GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Tata Consulting Engineers Exploring Potential Design and Workforce Development Opportunities for New Reactor Projects

Preliminary Agreement Sets Stage for Future ESBWR Engineering Collaboration

WILMINGTON, N.C.—August 17, 2010—GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) today announced it has signed a preliminary agreement with India’s Tata Consulting Engineers, Ltd. (TCE) to explore potential project design and workforce development opportunities in support of GEH’s future nuclear projects in India and around the world.

As GEH prepares for potential ESBWR projects in India and other countries planning to build new reactors, the agreement sets the stage for the companies to collaborate in areas such as workforce skills identification and development, as well as early feasibility design studies, product and project engineering work.

India’s government has identified two possible sites for a potential new station featuring multiple reactors based on GEH’s 1,520-megawatt (MW) ESBWR model. The sites are located in the western state of Gujarat and southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

India currently has 19 reactors that generate a combined 4,560 MWe but plans to expand its installed nuclear generating capacity to 20,000 MWe by 2020 and to 63,000 MW by 2032.

Mumbai-based TCE is a subsidiary of the Indian industrial conglomerate the Tata Group and is one of India’s leading engineering consulting firms with a wide range of international experience in a wide range of power plant, water, transportation, chemical, manufacturing and other infrastructure projects.

“As India prepares to build new reactor projects, TCE is doing its part by working with experienced nuclear industry companies like GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to help ensure that India has the necessary project resources in place to build and operate new nuclear reactors,” said R. Srinivasan, CEO and managing director of TCE.

The agreement helps create the foundation for leveraging India’s domestic engineering capabilities while supporting domestic employment opportunities. It also would enable GEH to increase the local content of its ESBWR product offering for its customer, state-owned utility Nuclear Power Corporation of India, Ltd. (NPCIL).

“We are excited at the prospect of working with TCE on our future ESBWR projects. TCE has the proven engineering and industrial expertise to support the broad infrastructure requirements of nuclear power plant projects,” said Danny Roderick, GEH’s senior vice president for nuclear plant projects.

General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), one of GEH’s parent companies, designed and helped build India’s first nuclear power plant in Tarapur during the 1960s and today, after more than 40 years, the GE BWR reactor at the Tarapur plant, now owned and operated by NPCIL, is among the most reliable operating reactors in India. In 2008, the U.S. and Indian governments signed an agreement to lift the ban on U.S. nuclear exports to India.

Since 2008, GEH has been building its local supplier network in India to complement the company’s global project supply chain while it explores opportunities for new reactor projects as well as providing fuel and other services to existing and new nuclear power plants.

In addition to TCE, GEH also has signed preliminary project development agreements with NPCIL, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro Limited.

GEH’s 1,520-MWe ESBWR design is Generation III+ technology that offers utilities the world’s most advanced passive safety features and a simplified building design, making the ESBWR safer and more cost-effective to build and operate than existing reactor models.

Nuclear energy is important in GEH’s long-standing ties with India. Today, GE’s global businesses participate in a wide range of manufacturing, services and technology sectors in India, as GE seeks to be a partner in the nation’s economic growth.

About GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
Based in Wilmington, N.C., GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) is a world-leading provider of advanced reactors and nuclear services. Established in June 2007, GEH is a global nuclear alliance created by GE and Hitachi to serve the global nuclear industry. The nuclear alliance executes a single, strategic vision to create a broader portfolio of solutions, expanding its capabilities for new reactor and service opportunities. The alliance offers customers around the world the technological leadership required to effectively enhance reactor performance, power output and safety.

For more information, contact:
Michael Tetuan
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
+1 910 819 7055
michael.tetuan@ge.com

Tom Murnane or Howard Masto
Masto Public Relations
+1 518 786 6488
tom.murnane@mastopr.com
howard.masto@ge.com

Source: GE Press Center

India: Panel recommends tougher nuclear liability bill

A parliamentary panel will on Wednesday recommend changes to a bill aimed at opening up a $150 billion nuclear power market, including more compensation for accidents and extending liability to private suppliers.

The panel will recommend the liability cap be trebled to $320 million, a member of the panel who asked not to be named, said.

The recommendations, largely backed by opposition parties, will mean higher costs for firms such as U.S.-based General Electric and Westinghouse Electric, a subsidiary of Japan’s Toshiba Corp, which would have to pay higher insurance premiums.

