China, South Korea and Russia battle to win Kenya as nuclear customer
Africa Energy: China, Russia and South Korea In Race To Build Kenya’s Nuclear Plant
By Allan Akombo AFKI : June 2, 2016– In less than 24 hours this week Kenya signed two pacts on nuclear energy cooperation with South Korea and Russia, setting the stage for a dead-heat race against China to clinch the east Africa nation’s forthcoming nuclear energy development contract.
The first deal was in Moscow on May 30, 2016 where Russia’s state nuclear agency, Rosatom Deputy Director Nikolai Spasskiy and Deputy Head of the Kenyan Embassy to Russia Hillary N. Kyengo signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that involves the creation of a working group to identify peaceful nuclear projects and also continue consultations on the possibility of building the first nuclear power plant in Kenya.
A day later and thousands of miles away in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi host President Uhuru Kenyatta and Korean President Park Geun-Hye witnessed the signing of a nuclear corporation pact after they held bilateral talks.
The MOU on electric power and nuclear energy development was signed by Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter and Korean Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan.
Barely two weeks ago, Rosatom said it plans to sign cooperation agreements with Kenya, Uganda and Zambia to lay the groundwork for an expanded presence in Sub-Saharan Africa beyond its planned bid to build nuclear power plants in South Africa.
Rosatom has voiced confidence in its ability to see off competition from China, France and South Korea in a planned South African tender to build a 9,600 megawatts (MW) nuclear power fleet in the continent’s most industrialized country.
It sees scope, however, for more deals across the region, from the building of plants to supplying reactor fuel.http://afkinsider.com/126827/africa-energy-china-russia-south-korea-race-build-kenyas-nuclear-plant/#sthash.f40J0946.dpuf
USA’s Westinghouse in rush to sell nuclear reactors to India
India, Westinghouse in advanced talks to close nuclear deal, live mint, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/DscD8CWjYrsVgpqQO7Fp1J/India-Westinghouse-in-advanced-talks-to-close-nuclear-deal.html Valerie Volcovici, 2 June 16,
India’s ambassador to the US Arun Singh says the issues that remain to be worked out are related to cost and financing. Washington: Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric and India are in “advanced discussions” for the company to build six nuclear reactors there, the country’s ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday, ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned visit to Washington next week.
A deal with Westinghouse would be the first such contract reached under the 2008 US-India civil nuclear accord.
“There is a very detailed and advanced negotiation between Westinghouse and India,” Ambassador Arun Singh told reporters. “The issues that remain to be worked out are related to cost and financing.”
Progress on the deal to build six AP-1000 nuclear reactors is one of the key developments anticipated during the 7-8 June visit by Modi to Washington, where he will be hosted by President Barack Obama for a final summit before the US presidential election in November. Modi will address both houses of Congress.
The US and India agreed in 2008 to cooperate in the civil nuclear arena, but there have been no agreements yet to build any plants. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Westinghouse and India reached a breakthrough after officials said it will relocate the planned project in Andhra Pradesh. The original site proposed for the multi-billion-dollar project, in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, faced local opposition.
Another obstacle had been to bring India’s liability rules into line with international norms, which require the costs of an accident to be channelled to the operator rather than the maker of a nuclear power station.
That issue had been largely resolved to the satisfaction of the US government in January 2015 after the US and India reached a “breakthrough understanding” on nuclear cooperation.
Singh told reporters “to the best of my knowledge” insurance was no longer an issue in the discussions.
Westinghouse had hoped to clinch a deal to build six nuclear reactors in India by the end of March, during Modi’s last Washington trip to attend a global nuclear summit.
US lawmakers ratified the civil nuclear accord three years after it was struck in 2005, as part of an attempt to deepen the strategic relationship with India, but have expressed growing dismay over its failure to yield follow-on deals for US-based reactor makers. Reuters
Russia and China working together to market nuclear reactors to the world
Russia, China Working on Plan on Nuclear Cooperation Development. MOSCOW (Sputnik) 2 June 16 — Russia and China are working on a comprehensive document on the development of the bilateral strategic cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the protocol of the Russia-China intergovernmental energy cooperation commission said.
