Should Southern California ratepayers have to pay $2.4 billion for closed down San Onofre nuclear plant?
California Utility Wants $2 Billion From Ratepayers For Shuttered Nuclear Plant http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2013/09/06/california-utility-wants-2-billion-from-ratepayers-for-shuttered-nuclear-plant/ Forbes, William Pentland, 6 Sept 13 Southern California Edison (SCE) wants at least $2.4 billion fromratepayers over the next seven years to cover the costs of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant, according to the Associated Press.
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in southern California was initially shut down in January 2012 after operators discovered damaged tubing in the facility’s steam generators.
SCE decided to shut down the nuclear reactors permanently in June.
In August, SCE provided a proposal to recover the capital investment in SONGS to the California Public Utilities Commission, which claimed to need the money to compensate shareholders.
The California Division of Ratepayer Advocates has argued ratepayers should not be charged for a plant that is not producing power.
It is hard to disagree.
New Orleans suburbs resident to pay up for nuclear plant repairs
Entergy seeks bill increase to pay for nuclear plant repairs BY MARK BALLARD, The Advocate, mballard@theadvocate.com September 06, 2013 About 700,000 Entergy customers from the New Orleans suburbs to the Arkansas line already are paying to repair the Waterford 3 nuclear plant that has only 11 years left on its license.
Since January, Entergy Louisiana’s typical residential customers — who buy about 1,400 kilowatt hours of electricity monthly — have been paying $5.81 more each month for the nuclear plant repairs, according to the company’s calculations.
The repair is roughly the cost of building a brand-new generating plant that uses natural gas as fuel and would last another half century, said Casey DeMoss Roberts, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy. The Alliance is a New Orleans-based group that advocates on behalf of residential and small-business customers of big utility companies.
“Do we want to invest that much money into about a 30-year-old nuclear power plant, or should we retire the plant and invest that into a new natural gas or some other new generation source?” Roberts asked……. http://theadvocate.com/home/6913539-125/entergy-seeks-bill-increase-to
UK an ‘attractive opportunity’ for Russia to sell its nukes
Russian ambitions to build nuclear reactors in Britain are ‘realistic’, say ministers By Emily Gosdenhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10289525/Russian-ambitions-to-build-nuclear-reactors-in-Britain-are-realistic-say-ministers.html 05 Sep 2013
Ministers have opened the door to Russia building nuclear reactors on British soil, signing an agreement describing it as a “realistic longer-term ambition”.
The memorandum of understanding, signed in Moscow by energy minister Michael Fallon, said that “mutually profitable commercial relationships between Russian and British companies in third markets could form the basis in the longer term of commercial cooperation in the UK”.
This would be achieved through an “incremental, step-by-step approach”. Mr Fallon said: “Inward investment into our energy sector will depend upon all reactor technologies meeting the stringent and independent regulatory standards required in the UK and EU.”
The agreement came as Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear corporation, commissioned Rolls-Royce to prepare the ground for its reactor to seek UK safety approval. Rolls-Royce, which already has a partnership with Rosatom, will “undertake engineering and safety assessment work” ahead of Rosatom’s reactor “potentially entering the first step of the UK’s formal regulatory approval process”.
Reactors have to pass a ‘generic design assessment’ from the Office for Nuclear Regulation before they can be built in the UK. EDF-Areva’s reactor design for proposed use at Hinkley Point in Somerset took five years to approve.
Rosatom said it viewed the UK as “an attractive opportunity” because most of the UK’s existing reactors are due to close in coming years.
Russia has made no secret of its desire to expand in the UK but has to convince politicians it can overcome security fears as well as safety concerns stemming from its role in the Chernobyl disaster. In June ministers agreed to create a joint working group on “cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy between Rosatom and DECC”.
Uranium price is tied to what’s going on in Japan, says UEC
Uranium Energy Cuts Output as Nuclear Fuel Prices Lie Low Bloomberg, By Gerrit De Vynck – Sep 5, 2013Uranium Energy Corp which mines and processes the nuclear fuel in Texas, is cutting production as prices trade at a seven-year low…..Uranium spot prices have fallen 22 percent this year amid delays in the restart of nuclear plants in Japan following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Last month, Cameco Corp. (CCO), the world’s third-largest uranium producer, dropped its projected sales volume from its German trading unit Nukem Energy GmbH to 8 million to 10 million from 9 million to 11 million pounds.