“The operator will also sign a contract which will hold suppliers liable if any accident is caused by defective equipment,” the member said on condition of anonymity as the report has to be presented to parliament first.

The original draft law had capped liability at about $110 million for the state-run reactor operator without placing any compensation burden on private suppliers and contractors.

State compensation was capped at up to 300 million special drawing rights. Opposition leaders, who had slammed the bill and demanded changes, say the liability of a U.S. operator under U.S. legislation is $12.5 billion.

The bill was introduced in parliament earlier in the year, but opposition protests forced the government to refer it to the panel, composed of members from several parties, for scrutiny.

“We have addressed the concerns of the (main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party) BJP and more or less of the left parties. This report has been more or less unanimously approved,” said Congress’ T. Subbarami Reddy, who chaired the panel.

Communist party members of the panel will submit a note of dissent on the report, as they want no liability caps, but the BJP has said it is willing to support the rewritten bill.

“The government has addressed our concerns on the bill and we have decided to support it,” S.S. Ahluwalia, a BJP member on the panel, said.

The bill has the personal backing of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh whose 2008 deal with former U.S. president George Bush ended India’s isolation in the global nuclear market.

The government is keen on ratifying the bill and smoothing entry for global firms, including those from the United States, before President Barack Obama’s planned November visit to India.

French and Russian firms, whose governments underwrite their liability, are already working on setting up reactors in India.

Source: Reuters/Yahoo! News

Two-year study bolsters Japan’s nuclear power plan

• Japan to stick to plans to develop new reactors by 2015

• Demand expected for some 135 advanced reactors in 2030-2050

The Japanese government’s plan to work with the private sector to develop next generation light water nuclear reactors has been given a boost after a two-year study found the scheme was viable.

The joint project to develop an advanced version of the world’s most popular reactor, under which the government would contribute half the total 55 billion yen ($644 million) cost, is a bid to boost energy diversification at home and to help drive Japan’s growth by selling the facilities abroad.

Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (7011.T: Quote) and Hitachi GE Nuclear Energy Ltd, Hitachi Ltd’s (6501.T: Quote) nuclear unit, have worked together to develop two varieties of the 1,700 to 1,800 mega watt light water type reactors — boiling-water reactors (BWR) and pressurised-water reactors (PWR). Continued…

Read more: Reuters

Egypt: Foreign companies propose nuclear technology

Egypt’s Minister of Energy Hassan Younies

Various countries and organizations made presentations this week to be allowed to bid for building the needed technology for Egypt’s quest to establish its nuclear energy generator

Tomorrow, General Electric and Hitachi will present their designs for nuclear reactors in the hope that they will be able to provide their expertise in the field of power generation to Egypt.

Last Thursday, South Korea gave a presentation for building a factory to process nuclear fuel to serve the proposed reactor project Egypt. Several South Korean companies also gave demonstrations showing the current status of their industries and their export capacities.

Detailed specifications on the two main South Korean reactors currently available for export, and subject to American security standards, were also presented.

Source: Egypt News

South Korea: Nuclear cooperation agreements

Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan was reportedly surprised when his Mexican counterpart, Minister of Energy Georgina Kessel Martinez, asked during their meeting in Mexico City on Thursday if Korea could help train Mexican atomic energy engineers.

Choi accepted the request, which was not discussed at all in advance, thinking Mexico could become the third country in the world to introduce Korea’s nuclear reactors. Korea won an $18.6 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates last December to build four nuclear reactors by 2020. Korea also signed a cooperation agreement with Turkey in June to promote the construction of two nuclear power plants worth $10 billion on Turkey’s Black Sea coast.

Mexico currently operates two reactors built by GE. It plans to build two more reactors by 2021 after undertaking detailed feasibility studies during the next two years. The Mexican energy minister is scheduled to visit Seoul next month for a more detailed discussion on cooperation.

Mexico’s request for help in the training of nuclear engineers is a testament to the confidence foreign governments have in Korea’s advanced nuclear technology. Many other countries interested in introducing nuclear power to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels are in talks with Korea to conclude cooperation pacts in the nuclear energy field.

For instance, Korea and India will start negotiations on an atomic energy agreement in Mumbai on Tuesday. The pact, if concluded, would help Korea export its reactors to India. To meet its surging energy demand due to rapid economic growth, India plans to build 20 nuclear power plants by 2020.

