Atmosphere of gloom about the future of the uranium industry
[Cameco] now finds itself selling some of its output below the cost of production.
China continues to review approvals for new reactors amid concerns about safety
Uranium outlook bleak, Rebound two years off estimates BLOOMBERG NEWS SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 Uranium’s rebound from the Fukushima nuclear accident may take one or two years longer than analysts estimated, prolonging the languishing recovery of Cameco, whose stock price has lost half its value since the March 2011 tragedy.
Just a month before the tsunami struck, shares were trading at $42.39. Wednesday they closed at $21.01.
The price of uranium for immediate delivery declined to $47 a pound as of Sept. 17, its lowest in two years, according to Ux Consulting, a Roswell, Ga.-based uranium information provider.
BHP Billiton Ltd. and Paladin Energy Ltd. have slowed or deferred development this year of some projects to produce the raw material in nuclear reactor fuel…… Continue reading
Ratepayers to pay over 10 years for Fort Calhoun nuclear plant repairs
Neb. utility pays nuclear rehab cost over 10 years http://fremonttribune.com/news/state-and-regional/neb-utility-pays-nuclear-rehab-cost-over-years/article_b49cd0e8-f4bc-5120-a170-2d7ea5ba652b.html 20 Sept 12, The Nebraska utility that owns the troubled Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant has decided to spread out the cost of repairs at the plant over 10 years to lessen the immediate impact on rates. Continue reading
And down down again goes the price of uranium
Uranium Recovery Postponed as Price Drops to 2-Year Low Bloomberg, By Christopher Donville – Sep 19, 2012 Uranium’s recovery from the Fukushima nuclear accident may take one or two years longer than analysts estimated as stockpiles in Japan and Germany keep prices low and cause mining companies to defer new development.
The price of uranium for immediate delivery declined to $47 a pound as of Sept. 17, its lowest in two years, according to Ux Consulting, a Roswell, Georgia-based uranium information provider.BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Paladin Energy Ltd. (PDN) have slowed or deferred development this year of some projects to produce the raw material in nuclear reactor fuel……
BHP, the world’s largest mining company, last month put on hold an expansion that would make its Olympic Dam project in Australia the biggest uranium mine.
Cameco Corp. (CCO), the world’s third-largest producer, said in July that its Kintyre uranium project in Australia would need a $67 uranium price to be economical. The company sold uranium for $42 a pound during the second quarter..
… Paladin, an Australian company that mines uranium in Africa , is delaying a feasibility study on phase four of its Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia , the company said on a conference call in May….Dustin Garrow, Paladin’s executive general manager of marketing.: “You’d have to see $85 uranium on a sustained basis to justify construction of new mines ..”
$352 billion the minimum cost to fix up USA’s Los Alamos nuclear arsenal
A study this summer by the nonpartisan Stimson Center, a Washington think tank, estimated costs would be at least $352 billion over the coming decade to operate and modernize the current arsenal. Others say the figure could be far higher, particularly if the work is delayed even longer.
Aging U.S. nuclear arsenal slated for costly and long-delayed modernization WP, By Dana Priest, September 15 The U.S. nuclear arsenal, the most powerful but indiscriminate class of weapons ever created, is set to undergo the costliest overhaul in its history, even as the military faces spending cuts to its conventional arms programs at a time of fiscal crisis.
For two decades, U.S. administrations have confronted the decrepit, neglected state of the aging nuclear weapons complex. Yet officials have repeatedly put off sinking huge sums into projects that receive little public recognition, driving up the costs even further. Now, as the nation struggles to emerge from the worst recession of the postwar era and Congress faces an end-of-year deadline to avoid $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts to the federal budget over 10 years, the Obama administration is overseeing the gargantuan task of modernizing the nuclear arsenal to keep it safe and reliable.
There is no official price tag for the effort to upgrade and maintain the 5,113 warheads in the inventory, to replace old delivery systems and to renovate the aging facilities where nuclear work is performed. Continue reading
Japan insurance company won’t cover damage caused by nuclear fuel material
Insurance company “no coverage for damage caused by nuclear fuel material” http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/09/insurance-company-no-coverage-for-damage-caused-by-nuclear-fuel-material/ by Mochizuki September 15th, 2012 ·
A Japanese posted tweeted like this below,
<Translate>
Recently insurance company adds this item on their instruction.
“We won’t pay insurance for the damage caused by nuclear fuel material.”
<End>
We need to verify how it was before 311.
Closing Fessenheim nuclear plant will create jobs for French workers
Speaking on French television, Labor Minister Michel Sapin said the closure of Fessenheim would actually create jobs as it would take years of specialized work to dismantle the plant.
