New Build

EC receives nuclear ‘subsidies’ complaint Companies mentioned: Energy Fair Group, SNC-Lavalin Nuclear, Jacobs Engineering Group, Magnox, US Department of Energy, Uranium Resources, USEC and EDF

Weekly Intelligence Brief  19- 25 January 2012

EC receives nuclear ‘subsidies’ complaint

A formal complaint about subsidies for nuclear power has been sent to the European Commission which, could in effect seriously delay new nuclear power station construction plans in the EU. If the EC were to rule that certain carbon floor pricing models for nuclear energy in the UK are in effect subsidies and therefore unlawful, this could hamper new build plans altogether.

The complaint has been prepared by lawyers for the UK-based Energy Fair group, with several other environmental groups, and may be followed by legal action to reduce or remove subsidies for nuclear power, said an Energy & Environmental Management news report.

One of the largest subsidies listed by the German legal firm BBH, is the cap on liabilities for nuclear accidents which nuclear power developers have negotiated with governments.

“Our research is in line with what others have been saying” said Dr Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of the Energy Fair group, in a statement.

“MPs have already raised concerns about provisions in the recent Finance Act that will produce windfall profits for the nuclear industry. The Government itself says that the industry will benefit by £50 million per year, and calculations by WWF and Greenpeace show that the subsidy could be as much as £3.43 billion between 2013 and 2026,” said Wolff.

Wolff said that the UK government should pull the plug on what he sees as nuclear subsidies, such as tax fuel exemptions on uranium.

SNC-Lavalin Nuclear awarded CAN$48m contract

SNC-Lavalin Nuclear has signed a contract with Societatea Nationala “Nuclearelectrica” (SNN) to install reactor containment filtered venting systems (CFVS) at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant in Romania. The value of the contract is approximately CAN$48m.

“The units at the Cernavoda plant are rated among the best in Europe and this project is part of an industry-wide upgrade strategy for nuclear plant safety in the event of serious accidents or natural disasters, such as those that occurred at Fukushima in Japan,” said Patrick Lamarre, Executive Vice-President, SNC-Lavalin Group.

Engineering and procurement activities are underway and construction is scheduled to begin immediately, with preparations for the work to be carried out in the next unit outages. The expected completion date is late 2013.

Jacobs signs recruit deal with Magnox

Jacobs Engineering Group has signed a resource protocol for the recruitment of employees from Magnox to Jacobs' UK operations.

Given Jacobs' extensive experience providing life cycle services to the nuclear industry, this resource protocol provides Jacobs access to a highly skilled pool of talent with which to augment and develop its various teams of experts serving the industry. This protocol also increases the career choices available to Magnox staff who wish to continue to develop their careers in the nuclear industry.

The decommissioning program is one of several agreements Magnox is establishing with external companies to support continuing employment opportunities for its staff. By carefully managing this release, Magnox can re-tain essential skills at its sites while providing future career opportunities for its employees, said a Jacobs’ statement.

Don Nightingale, Transition Director for Magnox Ltd said: "This type of agreement provides options for our employees who wish to remain in the UK nuclear industry, whether in nuclear decommissioning, nuclear power and electricity generation, or defense projects."

Survey says nuclear still a growth sector

A new survey conducted by the Energy IQ asked nuclear professionals to present their views on key challenges surrounding nuclear new build. The survey showed that a significant 72.8 per cent of industry experts believe that work on nuclear new builds has become more difficult in the last twelve months.

Despite the events at Fukushima and subsequent political decisions taken by European countries such as Ger-many, Italy and Switzerland to phase out nuclear power, over 90 per cent of the respondents said nuclear power is still considered as a growth area in the medium to long term.

Nuclear ETF funds get boost

The nuclear energy sector, along with related exchange traded funds, has been rebounding off an exceptionally bad year, according to an ETFtrends.com. Nuclear ETFs may continue to strengthen as the US announces its commitment to next-generation nuclear reactors.

The Market Vectors Nuclear Energy ETF (NYSEArca: NLR) is up 12.9 per cent year-to-date. In comparison, the fund lost 26.2% over the past year.

The US Department of Energy’s announcement to fund small modular nuclear reactors is likely to  jump start the US nuclear industry, which has been faced with one of its most challenging years top date following delays in federal grants to build new reactors and the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear plant accident in Japan.

The DOE’s Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will fund up to two SMR designs, which will be used to construct and deploy reactors by 2022.

Uranium Resources may appeal NASDAQ de-listing

Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) has received notice, as expected, from The NASDAQ Stock Market stating that for 30 consecutive business days the bid price for the Company's common stock has closed below the minimum $1.00 per share as required by Marketplace Rule 5550(a)(1) for continued listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market. This notification has no effect on the listing of the Company's common stock at this time.

The Company will regain compliance with the minimum bid requirement if at any time before 16 July 2012 (180 calendar days), the bid price for the Company's common stock closes at $1.00 per share or above for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days.

In the event the Company does not regain compliance with the minimum bid price rule by 16 July 2012, NASDAQ will provide the Company with written notification that its common stock is subject to delisting from the NASDAQ Capital Market. The Company may appeal NASDAQ's determination to delist its common stock at that time.

USEC gets DOE funding

USEC, a supplier of enriched uranium fuel and nuclear industry related services for commercial nuclear power plants, will continue to work on the American Centrifuge project and alongside the Department of Energy (DOE) has identified a path to provide interim funding for the initial phase of a research, development and demonstration (RD&D) program for the project.

This path would provide the basis for funding of the RD&D program activities through the end of March. In the meantime, USEC will continue to work with DOE and Congress to secure funding to complete the RD&D programme.

The $300m RD&D programme proposed by DOE will enhance the technical and financial readiness of the cen-trifuge technology for commercialization. The RD&D programme is expected to involve manufacturing and operating additional production-design machines so that key systems can be tested as they would actually op-erate at the scale necessary for full commercialization, according to a company statement.

Hinkley Point C hits local roadblock

EDF is feeling the heat from protesters and local county councillors over concerns of potential traffic chaos and a localised housing crisis in the area surrounding the construction site of the proposed twin reactor at the Hinkley Point C plant.

According to local news site, thisissomerset.co.uk, Somerset County Council and Sedgemoor District Council presented their submissions this week as the deadline passed to register interest in the planning application for Hinkley C plant.

Somerset County Council says more needs to be done to minimise the problems that creating the biggest construction site in Europe could bring. It also calls for a community mitigation fund larger than the £20m fund offered by EDF.

According to the news report, Councillor David Hall, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “EDF have taken significant steps in the right di-rection on a number of matters, for example, how they will work with our schools to inspire young people to take up science and engineering, and strategies to introduce new jobs into the county. There is still, however, more work for them to do, especially in terms of highways and transport solutions.

“We continue to support the opportunities Hinkley Point C may bring to the area, but we are disappointed that there are still some significant gaps in the information provided.”