Alberta study on nuclear power for oil
The US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Alberta Research Council will jointly study the potential applications of nuclear power for extracting and treating Alberta's tar sands which seem set to become an increasingly important source of oil for the USA.

The study will also look at conventional electricity generation. INL is focused on advanced, next-generation nuclear power systems for both electricity and hydrogen production - since 1949 some 52 different reactors have been designed and tested there. In relation to the tar sands, a high input of energy is required for them to yield oil. At present gas is used, but this is unsustainable.

The specific needs are for steam, electricity and hydrogen. The steam supply needs to be semi portable as tar sand extraction proceeds, so relatively small reactors which could be moved every decade or so may be on the research agenda, and INL is well qualified in that regard. INL is also to be the site of the US Next Generation Nuclear Plant, a $2 billion pilot plant to demonstrate the technical feasibility of hydrogen production on a large scale by 2021.

South Carolina Electricity & Gas to build 2 Reactors in Georgia
Southern Co has lodged a combined construction and operating licence (COL) application for two new 1100 MWe reactors at its Vogtle site in Georgia. It already has two 1215 MWe reactors on the site. South Carolina Electricity & Gas with Santee Cooper has lodged a COL application for two AP1000 reactors at its VC Summer, SC site, which already has one 966 MWe unit.

They have also signed an agreement to buy major components for those new reactors. Earlier in March Unistar lodged the second part of its COL application for an Areva US-EPR at Calvert Cliffs. This makes nine full COL application, now for total of 15 reactors - ten of them Westinghouse AP1000.

Russian plans for power plus aluminium progress
Last year Rosatom and RUSAL announced a feasibility study on a power generation and metallurgical complex with a nuclear power plant and an aluminium plant in Russia's far east. This proposal is taking shape as a US$ 10 billion project involving four 1000 MWe reactors with Atomstroyexport having a controlling share in the nuclear side. The preliminary feasibility study and site review will be completed by the end of 2009. Unlike the similar proposal for the Saratov region involving the Balakovo nuclear power plant, it appears that the aluminium smelter may not be the sole or even the major user of the new power capacity.

Japan push to Russia and EU Toshiba has signed a technical cooperation agreement on civil nuclear power with Russia's Atomenergoprom - the large vertically-integrated state holding company for Russia's nuclear power sector created in 2007. This could lead to a "strategic partnership" and include designing and engineering of commercial nuclear power plants, as well as manufacturing and maintenance of large equipment.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has submitted its 1700 MWe APWR design for certification under European Utilities Requirements, the first time a Japanese large reactor vendor has ventured into the EU market.

Areva boosts its UK presence Areva of France has acquired nuclear safety assessment company RM Consultants (RMC) in order to strengthen its presence in the UK. In addition, it is relaunching its corporate advertising campaign in Europe, with special focus on the country. RMC provides a range of services, from front-end studies at the conceptual design and planning phase through to the commissioning, operation and decommissioning of nuclear plants or processes.

This includes the preparation of safety cases and environmental statements with the supporting technical and engineering assessments. The company has provided safety assessment services for over 25 years to all the major operators of nuclear sites in the UK including: the Atomic Weapons Establishment, the UKAEA, British Nuclear Group, British Energy and Urenco.

Areva said the acquisition of RMC "strengthens its know-how in the field of nuclear safety and environmental risks analysis.

It added that RMC will also provide Areva with its "extensive knowledge of the regulatory bodies and procedures which govern nuclear activities in the United Kingdom." The company said that RMC would "provide valuable support to Areva's major project ambitions in Great Britain, both in the nuclear fuel cycle and in new builds."

François-Xavier Rouxel, Areva's senior vice president for strategy, said: "The acquisition of RMC demonstrates our ambition to play an active role in the UK's nuclear renaissance. RMC's expertise will allow Areva to offer solutions which are tailored to the needs of its British partners."

Advertising campaign relaunched Areva has also announced relaunched its Energy Experts corporate advertising campaign in Europe, extending its reach to British audiences for the first time. The popular 30-second advert, created in 2004, gives a condensed animated overview of the nuclear fuel cycle. Areva said the campaign aims to "strengthen Areva's attractiveness and consolidate awareness." Areva has submitted its European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) nuclear reactor to UK authorities for Generic Design Assessment (GDA). The company intends to manage an 'Alliance' of companies that support EPR and "are considering EPR for new build in the UK."

Toshiba Corp. (6502.TO) said Thursday its unit, Westinghouse Electric Co., is in final talks to take orders from two U.S. power companies for up to four next-generation nuclear power reactors in the U.S. If Westinghouse gets the orders, they would be the first AP1000 models to be built in the U.S., said Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Oomori.

Toshiba has been in talks with Scana Corp. (SCG) and Southern Co. (SO) to build up to two plants in South Carolina and two in Georgia, he added.

Toshiba shares rose on the news, touching Y789 before trimming their gains to end the morning session up 5.7% at Y777. The orders would boost sentiment on the company and may create a view that AP1000 will become a popular reactor in the nuclear power plant market, analysts said.

