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Cheaper for Duke Energy to close Crystal River nuclear plant

nuclear-cost-comparisonRating agency thinks nuclear plant will be closed, Tampa Bay Times, By
Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer, Jan 11, 2013 In its latest evaluation
of Duke Energy, the Fitch rating agency concludes this week that the
utility probably will permanently close the crippled Crystal River
nuclear plant.

In giving Duke a “stable” outlook, Fitch noted that a repair of the
Crystal River plant would pose too much of burden on Duke but shutting
it down would guarantee some protections provided by a settlement
agreement with the state.

“Fitch believes it is unlikely management will elect to repair Crystal
River 3 given the rising cost estimates, construction risks and low
gas-price environment, and instead will pursue the retirement option
and recovery of invested capital,” the rating agency stated…..
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/rating-agency-thinks-nuclear-plant-will-be-closed/1270052

January 12, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, USA | 1 Comment

UK govt will have to fix a consumer price, to get a deal to construct nuclear reactors

pound-sterling a deal is
unlikely to be clinched before the French utility and the U.K.
government agree on a guaranteed price that consumers will pay for
power generated from Hinkley Point

Centrica is likely to withdraw from the construction of new reactors
because it fears that there will be cost overruns and that indirect
subsidies being negotiated with the British government will be
insufficient to justify the investment

EDF and French nuclear-reactor vendor Areva SA AREVA.FR 0.00%
are struggling with rising costs and delays in the construction of
next-generation European pressurized reactors. Costs at Areva’s
project in Finland have more than doubled to €8 billion ($10.5
billion), and the plant is five years behind schedule.

flag-UKEDF and Chinese Firm Enter Talks to Build U.K. Nuclear Plants, WSJ, 10
Jan 13,  By SELINA WILLIAMS in London and GÉRALDINE AMIEL in Paris
Electricité de France SA EDF.FR -1.84% is in talks with state-owned
China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. on forming a partnership to
build nuclear-power plants in the U.K., people familiar with the
matter said.

The deal could replace EDF’s partnership with British utility Centrica
CNA.LN -0.39% PLC for new plants in Britain and dispel some doubts
about whether the French company has sufficient funds for its nuclear
ambitions in the U.K., the people said…..
A new U.K. partnership with China Guangdong would provide EDF with
much-needed financing as it struggles with difficult market conditions
in France and prepares to unveil a cost-cutting plan that it has said
could threaten the company’s British investments.

A deal would give the Chinese utility, which already collaborates with
EDF on new reactors in China, a foothold in a new market Continue reading →

January 11, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, politics, UK | Leave a comment

Thieves fall out – The rest of the nuclear lobby accused of blocking the thorium lobby!

China blazes trail for ‘clean’ nuclear power, TODAY online by Ambrose
Evans-Pritchard  Jan 09, 2013“……Major players in the nuclear
industry have had a vested interest in blocking thorium. They have
sunk huge costs in the old technology, and they have bent the ear of
cash-strapped ministers. The hesitance of governments is
understandable, but the costs are going to hit whatever they do.
China’s dash for thorium is now changing the game…..”

January 9, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, technology, Uranium | Leave a comment

Chrystal River nuclear plant’s financial mess

nuclear-costs1No decision yet on Crystal River nuclear plantFlag-USA
http://www2.tbo.com/news/business/2013/jan/07/no-decision-yet-on-crystal-river-nuclear-plant-ar-600253/
By The Associated Press  January 07, 2013 TALLAHASSEE —
Progress Energy is still undecided on whether to repair or shut down
its crippled nuclear power plant in Crystal River.

That means that the state’s second-largest power company could have to
refund customers $100 million under a prior settlement between the
utility and consumer advocates. That settlement calls for the refund
if repairs had not begun by the end of 2012.

A lawyer for the utility company told state regulators Monday that
Progress expects to have a decision about the plant by this summer –
although he didn’t rule out an announcement before then.

The reactor has been down since late 2009, when its concrete
containment building cracked during a maintenance and upgrade project.

Officials say fixing the plant would likely take several years and
cost billions.

