jury is still out on nuclear energy when it comes to the environment, but new studies in China could change all that", Financial Times (London, England), November 6, 2004, p. 13]
* China may soon build 300 gigawatts of n-plant capacity
October 1, 2004
* China confirms further new plant - Yangjiang
* Romania seeks partners for new reactor
August 21, 2004
* UK - nuclear industry counting on 2006 boost from failure of wind industry
June 10, 2004
* Macedonia - nuclear power plant needed, now, says legislator
May 24, 2004
* World n-plant reliance expected to double in 35 years, from 7% to 14% of electricity
March 31, 2004
Consortium will apply for US n-plant construction license
Seven major companies are expected to announce today that they will band together to apply for a license to build a new nuclear power plant. The partners, according to the New York Times, are Exelon Nuclear, Entergy Nuclear, Constellation Energy, the Southern Company, EDF International North America, Westinghouse Electric Company, and General Electric. The two reactor designs selected by the consortium for further engineering work are Westinghouse's Advanced Passive 1000 and General Electric's ESBWR. The Times reports that the companies "have not specified what they would build or where. In fact, they have not made a committment to build at all. But they have agreed to spend tens of millions of dollars to get permission to build, and they anticipate tens of millions from the federal government, which requested such proposals in November. The money would go to finish design work useful for a new generation of reactors and to develop a firm estimate of what such plants would cost." The article quotes Entergy Nuclear CEO Gary J. Taylor as saying "In order to keep the nuclear option open for the future, we've got to take this next step."
In a press release this morning, Entergy said "The plan is to complete the application and submit it in 2008. The NRC is expected to make a decision on the application by late 2010, after which any of the consortium's members could build a plant under the license. The application is likely to cost "hundreds of millions of dollars" because of the amount of engineering work required. Each energy company is expected to contribute to the consortium about $1 million a year in cash plus other services, totaling about $7 million over seven years per company.
The consortium's intended application comes at the behest of the Department of Energy, which last November asked energy companies to test the NRC's new "Combined Construction and Operating License" process, established in 1992 in a bid to streamline the licensing process. "The old system was very cumbersome. You had to build the plant before you could get an operating license," said Exelon Nuclear spokesperson Craig Nesbit, adding, "They changed that to make it much more streamlined and compact to where you actually get the license and then build the plant."
Michael Wallace, president of Constellation Energy Group, told AP that while his company "has no immediate plans" for building a new reactor "our decision to join this consortium is indicative of our strong desire to see the process by which new plants are sited streamlined to support efficient construction in the future."
[Refs: Matthew L. Wald, , The New York Times, March 31, 2004, p. A14; Entergy Corporation press release, "Seven Companies to Investigate Licensing, Design Certification of Advanced Nuclear Reactors", March 31, 2004 9:19 am ET; Reuters, "Consortium to Seek New U.S. Nuclear Plant License", March 31, 2004 11:50 am ET; and H. Josef Hebert (AP writer), "Consortium to Seek Nuclear Plant License", Associated Press, March 31, 2004]
March 29, 2004
NEI expects new plant order within 3-4 years
The business case for nuclear power is getting easier to make. Within recent years, existing nuclear power plants have become desirable sources of electricity because of their relatively reliable production of emission-free, low-cost power. According to Mr. Baxter [William Baxter, one of three directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority], TVA nuclear power costs 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to 4.5 cents for coal and 6 cents for natural gas. "We are laying the foundational work with an eye for a new order in three or four years," says Steve Kerekes, a spokesman for the industry's Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington... Westinghouse, which has made or licensed about 200 of the 435 nuclear power reactors operating in the world, hopes a new order is sooner rather than later. With federal government encouragement, it has designed one of three new "advanced passive" generation reactors. The company hopes for NRC approval of the design by the end of the year. "It's designed to be a hundred times safer than existing plants," says a Westinghouse spokesman. In an emergency, even without plant operators, the pressurized-water reactor would shut itself down.
[Source: David R. Francis, "After nuclear's meltdown, a cautious revival", The Christian Science Monitor, March 29, 2004]
March 23, 2004
* Vietnam eyes first nuclear power plant to open in 2015-2020 timeframe
March 18, 2004
Alaskan village offered prototype "nuclear battery" by Toshiba
The village of Galena, Alaska, is considering switching from its 28 cents/kWh diesel generator electricity to a Toshiba 4S micronuclear power plant. On paper, the Toshiba proposal to build a prototype plant could lower the cost of energy by more than 75 percent with little capital cost to the city. The 4S is a sodium-cooled fast spectrum reactor -- a low-pressure, self-cooling reactor. Toshiba representatives say the system is nothing like the infamous sodium-cooled nuclear power plants of the past. Rather, they characterize it as a "nuclear battery" -- self-contained and automated without any moving parts. At the heart of the 4S system is a log-sized uranium core, which would generate power for 30 years before needing to be disposed of and replaced. The company hopes to have a 4S system operational by the end of the decade.