“This uranium price is tied to what’s going on in Japan,” said David Talbot, an analyst for Dundee Securities Corp. in Toronto. Once Japanese regulators approve more plant restarts, it will signal to the world to begin buying uranium again and the price will rebound, he said….. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-05/uranium-energy-cuts-output-as-nuclear-fuel-prices-lie-low.html
Investors wary indeed, as uranium prices continue their free fall
Market sources are not optimistic the spot U3O8 price will rebound in the near future. “You’ll see more sales that need to be done by year end and there will be more pressure on the sales side,” one market analyst said. “It doesn’t look encouraging for people who think prices will rebound” by December — it’s wishful thinking,” he said.
There has been no firm support since spot U3O8 prices dropped below $40/lb in June, the analyst said. “Some producer will have to announce either a delay in a [uranium mining] startup or that a major project will shut down production. There’s nothing else out there that would bolster the market,” he said.
Uranium spot price weakens further in the wake of low-priced deal Washington (Platts) Jim Ostroff, Sep 2013/303 The spot price of uranium has dropped by about $1 in the past week to come in at about $34/lb, as a trading company’s deal last week to sell material that level continued to depress prices, market analysts said in interviews Tuesday.
The last time U3O8 spot prices were below the current average was November 14, 2005, when price publisher Ux Consulting reported a weekly price of $33.95/lb. The company did not begin to publish a daily Broker Average Price until 2009. The BAP is based on information from Evolution Markets and Numerco.
“Spot uranium supply continues to outstrip demand even as discretionary and utility demand step forward to take advantage of declining prices,” Continue reading
Disaster for uranium industry as uranium glut grows
Japan’s nuclear energy intentions are the swing factor at present. … if Japan does not start turning back on more reactors, Japanese uranium stockpiles will continue to hit the market to pay for increased fossil fuel imports. Nor is it helping at present that the US is also talking about turning off reactors.
Meanwhile, traders and speculators stuck with material and producers suffering cash flow problems are ever more desperate to offload material.
No rush to buy uranium, 9 News Finance by FN Arena 2 Sept 13, The spot market for uranium was never of much interest until the big surge took prices up well over US$100/lb in 2006. In that era, legacy contract obligations at much lower prices impacted on the earnings potential of the large and long-established players, such as Energy Resources of Australia in Australian terms, while new kids on the block, such as Paladin Energy relished the opportunity to secure contracts at more spot-aligned pricing.
Fast forward to the post-Fukushima era of 2013 and the tables have turned. Those noughties contract obligations have largely run off and the uranium price is wallowing in the depths. Continue reading
India, Japan, negotiating purchase of nuclear reactors
India, Japan to restart nuclear talks today NEW DELHI, DHNS: Sep 3, 2013 India will continue to stonewall pressure from Japan to convert its unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests into a bilateral commitment, even as the two countries are set to restart negotiations on a proposed agreement for cooperation in civilian use of atomic energy on Tuesday.
Over two years after the accident at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant prompted Japan to pause talks with India for a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement, the process is now set to resume. The negotiations, however, are likely to be tough, as New Delhi will resist Tokyo’s pressure to add a clause to the agreement providing for termination of bilateral cooperation in the event of a nuclear test conducted by India.
Sources told Deccan Herald that India would also insist on protecting its right to reprocess the fuel spent on nuclear reactors to be procured under the agreement with Japan.
Two officials of the Ministry of External Affairs—Joint Secretary (East Asia) Gautam Bambawale and Joint Secretary (Disarmament) Bala Venkatesh Varma—are in Tokyo to restart the talks……. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/354971/india-japan-restart-nuclear-talks.html
No great future for nuclear power in India
Nuclear: Playing a marginal role http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/nuclear-playing-a-marginal-role/article5082669.ece 1 Sept 13, M. RAMESH Limping all the way, the first unit of the 2,000 MW Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu achieved criticality on July 13, two decades after it was conceived.
With it, the country’s total nuclear power capacity has risen to 5,780 MW. Assuming that Kudankulam’s second unit will start producing electricity eventually, the number will increase by 1,000 MW.
Currently, there are five nuclear power plants coming up: Rawatbatta in Rajasthan (two units of 700 MW each), Kakrapar in Gujarat (2×700 MW), and Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu (one prototype fast breeder reactor of 500 MW). Together, these add up to 4,300 MW. When they are all on stream — scheduled to happen by 2016 — India’s nuclear power capacity will be a little over 10,000 MW.