January 8, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Company terminates USA spent nuclear fuel license due to costs

Costs drove PFS move to terminate US spent fuel storage license: exec Washington (Platts)–2 Jan2013 

Private Fuel Storage’s December request that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission terminate its license for an away-from-reactor spent fuel storage facility in Utah that might never be built centered on economics, according to Robert Palmberg, chairman of the PFS board.

It was costing the utility consortium hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to maintain a license for a project that has remained dormant since NRC licensed the facility in 2006, he said in an interview Wednesday. …. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/6977321

January 4, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Financial advice to Entergy – sell Vermont Yankee nuclear plant

Vermont, New York regulators urge review of storage of spent nuclear fuel, VT Digger, by Andrew Stein | January 3, 2013 “……..The Swiss financial services company UBS issued a report this week that forecasts a grim cash flow outlook for Entergy Corporation’s nuclear power plants, and recommended that Entergy sell Vermont Yankee to shore up its finances.

The U.S. Appellate Court ruling put a halt to license renewal applications for nine plants, including Indian Point in New York and Seabrook in New Hampshire.

Under the order, the commission, for the first time, will require environmental assessments of nuclear waste now held at the nation’s 104 reactor sites amid growing public pressure to evaluate the potential hazards of spent fuel pools and dry cask storage at nuclear reactor sites in the United States after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. There are 104 nuclear reactors at 64 operating plants in the United States, according to a report from CNN. Half are more than 30 years old.

The Commission gave Vermont Yankee, which was built in 1972, a 20-year license extension in 2011.

WASTE STORAGE DOCUMENTS: ….. http://vtdigger.org/2013/01/03/vermont-new-york-regulators-urge-review-of-spent-nuclear-fuel-storage/

January 4, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

An ugly story – Chrystal River nuclear plant – a national financial headache

nuclear-costs1Utility companies pass those costs onto their customers, making
Crystal River’s failed do-it-yourself maintenance project a nationwide
responsibility…… And Crystal River isn’t the only concern. Most of
the 104 reactors in the United States were built in the 1970s and
early 1980s. They are starting to show their age, a fact that is
adding additional pressure to NEIL’s bottom line.

The insurance company is processing claims from American Electric
Power’s nuclear station in Bridgman, Mich., the South Texas Nuclear
Project and California’s San Onofre nuclear power station.

Adding in Crystal River, NEIL and its member utilities — and by
extension their customers — are potentially looking at a huge
financial hit.    ” This,” said Cooper, the economist, “is an ugly story.”

Progress Energy Shares the Costly Pain of a Fix at Nuclear Power
Plant, News Chief.com By IVAN PENN TAMPA BAY TIMES, January 2, 2013
The crippled Crystal River nuclear plant, owned by Progress Energy, is
now America’s headache. The bill to fix it and pay for replacement
power may top $5 billion. The problem?

The company that insures all 104 U.S. nuclear power plants has just
$3.6 billion on hand to pay for claims.

Broken nuclear plants in California, Texas and Michigan will vie for
some of that money. But Crystal River alone represents such a
financial threat that the insurance company, Nuclear Electric
Insurance Ltd., may demand that its member utilities pony up more
money. And it could be a lot more — and quickly. Continue reading →

January 3, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Russia to sell nuclear technology to United Arab Emirates

Russian-BearMoscow to help UAE with region’s largest nuclear energy program
World Tribune  ABU DHABI 30 Dec 12 — Russia and the United Arab
Emirates have signed a
nuclear cooperation agreement. The two countries said they would
cooperate in nuclear energy as part of UAE plans to establish a
network of reactors over the next 20 years…..
Officials said the agreement could make Russia’s Atomic Energy
Cooperation, known as Rosatom, a leading supplier to Abu Dhabi’s
nuclear program.
They said the Kremlin was prepared to provide technology, equipment,
nuclear fuel and expertise to a UAE program estimated at $40 billion
and so far led by South Korea….
http://www.worldtribune.com/2012/12/30/moscow-to-help-uae-with-regions-largest-nuclear-energy-program/