The Nikkei reported earlier in the day that the Japanese electronics conglomerate will build four nuclear power plants in the U.S. worth a combined Y1.4 trillion.

The Toshiba spokesman did not confirm the value of the deals.

Toshiba acquired Westinghouse in the fall of 2006 for $4.2 billion. Since moving under Toshiba's umbrella, the U.S. firm has received a total of Y1 trillion in orders to build nuclear plants in China.

The U.S., which has built no new nuclear power plants since the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, is taking a fresh look at nuclear power source amid concerns over energy security. A new energy policy now seeks to promote nuclear power, with some 30 new reactors planned over the next 20 years.

Toshiba and Westinghouse are in a fierce battle with the alliance of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (7011.TO) and French firm Areva , and the team of General Electric Co. (GE) of the U.S. and Hitachi Ltd. (6501.TO) to win orders for the proposed plants. -By Mari Iwata, Dow Jones Newswires

MHI licenses turbine technology to Harbin
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan will license technologies to China's Harbin Group for major equipment used in pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plants, including steam turbines and auxiliary equipment.

Under an agreement signed today, MHI will provide its technologies to Harbin Turbine Co and Harbin Boiler Co - both manufacturers of major electric power generation equipment and affiliates of Harbin Power Equipment Co Ltd (HPEC). The technologies to be licensed apply to 1200 MWe-class large-size steam turbines for nuclear power plant use and major auxiliary equipment, including moisture separator reheaters, deaerators, main valves, condensers and feedwater heaters. MHI has previously provided Harbin with 600 MWe-class ultra-supercritical pressure steam turbine technology.

So far MHI, together with HPEC, has received orders for four 1200 MWe steam turbine generator packages. These orders are for two AP1000 units at Sanmen in Zhejiang province and two AP1000s at Haiyang in Shandong province. The Sanmen and Haiyang reactors could all start up between 2013-5. Initially, MHI will manufacture the major turbine components at its main Takasago factory in Japan's Hyogo prefecture, while Harbin will make the turbine casings and other smaller items. Based on the latest agreement with Harbin, MHI will transfer production to "a Chinese partner in a phased manner."

MHI said that the latest licensing agreement with Harbin is "highly significant" to it as it "further solidifies the company's foundation for full-scale entry into the Chinese market for newly built [nuclear power plants], which is expected to become increasingly robust in the coming years." The company said that as it further develops its collaborative ties with Harbin, MHI will also continue to strengthen its marketing activities targeting the Chinese market.

Urenco Enrichment Facility Could Spark Another New Mexico Uranium Boom
New Mexico hasn't had a uranium boom since 1950. After Navajo shepherd Paddy Martinez woke up from his nap, beneath a limestone ledge with a handful of funny looking yellow rocks, only to be later told he had discovered New Mexico's first uranium, the state was swarmed with thousands of prospectors hoping to cash in on the nuclear metal.

Another uranium boom may now be in progress. This time, the charge is led by the European consortium Urenco Ltd, general partner of Louisiana Energy Services (LES), which was issued a draft license, this past Friday, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate a $1.5 billion uranium enrichment plant in Lea County, New Mexico. Louisiana Energy Services is a Urenco-managed partnership, whose members include Exelon Corp (NYSE; EXC), Entergy Corp (NYSE: ETR) and Duke Energy Corp (NYSE: DUK). This is the first permit issued for a uranium enrichment facility in thirty years; the first ever to a private company.

Announcement of the uranium enrichment facility came nine days after International Uranium Corporation (TSX: IUC) announced it was reopening its uranium mines in the Four Corners region of the western United States. In a company news release, Ron Hochstein, president of IUC, announced, "We intend on utilizing our large capacity mill to its full advantage through toll milling contracts with other future miners in the area." The company's White Mesa Mill, only one of two operational uranium mills in the United States, is across from the New Mexico border.

International Uranium Corporation's White Mesa Mill is located in the heart of the ColoradoPlateau for easy access to numerous uranium companies, which plan to bring their propertiesinto production in the near future.

Uranium development companies have acquired uranium properties, abandoned by major oil companies during the uranium drought of the 1980s and 1990s, and could be well positioned to advance those properties through the permitting process. Over the past year, newer uranium companies have entered the state, optimistic the record-high spot uranium price may help finance their exploration and development costs in New Mexico.

With a uranium mill, just past the western border of New Mexico in neighboring Utah, and the soon-to-be-built uranium enrichment facility in southeastern New Mexico, when might the state again become a world-class production center? Only over the past few years has Canada's Athabasca Basin, with its ultra-high grades of uranium ore, surpassed the cumulative production of New Mexico.

The Grants Mineral Belt in northern New Mexico produced more than 340 million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8, yellowcake) before the uranium depression of the 1980s and 1990s brought New Mexico mining to a standstill. The Grants Mineral Belt produced about 40 percent of all the mined uranium in the United States.