[Source: Eric Mack (freelance writer and weekly News-Miner columnist), "Galena eyes energy options", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, March 18, 2004]
March 13, 2004
January 25, 2004
* China - 2 new plants/year over next 17 years just a drop in their bucket of needs
* India - new 1000-MW plant, plus uranium processing project, mulled for East Singhbhum
January 19, 2004
* Bulgaria - 2 new n-plants planned for 2010-2018
* France - ENEL may make 10-20% investment in new 1.6 GW EDF n-plant
January 15, 2004
Bulgaria meets with reactor vendors re Belene-2
Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha today met with the presidents and vice presidents of Atomic Energy of Canada, Ansaldo Nuclear, Hitachi Corporation end Itochu Corporation, which are interested in the construction of a second nuclear plant at Belene in northern Bulgaria. In December 2002, the Bulgarian government decided to re-launch the project which had been shelved back in 1991.
[Ref: BTA web site, Sofia, "Bulgarian premier, major foreign companies discuss n-plant construction", January 15, 2004]
December 19, 2003
Finland to add an EPR
Finland's TVO decided to go with the advanced European PWR design in awarding contract for its fifth reactor to the consortium of AREVA and Siemens. FORATOM's Secretary General notes that "France is already seriously considering the EPR as a replacement for its existing large fleet of power reactors, so the new contract could be just the first of many more to come."
[Source: FORATOM European Atomic Forum press release, "Contract confirms new future for nuclear energy in Europe", December 19, 2003]
November 28, 2003
Japan starts new reactor construction
Hokkaido Electric Power has been given permission to start construction of the Tomari-3 nuclear power unit - a 912 MWe pressurised water reactor - by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry. Preliminary approval processes have taken since 1998, excavation begins shortly and the reactor is expected to enter commercial operation late in 2009. NucNet news # 319/03. [Source: World Nuclear Association Weekly Digest, November 28, 2003
November 27, 2003
Spain or Italy may be site of a new EPR reactor
A deal between Spanish investors and a German utility (perhaps EnBW -- Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG) is being discussed to construct an advanced European PWR in Spain. Italian investers may also get involved, and Italy may end up being the site of the new plant. The buzz about such a deal was enhanced when Italy's parliament decided it would be legal for ENEL to invest in a plant built in another nation which could supply electricity to Italy.
[Ref: Mark Hibbs (Platts-Bonn), "EDF presses German utilities to join French EPR project", Nucleonics Week,Êv44 n48, November 27, 2003,Êp. 1]
November 24, 2003
France eyes New China as n-plant market
Francois Loos, French minister delegate for foreign trade, expects further Sino-French cooperation in the construction of nuclear power plants. Loos said the fast growth of China's economy and the signing of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between mainland China and Hong Kong offer new impetus and good opportunities for strengthening of Sino-French trade and economic cooperation. He added that France hopes to seize every major chance for development amid globalization of the world economy. [Source: Sophia Zhu (xfn.com), "French govt official sees more nuclear plant ties, expanded car sales in China", AFX News, November 24, 2003]
Pebble Bed suitability for hydrogen production touted
The Nuclear Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) Company believes it is streets ahead of the rest of the world in a bid to win a $1.1 billion contract from the US government for a hydrogen energy project at the Idaho National Environmental and Energy Laboratory...
Phumzile Tshelape, a nuclear physicist and general manager of corporate services at PBMR, said the pebble bed reactor was uniquely suited to provide the energy needed for the thermo-chemical water splitting processes that could produce large quantities of hydrogen without carbon emissions.
More importantly, the locally developed reactor was about five years ahead of the research of any other high temperature nuclear reactor in the world that could conceivably be able to produce hydrogen.
Tshelape said different consortiums, all of which had to be led by US companies, would submit bids to participate in the project by January 2004.
Two competing technologies would be selected, one of which would be selected a year later. He said PBMR was setting up a consortium in the US, where it was envisaged that PBMR would provide the nuclear technology, while another company would provide the hydrogen technology.