December 31, 2012 Posted by | marketing, Russia, United Arab Emirates | Leave a comment

TEPCO needs help! 3.2 trillion yen needed for Fukushima compensation

exclamation-Tepco requested additional financial support of 697 billion yen for the Author-Fukushima-diaryNuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/12/tepco-requested-additional-financial-support-of-697-billion-yen-for-the-nuclear-damage-liability-facilitation-fund/
 by Mochizuki on December 27th, 2012 ·
Tepco has estimated the total nuclear damage compensation to be 2.5 trillion yen and has been requesting the financial support from the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund based on the revised Special Business Plan approved on May 9, 2012.

However, after deciding the compensation standard of lands or houses, adding real estate and postponing the compensation term for spontaneous evacuees and harmful rumor of agricultural products, the estimated compensation amount increased to be 3.2 trillion yen.

On 12/27/2012, Tepco requested the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund for 697 billion yen of the additional financial support.
Related article..[Bloomberg] Tepco Sued by U.S. Sailors Exposed to Radiation [Link]

Source

December 29, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Fukushima 2012, Japan, politics | 2 Comments

Long term investors wary about nuclear power’s future in Japan

dollar-2Nuclear Caution Holds as Bonds Diverge With Stocks: Japan Credit
Bloomberg By Yoshiaki Nohara, Satoshi Kawano & Amina Mobley – Dec 26,
2012 Japan’s bond and stock investors are at odds as to whether Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe can speed up the restart of nuclear reactors idled
on earthquake concerns…… .

flag-japan“The institutional investors at the core of the bond market are still not convinced whether nuclear power generation can resume in earnest and are considering the worst case- scenario,” said Takayuki Atake, chief credit analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. in Tokyo. “The equity markets, with their large proportion of individual investors, are more responsive to news flow and the short-term prospects.”…..

While the LDP has said Japan needs its 50 reactors working, all but two remain closed and any restart will need approval from the Nuclear Regulation Authority, which is investigating six atomic plants on concern they sit on active fault lines…….

Active Fault Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tsuruga and Tohoku Electric’s Higashidori plants may be sitting on active faults, teams of scientists working for Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said this month. Under the country’s guidelines, utilities are not allowed to construct reactor buildings and other important facilities above an active quake fault. Abe indicated he may allow utilities to build a new nuclear power plant if it meets safety standards to be set by the NRA, the Tokyo Shimbun reported Dec. 1, citing an interview with him. Former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda in September approved a policy calling for banning the construction of new atomic plants. LDP Chairman Hiroyuki Hosoda said in an interview with Bloomberg last month that Japan must restart its plants quickly after confirming they’re safe, citing increasing energy prices….. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-26/nuclear-caution-holds-as-bonds-diverge-with-stocks-japan-credit.html

December 27, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Quebec’s nuclear power plant will be gone – but the radioactive problem lingers on

antinuke-badgeNon Nukes: Québec Shutters Its Only Nuclear Power Plant http://www.7dvt.com/2012non-nukes-qu-bec-shutters-its-only-nuclear-power-plant
BY KEN PICARD [12.26.12] “….. Seven Days reported in May, “G-2” is closer to northern Vermont than any American reactor, including Vermont flag-canadaYankee. And, like the Vernon plant, G-2 got a new lease on life when its owner, Hydro-Québec, announced plans to refurbish the reactor and keep it operational for another three decades.

Canadian antinuke activists have fought for years to shut down G-2. Since going online in 1983, the plant has experienced problems eerily similar to those at Vermont Yankee — but worse. G-2 releases more radioactive tritium into the air and water each day than the tritium estimated to have leaked from Vermont Yankee in all of 2011.

Yet despite those problems and overwhelming opposition from Québécois — 320 Québec municipalities adopted resolutions calling for G-2’s closure — Canadian regulators earlier this year gave the plant approval to continue splitting atoms. In October, Hydro-Québec announced it would close G-2 at the end of this year — specifically, on December 28.

Why the change of heart? The company cited “increased production costs” — $6.3 billion compared to $1.8 billion to decommission the plant — combined with “falling market prices” for electricity.