Korea needs to further broaden collaboration on nuclear technology with foreign countries to attain its goal of exporting 10 reactors by 2020 and 80 by 2030. In particular, it should endeavor to grasp the specific needs of these countries and tailor its cooperation programs to them.

Many developing countries want Korea to help them train their atomic energy experts. Korea operates a world-class training institute in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. It needs to expand and upgrade its training programs to accommodate more experts from abroad.

Source: The Korea Herald

NRC recommends license approval for laser enrichment facility in Castle Hayne

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has completed a draft environmental statement recommending commission approval of a license for the Global Laser Enrichment facility proposed for the GE complex in Castle Hayne.

The approval was reported in a notice published in Friday’s Federal Register, which stated: “The NRC staff preliminarily recommends that, unless safety issues mandate otherwise … the NRC should issue a license” to Global Laser Enrichment to operate a laser-base uranium enrichment facility.

The notice went on to say the “NRC staff in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards is currently completing the safety review of (GE Hitachi’s) license application. The safety review is currently scheduled for completion in December 2010.” Continued…

Read more: Star News Online

GE Agreement with Constellation Energy Nuclear Group Focuses on Long-Term Safety and Reliability at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Stat

Safe and reliable production of nuclear power continues to be a cornerstone of the nation’s quest to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Targeting the efficient and reliable operation of its Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Scriba, N.Y., over the next several decades, the Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) has signed a long-term services agreement with GE (NYSE: GE).

Extending the reliable service of existing U.S. nuclear plants is critical to meeting the country’s growing cleaner energy demands. The GE-Constellation long-term agreement (LTA) is designed to help Nine Mile Point, a two-unit, boiling water reactor (BWR) nuclear plant, successfully operate through its Unit 1 and Unit 2 license extensions to 2029 and 2046, respectively.

The LTA will cover key nuclear instrumentation and associated technical services at the plant, and features products from the Reuter Stokes Measurement Solutions product line. Under the multi-year, multi-outage agreement, GE provides nuclear plant owners with a supply of critical parts, inventory management, and technical services. The services provided under the LTA are designed help plant owners fine-tune the operations of their plants—to help them run their plants “smarter”—by utilizing the tools and a relationship to facilitate knowledge sharing, root cause analysis and project management.

Read more: Euro Investor / Business Wire

South Texas Project first to receive ABWR pressure vessel in the US

Japanese engineering company IHI Corporation has been awarded a contract by Toshiba to produce the reactor pressure vessel for the first Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) to be built in the USA.

How STP 3 and 4 could look (Image: STPNOC)

Under the contract, IHI will supply the reactor pressure vessel for the first of two ABWRs planned at the South Texas Project (STP). The contract, the value of which has not been disclosed, was awarded by Toshiba’s US subsidiary Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corporation (TANE).

The reactor pressure vessel – about 20 metres tall and 7 metres wide and weighing some 900 tonnes – will be manufactured at IHI’s plant in Yokohama. It is scheduled to be delivered to the STP site in 2012. STP unit 3 is set to begin operation in FY2016.

In March 2008, Toshiba was selected by NRG and CPS Energy to be the prime contractor for the development of STP units 3 and 4. The company signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with STP Nuclear Operating Co (STPNOC), operator of the STP plant, in February 2009 for two ABWRs at the site.

The ABWR design is already in use at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s (Tepco’s) Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, where two units started up in 1996 and 1997. Another is at Chubu Electric Power Company’s Hamaoka site and two more are under construction at Lungmen on Taiwan.

The ABWR was developed jointly by GE, Toshiba and Hitachi, following on from GE’s development of the BWR concept in the 1950s. The three firms partnered for build at Kashiwazaki Kariwa and Lungmen and now both GE-Hitachi (which merged their nuclear businesses in 2007) and Toshiba assert the right to build ABWRs. However, GE-Hitachi owns the very specific design certified for use in the USA by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

In April, Toshiba and IHI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the formation of a joint venture to manufacture steam turbine components for nuclear power plants at home and abroad. The new company – set to be launched in October 2010 – will be based at Yokohama, within IHI’s Yokohama headquarters representatives office. It will manufacture casings and nozzles for steam turbines at new nuclear power plants for both pressurised water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs) for the domestic and overseas markets, as well as providing maintenance services for installed equipment.

Source: World Nuclear News

Hitachi reviews partnership with GE

Japan’s largest electronics maker, said on Tuesday that it is reviewing the structure of its nuclear power partnership with General Electric Co , as it seeks to win more deals globally.