Exelon’s 2 nuclear plants nearly dead, but not quite
Exelon nuclear plant bill called dead, but some still pushing it, Herald Review LEE NEWS SERVICE Jun 1, 2016 SPRINGFIELD — A bill aimed at helping Exelon’s money-losing nuclear plants near Clinton and the Quad-Cities likely won’t make it out of the spring legislative session, but the company hasn’t yet confirmed it will close the two plants.
“The general consensus is that it’s dead for this session,” said Henry Marquard, director of government relations for the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce. He said he had spoken with an aide to the bill’s main sponsor, state Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, as well as others at the Capitol.
The News-Gazette of Champaign also reported that Trotter has pulled the plug on the bill proposing what Exelon calls the “Next Generation Power Plan,” saying time had run out with the scheduled end of the spring legislative session on Tuesday.
“We have not received any official word yet from Exelon,” said Clinton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marian Brisard in a statement Tuesday. “We would also urge our government officials to realize the seriousness of this issue and address it accordingly.”
Brisard said the Chamber will continue “supporting the efforts to keep the Clinton Power Station open.” ……. The bill also would establish a surcharge on utility customers that would help the nuclear plants, which Exelon said have lost more than $800 million over the past seven years, and change how some consumer rates are calculated.
Consumer groups and others have objected to the legislation, calling it a bailout for a profitable company. http://herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/exelon-nuclear-plant-bill-called-dead-but-some-still-pushing/article_95462389-1769-5f47-8577-a48592e76025.html
Three Mile Island – another example of the dim future for nuclear power
‘The future is dim’: Three Mile Island fails to sell future energy production, again, Penn Live, By Christian Alexandersen | calexandersen@pennlive.com “…….Eric Epstein, chairman of Three Mile Island Alert, said the marketplace has decided there are better energy options than nuclear power. Major investments have been made in solar and wind power, but not in nuclear.
Nuclear power, Epstein said, is just not economically competitive.
“There’s no private equity chasing nuclear power,” Epstein said. “When it comes to new construction, nuclear power plants are always over budget and behind schedule.”
DeSantis said Three Mile Island’s inability to sell its future energy production is significant. But, if it can’t sell its energy in the future, it will have to sell it on the daily energy market.
That’s where the prices have been historically low. The bottom barrel prices are due to the abundance of natural gas and flat demand for electricity.
“If you’re not getting capacity payments, then you’re only relying on the one revenue stream,” DeSantis said. “And prices are really low now.”
Epstein said he doesn’t believe Three Mile Island is in any immediate threat of closing down. However, nuclear power will be phased out by better energy alternatives over time, Epstein said.
Nuclear energy — like coal — will become a bridge fuel.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but the future is dim,” he said.http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/06/the_future_is_dim_three_mile_i.html
Russia, China, marketing nuclear power to – well, just about everybody
Ghana explores nuclear power opportunities Business News , 
30 May 2016 Source: Tv3network.com Ghana is among these emerging nuclear energy countries, as the country strives to meet the increasing demand of energy for domestic and industrial use. State-owned nuclear companies in Russia and China have taken the lead in offering nuclear power plants to emerging countries, usually with finance and fuel services.
Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) hosts the annual ATOMEXPO International Forum as a major exhibition and business platform for conducting meetings and negotiations between the worldwide leaders of the nuclear power industry.
The 2016 edition, holding in Moscow from May 30–June 2, provides leaders of nuclear power industry and nuclear power engineering with an opportunity to publically define the place and role of nuclear generation in the 21st century energy balance.
The Forum also promotes international cooperation between the Russian Federation and the countries of Latin America, Pacific Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe in the field of nuclear power, and to discuss Russia’s proposal on developing national energy programs…….
Nuclear energy is growing globally with nearly 10 GW of new nuclear capacity supplying electricity in 2015 – more than double the average capacity connected each year in the previous decade.