EDF denies seeking $2.6 billion for Fessenheim closure (Reuters) Reporting by Vicky Buffery; editing by Anthony Barker, Hans-Juergen Peters, Gary Crosse 16 Sept 12, – French power group EDF denied it had requested compensation from the government over its decision to close the state-controlled energy company’s Fessenheim nuclear power
plant. Continue reading
More costs, more delays, for French nuclear plants, Flamanville, Olkiluoto
EDF forecasts further delays and increased costs at new French nuclear
plant http://www.hazardexonthenet.net/article/53114/EDF-forecasts-further-delays-and-increased-costs-at-new-French-nuclear-plant.aspx?AreaID=2 12 September 2012
Electricité de France (EDF) said in July that the new nuclear power station being built at the Flamanville site on the Normandy coast is now expected to open in 2016 and cost €6bn ($7.34bn), instead of the original starting date of 2012 and cost of €3.3bn. Continue reading
Quebec to close down its nuclear reactor
Quebec will close, rather than refurbish, its only nuclear reactor. Montreal Gazette, 12 Set 12, Nearly 30 years after it went into operation, it appears the days are numbered for Quebec’s only operating nuclear power plant.
A spokesperson for the Parti Québécois said the newly-elected government will go ahead with a plan to close Gentilly-2 in Bécancour. The party has wanted to do it since December 2009, Éric Gamache said….
. Gordon Edwards, a mathematician and president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, said after it is closed, Gentilly-2 could be transformed into a centre of expertise on dismantling nuclear power plants. Nearly 100 nuclear power plants in
the U.S. will soon come to the end of their natural life, creating a “great” opportunity for Trois-Rivières, he said. http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2012/09/12/parti-quebecois-says-it-will-keep-promise-to-close-gentilly-2-nuclear-power-plant/
Repairs to nuclear plants getting more costly – not viable?
Nuclear Repairs No Easy Sale as Cheap Gas Hits Utilities Bloomberg, By Julie Johnsson – Sep 11, 2012 A damaged Florida nuclear plant that spurred a boardroom coup at Duke Energy Corp. (DUK)in July risks getting scrapped unless the power company can justify spending more than $1.3 billion on the costliest-ever U.S. atomic repair……
Rising Risks The dispute underscores the stakes for U.S. power companies weighing nuclear investments against falling power prices and risks that plants won’t be relicensed or may close prematurely. Regulators haven’t approved Duke’s plans to pass repair expenses on to clients, and decommissioning costs haven’t been tallied.
Edison International (EIX) faces a similar decision with its 30- year-old San Onofre atomic station near Los Angeles , shut down since January because of leaks and unusual wear to its steam generators.
The surplus of gas-fired power plants in the western U.S. weakens the case for repairing and restarting San Onofre’s twin reactors. “The argument that ratepayers need to keep supporting Grandma lasts for about 15 seconds,” John Geesman, a former California energy commissioner, said in a phone interview. He serves as outside counsel for the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, which has lobbied the state to keep that plant idle…..
Oyster Creek Exelon Corp. (EXC) of Chicago decided in 2010 that it was more economical to close its Oyster Creek reactor in Forked River, New Jersey , when its license expired in 2019 than spend as much as $801 million to build a cooling tower demanded by state officials.
Duke’s board faces a more complicated analysis as it decides the best approach to its Crystal River plant, 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Tampa.
The silo-shaped concrete building that houses the Crystal River 3 reactor cracked in 2009 as crews replaced the steam generators, huge pipe assemblies that transfer heat from the nuclear reactor to power-generating turbines. Once the damaged panel was patched, two other sections cracked in March and July 2011 after workers tightened steel tendons intended to strengthen the structure.
“We’re not joking when we call it the Humpty Dumpty reactor,” Stephen Smith , executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said in a phone interview. “We think they ought to quit throwing good money after bad.”
San Onofre nuclear decommissioning funds may go into risky investments
CHANGES EYED FOR NUCLEAR-PLANT MONEY, UT San Diego 10 Sept 12 Rules on investment of decommissioning trust funds may be loosened. Utility regulators are considering loosening strict investment restrictions on money set aside for the eventual dismantling of California’s two nuclear plants. Continue reading
USA bank lends @billions to UAE so USA can sell off nuclear technology
U.A.E. Nuclear Program Gets $2 Billion Loan from U.S. Exim Bank Bloomberg, By Ayesha Daya – Sep 8, 2012 Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. , the state-owned company developing an atomic power plant in the United Arab Emirates , received a $2 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
The loan to the Barakah One Co., a unit of Emirates Nuclear, will pay for American products and services used in the construction of four 1,400 megawatt reactors, according to a statement from the government-run bank. Westinghouse Electric Corp., based in Pittsburgh, will supply some of the equipment for the facilities, the bank said.
The first of the plant’s four reactors will be ready in 2017, with each additional unit becoming operational every year through 2020, according to Emirates Nuclear….. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-09/u-a-e-nuclear-program-gets-2-billion-loan-from-u-s-exim-bank.html
Challenge to Florida law, letting nuclear companies screw the residents in advance
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Looking to Fight Off Rising Nuclear Power Costs for FPL Customers New Times, By Chris Joseph Sep. 6 2012 In 2006, the undaunted geniuses in the Florida Legislature came up with the Florida Renewable Technology and Energy Efficiency Act, a shady law that basically gives utility companies like FPL and Progress Energy Florida permission to charge customers for something that might be built or fixed, without even having to reimburse the customer if they decide, meh, that nuclear power plant doesn’t need to be built or fixed after all… Ah well! But hey, thanks for the extra two bucks on that electric bill, yo!