A Hitachi spokesman did not rule out the possibility of Hitachi and GE changing their investments in their joint ventures as part of an overhaul of Hitachi’s global sales network, but said nothing concrete had been discussed or decided.

The nuclear power business is one of the focus areas for Hitachi — a sprawling conglomerate of 900 group firms — as it steers itself toward growth again after four consecutive years of losses.

It competes with the likes of Japan’s Toshiba <6502.T> and France’s Areva in nuclear power.

The Nikkei business daily reported earlier that Hitachi is considering taking control of foreign sales of nuclear equipment. Hitachi currently leads Japan sales, while GE is in charge of other markets through their partnership.

“GE has its hands full with the U.S. and isn’t able to cover Asia, the Middle East and Europe,” Hitachi President Hiroaki Nakanishi was quoted as telling the Nikkei in an interview.

Nakanishi also told the paper that he thought the foreign operations were not working out as Hitachi had initially expected.

But J.P. Morgan analyst Yoshiharu Izumi questioned whether it would make much difference if Hitachi took charge of its overseas nuclear sales.

“GE and Hitachi make BWRs (boiling water reactors), and they don’t do PWRs (pressurized water reactors), which is growing and which Toshiba, Westinghouse and Areva offer,” Izumi said.

“The main markets for the BWR-type reactors are still the United States and Japan. So I don’t think there will be much difference even if Hitachi takes control.”

In the nuclear segment, it and GE joined forces in 2007 and set up joint ventures in Japan and the United States.

Hitachi owns 80 percent of the Japanese venture, while GE as a 60 percent stake in the American company, which caters to the United States and other overseas markets.

The Nikkei also said Hitachi will consider locating its headquarters for some business segments, including information technology and infrastructure, overseas. It has already moved the headquarters of its hard-disk-drive segment to the United States.

Separately, the Financial Times quoted Nakanishi as saying in an interview that Europe’s debt problems were having an impact on business and that some contracts had been delayed and there may be cancellations.

But the Hitachi spokesman said that while some projects were experiencing some delays, the company was not expecting any cancellations or a big impact on overall earnings.

Hitachi shares were down 3.8 percent at 358 yen in midafternoon, underperforming a 0.7 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average

Source: Yahoo! News

SNC-Lavalin Polska and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to collaborate on new projects in Poland

SNC-Lavalin is pleased to announce that SNC-Lavalin Polska SP. Zo.o. has signed a preliminary agreement with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) to work together to evaluate new nuclear power plant opportunities in Poland.

Poland plans to build up to four new nuclear power plants at two sites to help diversify its energy production, which relies heavily on coal-based technologies. Nuclear energy is an attractive option because it generates electricity with near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. This first phase of the evaluation process that is being employed by Poland’s largest power company, Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (PGE), is to study different international nuclear generating technologies in order to select a viable one.

This is further to a recent agreement between GEH and PGE to collaborate on Poland’s initiative to build next-generation commercial nuclear power plants.

“We are pleased to be working with GE Hitachi on this important project, and this agreement aligns very well with SNC-Lavalin’s strategy to build on our 40 years of experience in executing nuclear new-build projects worldwide,” said Patrick Lamarre, Executive Vice-President SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. “It also further demonstrates our proven ability to execute power projects internationally using a local delivery solution.”

SNC-Lavalin Polska and GEH are continuing discussions in support of PGE as the utility evaluates the potential of building up to four reactors based on one of two GEH reactor designs: the 1,350-MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) or the 1,520-MWe Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). ESBWR is GEH’s newest design offering the world’s most advanced passive safety systems.

“SNC-Lavalin has been working steadily in Poland for the last 12 years, and in Central and Eastern Europe since the 1960s in multiple product lines,” said Krzysztof Michalczuk, President of SNC-Lavalin Polska’s Warsaw-based Power Division headquarters. “We are very happy to have the opportunity to be part of this new initiative, and we will continue to grow the SNC-Lavalin Poland office well into the future.”

Recently SNC-Lavalin Polska successfully completed the new Patnow 460 MW Supercritical Steam Generating unit located at Konin in Poland.

SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) is one of the leading engineering and construction groups in the world and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure, and in the provision of operations and maintenance services. SNC-Lavalin has offices across Canada and in over 35 other countries around the world, and is currently working in some 100 countries. www.snclavalin.com.

Source: CNW

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