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January 20, 2013

* [npp-new fuel;n-biz-russia] Russia, CIS news summary for Saturday, January 19, ITAR-TASS News Agency
TENAM Corporation (a 100-percent U.S. subsidiary of TENEX) has concluded the first contract for the supply of enriched uranium with a U.S. utility under a fuel procurement agreement facilitated by Fuelco LLC, Rosatom said. "I am deeply proud that TENAM, after our incorporation in 2010, has concluded our first contract with the Fuelco group. Fuelco made significant efforts in order to support worthy representation of TENEX as a Russian supplier of nuclear goods and services to the U.S. market," commented TENAM President Vadim Mikerin upon the contract signing.

August 15, 2012

International Fuel Bank idea continuing to be fleshed out as an alternative to dispersed enrichment

A nuclear fuel bank is a proposed approach to provide countries access to enriched nuclear fuel, without the need for them to possess enrichment technology. The basic concept is that countries who do have enrichment technology would donate enriched fuel to a "bank", from which countries not possessing enrichment technology would obtain fuel for their power reactors.

Back in 2009 Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested hosting an international nuclear fuel bank in the Kazakh territory. The idea was approved of by the IAEA in 2011.

The Kazakh Agency for Nuclear Power was launched May 7, 2012.

KazAtomProm National Nuclear Company Head Vladimir Shkolnik was cited as saying today that another round of IAEA talks on hosting an international nuclear fuel bank in the Kazakh territory will be held this fall (September 17-25) in Vienna.

Source: Newskaz.ru, cited by Tengrinews.kz, "Kazakhstan and IAEA to have another round of talks on hosting an international nuclear fuel bank", TengriNews, August 15, 2012

April 11, 2011

Turkey Point looking forward to 62,000 MWD/MTU fuel burnup

Turkey Point is projecting a peak fuel assembly average burnup limit of 62,000 MWD/MTU in its Exended Power Uprate license amendment request

Source: Jason Paige (NRC/NRR - Turkey Point Project Manager), "Turkey Point EPU - Nuclear Performance and Code Review (SNPB) Request for Additional Information - Round 1", email to Tom Abbatiello (FP&L) et al, April 11, 2011

April 7, 2010

Westinghouse to lease UK's Springfields nuclear fuel manufacturing site for 150 years

Springfields Fuels Limited (SFL) employs around 1350 people. SFL is now owned by Westinghouse Electric Company, as part of a deal with the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Springfields, near Preston in Lancashire, was the first plant in the world to produce fuel for a commercial power station. The sute has been operated under the management of Westinghouse Electric UK Holdings Limited for the past five years.

The site processes several thousand tons of uranium a year and has the technology to manufacture fuel for all major designs of nuclear reactors worldwide. Most of the fuel requirements for the UK's nuclear power stations are met by Springfields; approximately 15% of all the electricity generated in the UK comes from power stations using nuclear fuel manufactured at Springfields.

Springfields has provided nuclear fuel, chemical and mechanical fabrication for Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR), Magnox and Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel, and conversion services for uranium hexafluoride. The site also provides intermediate products, such as uranium dioxide powder, for several overseas customers in Europe, Canada and Japan. Westinghouse expects to manufacture fuel for the coming AP1000 reactor fleet. Orders for ten AP1000 plants have been placed, four in China and six in the US. The first plant is scheduled to begin producing power (Sanmen plant in China) in 2013.

March 6, 2008

* Nuclear fuel expense factors - Exelon 2008

March 26, 2004

* MOX - gallium considerations and limits explained by Framatome ANP

March 13, 2004

* Fuel failures - after 20 years of decline, trend is noticeable increase in failures over last two years