New Build

Nuclear popularity in the UK at record high Companies mentioned: Ipsos MORI, CITB-ConstructionSkills, Fessenheim NPP,Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology, Progress Energy, Crystal River NPP, EDF Constellation and Exelon

Weekly Intelligence Brief 12 – 18 January 2012

Nuclear popularity in UK at record high

Popular UK sentiment towards nuclear power has risen back to pre-Fukushima levels, according to research by Ipsos MORI. The report said that the drop in favourable attitudes to nuclear power were “no more than a temporary blip.”

According to surveys conducted in December, 40 per cent of Britain is in favour of the nuclear energy industry, while nineteen per cent expressed opposition, said a City AM report.

The dip, which saw support slide from 40 per cent to 28 per cent and opposition rise seven percentage points to 24 per cent, is thought to be due to the Japanese nuclear disaster, which posed serious questions over safety protocols at nuclear power plants across the world.

A record fifty per cent of survey respondents said they were in favour of the UK building new nuclear power stations to replace those being phased out. 

UK construction calls for nuclear skills

Up to 17,000 construction workers will be required across the UK throughout the nuclear build programme, according to research commissioned by CITB-ConstructionSkills.

The sector skills council and industry training board for construction, showed output by 2020 could be 62 per cent higher than in 2010 as schemes, such as the new nuclear plant at Heysham, start to take pace.

However, the report warned that firms need to invest to strengthen skill levels of the region's workforce to take full advantage of the opportunities.

According to a Manchester Evening News online report, Steve Housden, sector strategy manager for CITB-ConstructionSkills in the north west, said the project could breathe new life into the region's construction industry.

Vietnam confirms nuclear programe ambitions

Vietnam has reaffirmed its intent to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, according to a Voice of America report.

The news was confirmed at a conference hosted by Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology this week.

Vietnam's news agency said that the country's first nuclear power plant is scheduled to be operational in 2020. The Japanese already have a head start in the newbuild tenders with Japan already winning contracts to build two reactors in Vietnam. 

French politicians toy with nuclear phase out

The most nuclear energy dependent market is seeing its nuclear power programme used as an election carrot for presidential hopefuls.

French Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande will only shut France's oldest nuclear power plant in eastern France during his five-year term, if elected in May, one of the candidate's spokesmen told Reuters this week.

Hollande said at the end of November he would only pick what he views as priority issues in a pre-electoral pact by the Socialists and the Green party, which included shutting 24 nuclear reactors by 2025, said the report.

Bernard Cazeneuve, a member of parliament representing La Manche, said only the decision to shut the Fessenheim plant, commissioned in 1978 and built on seismic ground in eastern France, was still valid.

France has an ambitious target to deploy renewable energy plants, brining national output to 23 per cent by 2020. The European Union target for member states is 20 per cent.

Not unlike elsewhere, politicians see renewables as a job creator and are voicing that they will back renewable projects to create local employment. 

Progress assessing Crystal River contractor proposals

Progress Energy has received proposals from contractors for the repair of the damaged containment structure of its idled Crystal River nuclear power plant. The company has also extended its merger agreement with Duke Energy, it has been reported.

The company expects to complete its analysis of proposals and any responses it requires by March, after which it will provide the Florida PSC with further details on the repair analysis.

Crystal River, a pressurized water reactor that can produce 860 MWe, has been offline since September 2009 when a refuelling and 20% uprate outage began.

A hole was made in the plant's reinforced steel containment structure for the replacement of its steam generators, but engineers noticed this had caused part of the concrete to delaminate.

But during the repair process other similar problems occurred leaving the site offline for more repairs.

Saudi Arabia, China sign nuclear cooperation deal

Saudi Arabia and China have set up legal framework that strengthens scientific, technological and economic cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing, according to a joint statement.

The pact seeks to enable cooperation in areas like maintenance and development of nuclear power plants and research reactors, manufacturing and supply of nuclear fuel elements, according to a Power Engineering report.

In addition to the China pact, Saudi Arabia has penned similar deals with France, Argentina and South Korea. The signing came at the end of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's first trip to Saudi Arabia as part of a six-day tour to the Middle East, which also included a stop at  the World Future Energy Summit this week in the UAE.

Other nations in nuclear energy discussions with Saudi Arabia The Gulf state include the US,UK, Russia and the Czech Republic. 

EDF’s Proglio says new reactor delays likely

Electricite de France SA’s (EDF) Chairman and Chief Executive Henri Proglio told reporters in Paris that the deployment of new reactors could be delayed “a matter of years.”

Much of the delays are down to disagreements over the true cost of US loan guarantees and the delay in funds being issued. Proglio also told reporters, according to a Wall Street Journal report that he was satisfied a deal had been reached with Constellation Energy Group with EDF agreeing to withdraw its opposition to the merger between Exelon and Constellation Energy.

Both have agreed to maintain operational independence of Constellation's nuclear power unit in which EDF owns a 49.9 per cent stake. While EDF is attempting to make progress on a new reactor, Proglio told reporters.