Though there are long term prospects for nuclear, experts say the emerging nuclear energy countries are not expected to contribute very much to the expansion of nuclear capacity in the foreseeable future. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Ghana-explores-nuclear-power-opportunities-443245
Russia marketing nuclear fuel to USA !!
Will The Russians Become Fuel Supplier To U.S. Nuclear Power Plants? http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/05/31/will-the-russians-become-fuel-supplier-to-u-s-nuclear-power-plants/#413acf8f2638 Kenneth Rapoza , 31 May 16,
It’s not unprecedented. While the U.S. does not currently use Russian technology at any of its nuclear power stations, a deal between Global Nuclear Fuel Americas and TVEL would be the first to make it happen. Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas is a GE-led joint venture that includes its main nuclear power plant partner Hitachi and rival Toshiba, which owns Westinghouse.
Under the agreement proposed May 24, GE partners and TVEL will “work together toward the licensing, marketing and fabrication of fuel” for U.S. pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Global Nuclear Fuel and TVEL would create a strategic alliance with the purpose of introducing the Russian fuel rods into the U.S. market.
“We believe strongly in the TVEL technology,” said Jonathan Allen, a spokesman for GE Hitachi.
TVEL’s latest nuclear fuel assembly technology is for use in Westinghouse-designed reactors. There are currently 35 of these reactors operating in the U.S., but none of them are allowed to use TVEL’s technology because it has not yet been approved U.S. nuclear industry regulators. The assembly rod, known as the TVS-K design, has been used for many years in Rusatom’s VVER-1000 nuclear power plants at 78 nuclear power reactors in 15 countries, most of them in the former Soviet bloc.
“This (deal gives) additional diversification of fuel supplies to U.S. reactors,” said Oleg Grigoryev, Vice President of Commerce and International Cooperation at TVEL.
Russia’s entrance into the U.S. market comes at a time when its partner in the deal, Toshiba, is also trying to capture some of TVEL’s market share in Finland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Ukraine. Washington has actually lent support to Westinghouse in sales pitches to governments looking to move out of Russia’s energy orbit. A move to bring Russian technology to the U.S. could also be seen as a fig leaf to Moscow, which has been locked in an energy security battle for Europe over the last year.
Opening the U.S. market to Russian tech would be the same as the traditional Russian markets, including Ukraine, opening up to Westinghouse.
Fuel assembly rods are essentially the batteries of nuclear power plants. They hold the uranium that goes into the reactor that generates electricity. Westinghouse is TVEL’s biggest competitor. But Chinese developers, working close with Westinghouse and Toshiba in China in a tech sharing deal, are also moving up market and could become rival suppliers at some point in the future.
TVEL has a roughly 17% global market share of fuel assemblies, with Westinghouse and Areva competing for first place with close to 30%.
USA trying to beat Russia in selling nukes to India
Westinghouse to get new site for Indian nuclear plant – officials, Reuters NEW DELHI | BY DOUGLAS BUSVINE AND RUPAM JAIN , 31 May 16 Toshiba Corp’s (6502.T) Westinghouse Electric will relocate a planned project to build six nuclear reactors in India, said officials, bringing the first deal stemming from a U.S.-India civil nuclear accord struck over a decade ago closer to reality.
The six AP-1000 reactors would be built in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, after the original site proposed for the multi-billion-dollar project, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, faced local opposition.
The breakthrough comes ahead of a June 7-8 visit by Modi to Washington, where he will be hosted by President Barack Obama for a final summit before the U.S. presidential election in November, and will address both houses of Congress.
U.S. lawmakers ratified the civil nuclear accord three years after it was struck in 2005, as part of an attempt to deepen the strategic relationship with India, but have expressed growing dismay over its failure to yield follow-on deals for U.S.-based reactor makers like Westinghouse…….
Analysts say resolving the land issue is a crucial step, but complex issues remain, including project financing and reaching a civil nuclear pact with Japan, where Westinghouse parent Toshiba is based…..