He said the US project could become the second major sale for PBMR. The first sale would be to Eskom for a demonstration reactor plant to be built at Koeberg, pending government approval.
However, participation in the US project would not only expedite the licensing of PBMR in the US, but holding the licence rights in the US would make PBMR nuclear technology acceptable to about 80 percent of the world's other nuclear markets.
[Source: Edward West, "Pebble Bed bullish on $1.1 billion deal", Business Report (South Africa), November 24, 2003]
September 29, 2003
Slovakia eyes constructing Mochovce-3 and -4
Slovakia's new economy minister, Pavol Rusko, plans to reopen the issue of completing construction of two more nuclear reactors - the third and the fourth reactors at the Mochovce site in southwestern Slovakia. He is pursuing a national energy policy to generate enough to meet domestic needs and provide export sales. Privatization of power plants and the grid is expected to be a part of this policy.
[Ref: Radio Slovakia, Bratislava, September 29, 2003 1000 gmt (translated from Slovak by BBC Monitoring)]
September 27, 2003
Ukraine has financing lined up for finishing Khmelnytskyy and Rivne
Funding plans have been finalized for finishing construction at Ukrainian nuclear plants, according to the president of the nation's nuclear company. Serhiy Tulub of Enerhoatom announced that sources of funding would include an Enerhoatom bond issue, Russian credits, money from a special budget fund and the company's own monetary resources. Moreover, talks with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have been renewed on receiving credits to finish construction of reactors at the Khmelnytskyy and Rivne nuclear power plants. Tulub said the reactors should now be built, and will completely meet international standards of safety.
[Source: Ukrainian Television first programme, Kiev, "Ukraine announces sources of funding for completing nuclear reactors", September 27, 2003 (translated from Ukrainian by BBC Monitoring)]
September 17, 2003
Expect about 100 new plants built worldwide in next 10-15 years, sez French regulator
A timeline of nuclear power plant development, presented at press briefing by Jacques Bouchard, CEA's Nuclear Energy Director, projected that output from so-called second generation plants (the designs that are used in the majority of plants operating today) will taper off through 2050. Third generation plants are projected to contribute beginning shortly after 2010 and continuing through 2100. Fourth generation plants are projected to be widely deployed starting in about 2040.
Ten or fifteen years from now, Bouchard projects that the world nuclear plant fleet will include about 250 second generation units and "maybe 100" third generation plants.
[Ref: Ann MacLachlan (Platts-Paris), "CEA chairman pleads for EPR order, calls wait for Gen IV 'unrealistic'", Nucleonics Week,Êv44 n39, September 25, 2003,Êp. 7]
September 11, 2003
After years of no applications for new US n-plants, three expected this fall
... three energy companies are planning to ask the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permission to build new reactors. If issued, the permits would be the first ones to be granted since the early 1970s.
Dominion Resources, a utility based in Richmond, Va., will most likely be first, with a filing planned for this month. Later this fall, Entergy is expected to request a permit for a new reactor at its Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, Miss. Also expected this fall is a filing from AmerGen Energy, an Exelon unit that wants to expand its Clinton Power Station in Clinton, Ill.
... The companies face a year-and-a-half wait for approval. A new reactor would take six to seven years to construct and cost about $6.5 billion, figures Dominion CEO Thomas Capps.
Asking for a permit now could shave years off that timetable, although Dominion doesn't have immediate plans to build. "We're keeping our options open," Capps says. It's still a long way to new nukes.
[Source: Christopher Palmeri, "No nukes? On second thought...", Business Week, September 15, 2003, p. 12]
August 14, 2003
Iran authorizes Bushehr-2 project and studies related to target of 7,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2020
The Iranian government has authorized the launch of the second phase of its controversial nuclear plant in southern Bushehr, the country's supreme atomic energy council announced Thursday. The council "authorized the Iranian atomic energy organization to take measures and start the contracts," for the second phase of Bushehr, the IRNA state news agency reported. Russia has been building Iran's first nuclear power station in Bushehr, which is due to go online in 2005. The second phase is expected to have a production capacity of 1,000 megawatts, IRNA said. "The council has also authorized the organization to carry out the necessary studies" to allow Iran to reach its nuclear power production target of 7,000 megawatts by 2020. The council -- which also mentioned for the first time the construction of a particle accelerator -- did not disclose any date for the start of the second phase.