The nuclear establishment, though, has been speaking of 20,000 MW by 2020 and 60,000 MW by 2032. However, the road beyond the first 10,000 MW is rough, for reasons, economic and human.
On paper, the plans involve the Russians, the French and the Americans. Kudankulam 3 & 4, and perhaps 5 & 6, have been offered to the Russians (Rosatom); Chhayamithi Virdi in Gujarat and Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh to the Americans (Westinghouse and GE, respectively); and Jaitapur, Maharashtra, to the French (Areva), for six units of 1,650 MW each.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India will build these plants, with reactors supplied by the companies. NPCIL also plans a bunch of 700 MW projects in several places.
But the future looks bleak. Kudankulam 3 & 4 are estimated to cost Rs 40,000 crore. Negotiations will take years and the exchange rate of the US dollar, in which prices are denominated, is certain to be higher. The very economic viability of these projects is thus under question.
There will also be protests and litigation. India has a track record of 325 reactor years of safe operation. However, that is not going to stop protestors.
Economic new world order under way now, with renewable energy
Investors risk being left behind by renewable energy, Financial Standard, 29 August 2013
Nanuk manages a long/short thematic global equity fund which invests in companies that are positively exposed to a long-term structural shift towards cleaner and more efficient energy generation, management and use.
Chadwick told Financial Standard that the economic turmoil created by the global financial crisis had distracted investors from developments in the renewable energy space which he believes can spark a “new world order” with clean energy over-taking old-world fossil fuel sources much faster than most people realise.
“Out of the carnage of the GFC, solar and wind energy is fast becoming cheaper than traditional energy. There’s been carnage in the stocks related to the industry and there exists a questionable corporate situation but the theme is underpinned by unavoidable fundamentals.”…… Continue reading
Sellafield unions want new Sellafield planning authority
UNIONS WANT DEDICATED PLANNING AUTHORITY SET UP FOR SELLAFIELD, TIMES AND STAR, By Julian Whittle , 30 August 2013 Sellafield unions are calling for a dedicated planning authority to be set up specifically for the nuclear site and surrounding area. This new body would rule on any proposals for a nuclear power station or underground waste repository, taking over planning powers which are currently held by local authorities.
The call is a reaction to Cumbria County Council’s decision in February to block investigations into the suitability of west Cumbria for a repository and is among 10 recommendations drawn up by the Unite union on behalf of the Sellafield Workers’ Campaign.
Unite’s report asks the Government to “begin a new search” for a suitable site for a geological disposal facility with the search taking place “within the perimeter of the proposed new planning authority”.
The report, Sellafield – at the heart of a low carbon energy future, was launched this morning at Energus at Lillyhall with Copeland MP Jamie Reed as keynote speaker.
It contains a three-point plan to secure 10,000 jobs. This involves building a nuclear power station, exploring the use of Sellafield’s plutonium stocks as fuel for power stations, and pursuing the idea of a waste repository……. http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/unions-want-dedicated-planning-authority-set-up-for-sellafield-1.1081398
Debate on Georgia’s nuclear power plant costs may be delayed until 2018
Ga. regulators to vote on nuclear plant agreement http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/08/29/3174468/ga-regulators-to-vote-on-nuclear.html August 29, 2013 ATLANTA — The debate over the rising cost of building a new nuclear power plant in eastern Georgia would be deferred several years under a deal that Georgia regulators will consider Tuesday.
The members of the Public Service Commission decided Thursday to consider the preliminary agreement between agency regulators and Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power at the PSC’s meeting next week.
Under the proposed deal, Southern Co. would withdraw its request to increase its budget to build two more nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle (VOH’-gohl), southeast of Augusta. The power company had previously asked to increase its budget by $737 million to $6.85 billion.
Instead, the debate over whether to formally raise the construction budget would not happen until the first of the two reactors comes online, probably January 2018 at the earliest, according to the latest timelines from a state monitor. The deal shifts some financial risk onto Southern Co. If the utility exceeds its budget, then the burden would be on Georgia Power to persuade regulators that the excess spending should be passed along to its customers. But if the PSC votes to raise the project budget, then the law would assume Georgia Power was entitled to collect all of its budgeted costs from customers, so long as regulators couldn’t prove the spending was imprudent, reckless or somehow criminal.
