June, 2010

Uranium price likely to remain flat for next few years This blog post is an edited version of an article published June 17, 2010, V9:N341, in Fuel Cycle Week by International Nuclear Associates, Washington, DC. It is an axiom in the uranium mining business that a company's stock price is in part...

Idaho elected officials kick off bi-partisan effort Legislators from six states have joined forces to form a bi-partisan organization to be advocates for the licensing and construction of more nuclear power plants to meet the country’s future energy needs. Idaho State Rep. Erik Simpson , (R-Idaho Falls...

Company reveals design information at ANS San Diego meeting Billionaire Bill Gates has generated lots of media buzz for TerraPower , which is creating a radically different reactor design called the “traveling wave.” However, its technology , size (500-1,000 MW), and untested fuel may make for a long...

Dialog and changes are needed with Congress, regulators, and government The future of small modular reactors (SMRs), with power levels less than 300 MW, will be brighter in the next decade, but only if a daunting series of nearly two dozen issues get attention from a cross-section of policy makers, regulatory...

It's the first of at least four such agreements with utilities and the Department of Energy The Southern Company ( NYSE:SO ) has signed an agreement with the federal government for a loan guarantee covering $3.4 billion in costs for the project which involves two new Westinghouse 1,150 MW AP1000...

Despite a close vote in parliament, polls show strong support for new reactors to tackle climate change Sweden’s parliament overturned June 17 a 30-year-old ban on new nuclear reactors, adding to the renewed momentum behind nuclear energy in Europe as countries try to reduce dependence on fossil fuels...

Uranium-zirconium fuel will get irradiation at ATR in joint project with Texas A&M University Lightbridge Corp ( NASDAQ:LTBR ), announced June 15 that its joint nuclear fuel testing proposal with Texas A&M University has been approved by the Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Test Reactor National...

UK government retreats from nuclear renaissance The BBC reports June 17 an {L}80 million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters has been axed as part of budget cuts being implemented by the new Liberal government. The loan would have funded development of a facility to build critical components for the next...

Management of spent nuclear fuel would be a good idea Since the dawn of the era of commercial nuclear power, the prevailing paradigm has been the “once-through” nuclear fuel cycle model which assumes after fuel bundles have cooled off, they can be shipped to a geological storage site for permanent burial...

Radical designs seek investors Several developers of new reactor designs reported progress this week during the semi-annual meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS). The investor looking for something completely different that might make a difference to the nuclear energy industry has three new...

This blog post is a round-up of several articles previously published in Fuel Cycle Week by International Nuclear Associates, Washington, DC. Ur-Energy gets Wyoming UIC permit The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) gave final approval June 1 for a Class I Underground Injection Control...

Market buyers and producers abound despite low price This blog post is an edited version of an  article published June 3, 2010, in Fuel Cycle Week V9:N379 by International Nuclear Associates, Washington, DC. Rock bottom uranium prices, the spot price reported this week by UX Consulting is $41/lb...

CEO John Welch says the firm will re-submit its application for a $2 billion DOE loan guarantee This blog post is an edited version of an article published May 27, 2010, in Fuel Cycle Week V9:N378 by International Nuclear Associates, Washington, DC. May 25 th was a red letter day for USEC ( NYSE:USU...

The first commercial enrichment plant built in the U.S. can begin commercial operations Anyone who thinks there isn’t going to be a nuclear renaissance in the U.S. needs to take a look at the multi-billion bet placed by Urenco at the Louisiana Energy Services plant in Eunice, NM . The NRC said in a statement...

First concrete scheduled for Brazil's Angra 3 Work is expected to begin to build Brazil's third nuclear power reactor after regulators issued a construction permit.  Plant owner Eletronuclear said this means it can now pour concrete for the reactor's foundation slab, which as 'first...

Progress planned in Europe, but a fire sale looms in South Africa The future of high temperature gas-cooled reactors is taking different directions depending on where you look. In Europe a multi-national collaboration is working on plans for a site to build the Allegro Reactor. However, in South Africa...

Costs, risks, and lack of a price on carbon all play in their decisions Two of the nation’s largest nuclear utilities are sounding a retreat from building new nuclear reactors in the near-term. In separate speeches Entergy ( NYSE:ETR ) CEO J. Wayne Leonard and Exelon ( NYSE:EXC ) CEO John Rowe said they...

UK Liberals pursue anti-nuclear agenda Chris Huhne, the UK Energy & Climate Minister, and his political allies are not to be trusted. Last month Huhne said his only concern about the development of new nuclear reactors in the UK was that there be no public subsidy. This week the new Business Minister...

The Japanese heavy manufacturing firm will build reactors via joint ventures Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) as made rapid strides establishing a market presence in the U.S. nuclear industry. In the past three years in North America it has submitted a reactor design for NRC review, inked deals to build...