[Source: Agence France Presse, "Iran to launch second phase of nuclear power plant", Arab Times (Kuwait), August 14, 2003]
August 13, 2003
Pakistan
Pakistan and China have signed a memorandum of understanding on construction of a second 300 MWe reactor at Pakistan's Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (Chasnupp). A formal agreement on the proposed Chasnupp-2 unit is expected to be signed soon. (Nuclear Market Review, 8 August, p2; see also News Briefing 01.18-7)
[Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA News Briefing NB03.32-11, August 12, 2003]
China
Preliminary approval for the construction of four new nuclear power reactors has been given by the State Council. According to the China Daily newspaper, the four units - two to be built near Sanmen, Zhejiang province and two near Lingdong, Guangdong province - will each have a generating capacity of 1000 MWe. The two units in Lingdong will be built close to the four existing units at Lingao and Daya Bay, while the Sanmen reactors will be built near the Qinshan plant. Construction of the new plants could start before 2005, with operation beginning by 2010. (Nuclear Market Review, 8 August, p2; see also News Briefing 03.18-5)
[Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA News Briefing NB03.32-12, August 12, 2003]
August 6, 2003
* N-Power expansion requires addressing four critical areas: econ, security, waste, proliferation
July 25, 2003
* Nuclear power plant nations have 75% of world's population
* N-plant economics - shorter lead times, lower capital costs
July 3, 2003
* Japan - new plant construction approved - Tomari-3 online by 2009
June 21, 2003
* Russia expects more n-plants through 2020
May 13, 2003
Default risk exaggerated by CBO, industry sez
In the CBO cost estimate of the Senate energy bill released last week, CBO predicted a "very high" default risk -- "well above 50 percent" -- on the proposed loan guarantee program.
NEI President Joe Colvin wrote to Sen. Domenici that CBO's findings on the bill's nuclear energy loan guarantee provisions "do serious injustice to this sound policy initiative in your legislation.
"The CBO finding defies logic and assumes that a private company knows in advance that a new nuclear power plant is too costly ever to be economic," Colvin wrote. "If that were the case, no amount of federal loan guarantee would make it economic, and no company would go forward with such a project."
CBO based its conclusion on EIA's 2003 Annual Energy Outlook, which said electricity from new nuclear power plants would not be cost competitive with other power generation resources until after 2025. EIA projected that a new nuclear power plant built after 2011 could cost about $2,300 per kilowatt of capacity, which is significantly higher than the estimated $536 per kilowatt of capacity for natural gas plants and $1,367 per kilowatt of capacity for coal-steam technology.
"Because the cost of power from the first of the next generation of new nuclear power plants would likely be significantly above prevailing market rates, we would expect that the plant operators would default on the borrowing that financed its capital costs," CBO said.
But Colvin countered that such a scenario is not credible. "Private companies will proceed with new nuclear power project and request federal loan guarantees to support financing of those projects only if they are confident that the projects can be economic, produce electric power at competitive rates and provide a reasonable return on investment," he wrote.
Colvin said CBO's finding had no factual basis, adding that EIA "has an extensive record of using incorrect data and flawed analysis in its forecasting on nuclear energy issues." For example, he said a 2002 industry study found that the cost to build a new nuclear plant after 2011 would be less than $1,400 per kilowatt.
"Facts bounced off the EIA like bullets bounce off an elephant," said Richard Meyer, NEI director of business and environmental policy. "It is impervious to any input."
[Source: Suzanne Struglinski (Greenwire reporter), "Nuclear Industry Takes Issue With CBO Score Of Energy Bill", Greenwire, May 13, 2003]
2001 year in review
Although no contracts for new reactors were signed in 2001, news reports indicated what the trade journal "Nuclear News" called "a flurry of activity for possible future construction projects": the Indian Atomic Energy Commission approved construction of a pair of 220-MW units at Rajasthan, which currently has four operating nuclear units; the Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry approved construction of a two-unit nuclear power plant in Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi prefecture; and an assortment of projects have been approved by Russia. One of the Russian projects involves completing Bashkir by 2020 (the multi-unit plant which was begun in 1980 and abandoned in 1990), with the first unit online by 2010. Another Russian project was announced via the Ministry of Atomic Energy's signing of a Protocol of Intentions regarding the construction and commissioning of Phase Two (Units 5 and 6) of the Balakovo nuclear plant, with Unit 5 to be commissioned in 2006 and Unit 6 in 2010. Other Russian projects include the government's approval of construction of two different projects for floating nuclear units, one in the Bay of Avachinsk and the other in the Archangelsk region; and the announcement by the Rostov station director that a second unit would be built on the site, with plans getting under way in 2002. [Source: Nuclear News, "Late News in Brief", March 2002, p. 18]