Russia’s Rosatom operates two reactors at Kudankulam, in Tamil Nadu, while France’s EDF (EDF.PA) signed a preliminary deal with the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) [NPCIL.UL] in January to build six reactors at Jaitapur, Maharashtra…..
Two sources, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that the site was being acquired for Westinghouse, which plans to build six AP-1000 pressurized water reactors, each with a design capacity of around 1,100 megawatts.
Westinghouse did not respond to requests for comment, while senior executives at NPCIL were not available
………http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-westinghouse-idUSKCN0YM0L2
Russia flogging nuclear to Africa
More African countries interested in nuclear energy: Russia, SABC News,31 May 2016 Amina Accram, Moscow “…….8th annual ATOM EXPO and conference currently underway in Moscow Russia…….. The Nigerian government aims to electrify at least eighty percent of its population by the year 2035. It is now investing in nuclear energy to meet this target. …General Director Atomic Energy Commission in Nigeria Frannklin Osaisai says Nigeria is seeking to diversify its economy by increasing agriculture output. It will use nuclear technology to advance this. …….
Russia flogging nuclear to Nigeria
Rosatom to prepare agreement on nuclear power plant project in Nigeria http://tass.ru/en/economy/879335 May 31, MOSCOW, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom will prepare an agreement on construction of a nuclear power plant in Nigeria, first deputy head of Russian state owned nuclear corporation Rosatom Kirill Komarov said at the Atomexpo 2016 forum.
“We established a joint coordination committee. We have already held the first meeting of the committee and plan to hold a second meeting this summer,” he said, adding that he hopes the sides will prepare an agreement on the development of the project, he said.
According to him, this document will determine further steps on implementation of the project on construction of nuclear power plants in Nigeria.
Russia flogging nukes to Bolivia
Agreement on Bolivia’s nuclear research center may be signed at SPIEF MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. An agreement on construction of a nuclear research center in Bolivia may be signed at the Petersburg International Economic Forum due to be held in June 2016, Kirill Komarov, the first deputy CEO of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said on Tuesday.
“We are set for very serious work. Soon, we plan to sign an agreement on the project implementation, to sign an agreement on the site examination,” he said. “It is not ruled out that some of our documents will be signed in a span of two weeks, at the Petersburg Economic Forum.”…….
Russia and Bolivia signed intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy and on cooperation in the construction of a nuclear research and technology center on March 6…….http://tass.ru/en/economy/879346
You think the oil industry’s in trouble? Try nuclear!
Nuclear power in more trouble than oil Utilities shutting down plants earlier than expected Houston Chronicle , By Chris Tomlinson , 31 May 16 If you think folks in the oil and gas business have it tough, talk to someone in the nuclear power industry where 20 percent of the reactors operating today may shut down early.
The last time the United States opened a new nuclear reactor was 30 years ago, when state commissions set the price for electricity and a generator could rely on steady, reliable profits for the lifetime of the plant. But since then, states have deregulated electricity markets and have forced generators to compete to sell the cheapest electricity by the 15 minute interval.
That’s a problem a nuclear power plant, which requires a huge investment to build and a huge amount of cash to decommission. The electricity may be marginally cheap, but what experts call the levelized cost of electricity that includes all the expenses is actually quite high.
That’s why the Nuclear Energy Institute reports that 15 to 20 of the nation’s 99 commercial reactors are at risk of premature closure in the coming years. If they have to compete solely on the spot-market price for electricity, keeping them going doesn’t make economic sense…….http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/outside-the-boardroom/article/Nuclear-power-in-more-trouble-than-oil-7943174.php?t=2d6e26d409&cmpid=twitter-premium
Once more with fervour – nuclear marketing: theme for June 2016
The nuclear lobby is playing a high stakes gamble – marketing nuclear power with renewed fervour. It’s a gamble, because they’ve gotta sell it off fast, before the next radioactive catastrophe.