The preliminary agreement also helps Southern Co. avoid a politically charged fight over project spending while it deals with a separate rate case in Georgia and an over-budget coal gasification plant in Mississippi.
And now, Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant bites the dust
Plan to close Vermont Yankee marks latest blow to nuclear power http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA- The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will shut down by the end of 2014, its owner said Tuesday, citing ‘financial factors.’ It is the fifth nuclear plant this year to close or to have plans made for closure. By Chelsea B. Sheasley, Correspondent / August 27, 2013
The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vt., will be shut down by the end of next year due to financial factors, the company that owns the plant 
announced Tuesday, in the latest sign of a difficult economic climate for nuclear power companies.Entergy Corp., the New Orleans-based company that owns Vermont Yankee, plans on closing and decommissioning the plant by the fourth quarter of 2014, in cooperation with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is the fifth nuclear plant this year to close or to have plans made for its closure. The company said the decision to close was based on “a number of financial factors” including sustained lower power prices stemming from the natural-gas revolution, a high cost structure for the plant, and what it called “wholesale market design flaws” that artificially deflate energy prices. Some 630 people work at the plant.
Likely also a contributing factor was the ongoing legal battle with the state of Vermont, where state officials had been trying to shutter the plant on their own authority. In 2006 the state legislature granted itself the authority to close the plant and in 2010 voted to do so
The legal dispute had been turning in Entergy’s favor. Earlier this month a federal appeals court ruled that the Vermont Legislature did not have the authority to close the plant. Entergy had indicated in 2010 that it was considering selling the plant, a single unit boiling water reactor, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Entergy Corp. isn’t the only nuclear power company facing economic challenges. In June, Southern California Edison pulled the plug on the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, a 45-year-old facility in northern San Diego County, because of the high cost of repairs needed less than three years after the company invested $780 million in upgrades.
Nuclear energy can’t be both safe and cheap
Is Fukushima the new normal for nuclear reactors? the Conversation, Benjamin Sovacool, 27 Aug 13, “……..Electric pressure The third problem is electric market restructuring. This puts more pressure on nuclear operators to keep costs low, potentially compromising safety.
The problem is, as former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Peter Bradford states, “nuclear energy can be cheap, or it can be safe. But it can’t be both.” And even then, “there’s always the possibility somebody will cut a corner”.
For example, the pressure to build new generators on existing sites to avoid finding new locations can increase the risk of catastrophe, since there is a greater chance that one accident can affect multiple reactors.
Nuclear waste storage is also becoming more dangerous, with many spent fuel pools packed with more fuel rods to keep costs low, making them hotter and denser. Operators have to addboron to water pool to absorb neutrons, increasing the risk of chain reaction, or criticality, accidents.
The industry has also been trying to tinker with reactor sizes and promote designs that operators have little experience with, making operator training a factor. Some of these new reactor designs use more fuel and create more heat, meaning they have bigger cores containing larger quantities of dangerous fissionable materials, increasing the magnitude of any accident that could occur……..http://theconversation.com/is-fukushima-the-new-normal-for-nuclear-reactors-17391
Another uranium mining company gets the financial jitters
Bannerman waits for uranium price to turn around, The Northern Miner, 2013-08-21
A recently reported leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has reawakened concerns over the development of new nuclear reactors in the country, with most experts agreeing that the current build-up would likely be put on hold until the situation is resolved.
The news is the latest reason being offered for why uranium prices continue to remain at low levels, but whatever the reason may be, the consequences are real for Bannerman Resources (TSX: BAN)…….
With the spot price for U3O8 still a ways off from the breakeven point outlined in its feasibility study on its flagship Etango project, Bannerman recently pushed back expected first production date for the project by two years. The mine was originally set to enter production in 2016 but now will have to wait until 2018…….
Down, down again, goes the uranium market
Uranium sags once more 9 news Finance. 20 Aug 13 “…..Once again the floor was pulled out from under the spot market, and prices have responded accordingly. Some 800,000lbs of U3O8 equivalent did change hands in several transactions over the course of last week, but prices trended lower with each trade now that the sellers are on the hop once more. TradeTech’s weekly spot price indicator has fallen US75c to US$35.00/lb.These fluctuations in the spot price are having their effect on the term market. A number of utilities are looking to enter the term market for supply contracts, TradeTech reports, but none appears in a great hurry while price movements are unclear. No term transactions were reported last week….http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newscolumnists/greg/8709269/uranium-sags-once-more
1 This Month
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
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