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy filed a Florida Supreme Court challenge to the law , saying that the statute is a tad too fuzzy and vague and gives utility companies too much free reign to go building (or not building) nuclear reactors willy-nilly at customers’ expense.
Meanwhile, FPL is now asking for $151.4 million to upgrade nuclear plants in St. Lucie as well as the plant in Turkey Point….
PEF customers might get screwed a little harder, with the company requesting $151.6 million for an upgrade at its Crystal River nuclear plant as well as a new plant in Levy County, which would add nearly $5 per monthly bill.
The Florida Public Service Commission held a hearing on Wednesday to determine if customers should be footing the bill for unbuilt, unfixed nuclear power plant projects.
The commission held off PEF on getting their grubby mitts on $9 million in repairs for the Crystal River plant, which has been just a giant stone thing sitting there doing nothing since 2009. PEF hasn’t even decided if it wants to rebuild the plant or just shut it down completely, yet there it is, asking for 9 mil like it’s loose change in Florida’s cup holder.
On July 10, the Office of Public Counsel called in consultant William R. Jacobs to testify that the Turkey Point plant upgrade costs have ballooned to more than half a billion dollars in the past 14 months. Jacobs also said that costs have been hidden because they are mixed in with other projects.
Think of it like a giant Reece’s peanut butter cup made of your money. Feel better now?….. http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/09/nuclear_cost.php
“It is now clear that the Turkey Point EPU project is on a runaway course of its own, the extent of which is being buried by FPL’s composite approach,” Jacobs said.
Public to pay upfront nuclear costs? Florida Public Service Commission hearing
Florida regulators holding nuclear costs hearing By Bill Kaczor on September 06, 2012 Businessweek Bloomberg TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Public Service Commission opened a hearing Wednesday on whether to pass the costs of incomplete nuclear power plant projects to customers of the state’s two largest electric utilities but decided immediately to delay action on a request from Progress Energy Florida and soon went into recess.
The panel heard a single Florida Power and Light Co. witness, who was taken out of order due to a scheduling conflict, before recessing the hearing until Monday, when FPL and consumer advocates will make their opening statements. FPL is a unit of NextEra Energy Inc.
FPL, the larger of the two utilities, is seeking $151.5 million to upgrade existing facilities at its St. Lucie plant and add two new reactors to its Turkey Point plant……
Utilities historically were not allowed to pass on power plant construction costs until those facilities went into service, but the Legislature made an exception for nuclear facilities in 2006 to encourage the development of that form of energy.
Consumer advocates and nuclear opponents argue that consumers may wind up paying for facilities that never get built. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-06/florida-regulators-holding-nuclear-costs-hearing
TEPCO worried about finances with nuclear power’s uncertain future
Tepco Head Fears End of Nuclear in Japan, WSJ, By MARI IWATA, September 5, 2012, TOKYO—The new head of Japan’s biggest electric company aired concerns about the possibility that Japan could phase out nuclear power, saying such a move would necessitate a “complete” revamping of its investment and fuel-procurement plans and could be detrimental to the country’s energy security as well…..
Mr. Hirose’s comments come the week before the administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is expected to announce a long-awaited decision on Japan’s future energy mix, following last year’s devastating accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant. Continue reading
Gloom in South Australia over uranium mining future
Kloppers’ bleak Olympic hopes by: Michael Owen, The Australian September 04, A BLEAK outlook has been presented by BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers for an expanded Olympic Dam mine ever operating in South Australia.
Mr Kloppers yesterday held talks with Premier Jay Weatherill in Adelaide to explain why the miner’s board last month indefinitely shelved the $28.7 billion project. He emerged from the hour-long meeting to say there was no timeframe for the project and no guarantee it would ever go ahead.
This came more than a week after The Weekend Australian revealed that Mr Kloppers had warned the expansion might never happen because the project was now dependent on the uncertain development of cheaper “leaching” technology to expand the mine’s future production. He had said that unlike “optimistic” scientists, the miner was “insufficiently certain that an eventual project will happen”. Mr Kloppers reiterated that message yesterday after meeting with the Premier. “We have been working and expending a lot of money on trying to make this project a reality,” Mr Kloppers said…… ”I can’t give you any timeframe on how these things could progress.”
Asked if he could give a guarantee the mine would be redeveloped, he said: “No, I cannot.”
Mr Weatherill tried to maintain a positive message, but conceded the current model planned for the expansion “does not work”.. they are not able to advance a time when the technology will be proven, nor are they able to give us certainty about whether the technology will be capable of being proven, and therefore they will not be in a position to give us certainty about when the mine proceeds.”…
Mr Weatherill said that after his meeting yesterday, any future expansion was even further away than he had previously thought……
The opposition said all of the government’s tough-talking about BHP meeting its December deadline to go-ahead with the expansion and the project’s benefits for the state, had proven to be “bluff and bluster”. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/kloppers-bleak-olympic-hopes/story-fn59niix-1226464289847
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PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
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