Politicians, too, were against the plant. During last summer’s election, Québec’s newly elected premier, Pauline Marois, promised to shutter the province’s only nuke when its license expires at the end of 2012.

Gordon Edwards, president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, hailed the decision, saying “Québecers are proud that ours will be the first jurisdiction in North America to phase completely out of nuclear power.”

But even after G-2’s electricity is long gone, its radiation will linger. HQ plans to leave the facility dormant for 40 years before removing its spent fuel and radioactive equipment, dismantling the facility, and restoring the site. That work won’t be completed until 2062.

December 27, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | Leave a comment

Problems, $900 lawsuits – Vogtle Nuclear Plant now years away

The delays and cost pressures have created friction between the
construction partners and utility companies that will serve as the
plant’s owners, escalating into a series of lawsuits totaling more
than $900 million.

New Nuclear Plant Hits Some Snags, WSJ,  By REBECCA SMITH, 23 Dec 12
The first newly licensed nuclear-power plant to be built in the U.S.
in decades, the Vogtle project in Georgia, has run into construction
problems and may be falling years behind schedule, according to an
engineering expert advising the state. Continue reading →

December 26, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, USA | 2 Comments

Community owned solar farm – a model for investment

With over 59 million renters, more than 96 million poorly sited properties and 148 million people for whom cost is a barrier to acquiring a solar power system, community owned solar farms are likely to spring up right across the USA in the years ahead.

Colorado’s 500kW Community-Owned Solar Farm http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3528  25 Dec 12

Clean Energy Collective (CEC) recently held a Grand Opening ceremony for its Colorado Springs Community-Owned Solar Farm.

With a 500 kW capacity and consisting of  2,210 solar panels, the facility currently generates enough to power 100 homes.

Based on a community ownership model, investors are able to participate for as little as $565; Continue reading →

December 26, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Probe into EDF – China deal to develop a new type of nuclear reactor

EDF declines comment on China nuclear probe report PARIS http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/12/25/uk-edf-china-nuclear-idUKBRE8BO03K20121225 by Lionel
Laurent and Gerard Bon Dec 25, 2012
Electricite de France (EDF.PA) on Tuesday declined to
comment on a report of a probe into its recent partnership with a
Chinese utility to develop a new type of nuclear reactor.

Several French news websites cited a forthcoming article in satirical
weekly Le Canard Enchaine, due to appear on Wednesday, as saying that
French finance-ministry inspectors had begun an inquiry into the terms
of the China agreement.

“We have no reaction,” a spokeswoman for EDF said, adding she had not
seen the forthcoming article. The French finance ministry was
unavailable for comment.EDF had said in November that the agreement
with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation Holding GDNCP.UL was to
develop a concept for a 1,000-MW reactor. This would be cheaper and
smaller than the 1,600-MW EPR reactor blamed for the loss of a
landmark project in Abu Dhabi in 2009.

December 26, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry embarrassed by its own bungles

nuclear-comedyA Year Of Nuclear Bungles, New Matilda,  By Jim Green, 20 Dec 12,  The nuclear industry’s biggest enemy in 2012 was itself. Security breaches, leaks, illegal dumping and poor oversight – anything that could go wrong, did. Jim Green rounds up this year’s nuclear hijinks

The nuclear industry inflicts far more damage on itself than its opponents could ever hope to.  The mere mention of the easily-preventable Fukushima disaster probably suffices to establish that point, but there are many more examples. To make the task manageable, this snapshot of recent nuclear shenanigans, jiggery-pokery, goings-on and own-goals is restricted to countries that Australia sells uranium to (or plans to sell uranium to).

Tests carried out at the European Union’s 143 nuclear power reactors have exposed hundreds of problems requiring up to €25 billion (AU$31 billion) to remedy, according to a report by the EU energy commissioner. The report concludes that “practically all” plants need safety improvements.

Gee-whiz “next generation” power reactors in Finland and France continue to embarrass the industry. Continue reading →

December 22, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE | Leave a comment

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