INTERNAL Nuclear Marketing is going on like crazy, especially in the USA, They’re still toting nuclear as a climate change action – a patently false story. They push that for Big Nuclear, and then they push a new set of lies for New Little Nuclear
EXTERNAL Nuclear marketing. Any country that already has this unsafe, uneconomic, trash-producing technology is mad keen to salvage the drastic financial nuclear situation – by flogging their nuclear technology off to other countries.
Up to 20 USA uneconomic nuclear stations soon to close
Economics Point Toward Closure for Up To 20 U.S. Nukes, The Energy Mix, May 24, 2016 A leading nuclear industry lobby group in the United States says its members aren’t being paid enough for their power, threatening the shutdown of 15 to 20 generating stations in the country………
Speaking at a U.S. Department of Energy summit last week, Marvin Fertel, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said more than a dozen plants face possible early closure because they are uneconomic at today’s market wholesale power rates……..
Earlier this month, the Omaha Public Power District proposed closing its 478-MW Fort Calhoun nuclear plant, the smallest in the U.S., and the Tennessee Valley Authority gave up on its unfinished Bellefonte nuclear station in Alabama and put it up for sale. Last month, Moody’s Investor Services reported that low natural gas prices threatened widespread nuclear and coal plant closures.
Those closures may bring owners less financial relief than they anticipate. As expensive as nuclear power plants are to build, safely shutting them down will also cost hundreds of billions, potentially trillions of dollars, Climate News Network reported last month. http://smartershift.com/energymix/2016/05/24/economics-point-toward-closure-for-up-to-20-u-s-nukes/
Florida consumers still being slugged unfairly for Turkey Point delayed nuclear expansion
Consumers deserve ‘pause’ in FPL’s nuclear plant recovery costs, Miami Herald, 29 May 16
FPL’s plans to expand its nuclear energy plant at Turkey Point are on hold for four years
However, the utility’s plan to still charge customers for “recovery costs” has caused a stir
FPL should also pause charging its Florida customers — it’s only fair
Given a string of setbacks regarding FPL’s plans to expand the nuclear energy plant at Turkey Point, the recent disclosure that it plans to delay construction for up to four years is a victory for common sense and for critics who worry about the project’s impact on safety and the environment.
What doesn’t make sense is the utility’s desire to charge consumers for costs related to the project, particularly when the delay raises the prospect that it may not go forward at all.
FPL says the recovery costs will decrease during the delay, but remain necessary as part of the licensing procedure and the need to learn from other nuclear energy projects around the country that have also experienced unforeseen delays.
The company wants to charge customers $22 million in 2017 — on top of $281 million it has already recovered for planning and licensing costs — even though the utility said in anApril 27 filing with the state’s Public Service Commission that it wants to maintain its “current state” without going forward on the construction phase until 2020.
On top of that, the utility also wants the PSC to waive the requirement that it file a feasibility report that essentially states that the project it applied for nearly a decade ago is still viable.
That drew a volley of challenges from consumers groups, the Office of Public Counsel (which represents the public in rate cases) and others. A brief filed by the city of Miami said feasibility studies are required to assure the public that such projects are prudent. “If a project is no longer feasible or practical, then the costs incurred are not prudent,” wrote city of Miami attorney Victoria Mendez.
FPL’s decision followed several developments that cast doubt on the wisdom of the proposed expansion. Among them:
▪ Reports dating back to 2014 that water in the canals designed to cool reactors were running too high, requiring waivers from nuclear regulators to operate the canals at higher-than-normal temperatures. If the existing nuclear plant is causing problems, wouldn’t an expansion make matters worse?
▪ In February, A Tallahassee judge ordered state environmental regulators and FPL to clean up the utility’s cooling canals at Turkey Point after blaming the system for polluting South Florida’s groundwater.
▪ In March, this newspaper reported that a study released by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez found that a tracer element of nuclear power plant spillages had been detected in Biscayne Bay at levels up to 215 times higher than normal in ocean water……..http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article80438112.html
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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