Flowserve gains 2 additional orders from Westinghouse for China Plants

Flowserve Corporation, a leading provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, today confirmed it had earlier received two significant orders from Westinghouse Electric Company for AP1000™ nuclear power projects in China.

Flowserve announced in May 2008 that it received an order to supply main steam isolation valves for two Westinghouse nuclear power plant projects in China. Since that time, Westinghouse has also placed additional safety related valve orders to include main feedwater isolation valves and motor-operated gate and globe valves for two AP1000 Westinghouse nuclear projects in China.

“These orders signify our continued leadership position in the nuclear power market and reinforce our commitment to this industry in supplying valves for nuclear power plants and in particular, our ability to meet our customers’ stringent quality requirements,” said Lewis Kling, Flowserve President and Chief Executive Officer.

These additional orders were recorded as bookings in 2008.

The latest order, booked in fourth quarter 2008, represents the first motor-operated valves (MOV) to be purchased for the new Westinghouse AP1000 reactor. The MOV order includes Flowserve Anchor/Darling gate valves, Flowserve Edward globe valves, and Flowserve Limitorque motor operators.

“We were pleased to have received these additional valve orders from Westinghouse for their new passive AP1000 nuclear power plant design,” said Tom Pajonas, President of the Flowserve Flow Control Division. “Flowserve has the uncommon ability to design, produce and service nuclear safety-related motor-operated valve packages, as both the motor operator and valve manufacturer.”

The new plants, located in Sanmen, Zhejiang province, and Haiyang, Shandong province, are expected to be operational in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Westinghouse was selected to supply a total of four AP1000 nuclear power plants in China.

Source: Businesswire

UK Atomic Energy Agency’s commercial division for sale

UKAEA Ltd provides services such as waste management and decommissioning of old nuclear power plants, as well as supporting the building of new plants.

The sale is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The government currently owns all of UKAEA and has said that it will consider retaining a stake in it.

“As the UK moves towards an era of nuclear new-build, this sale will increase efficiency, competition and value for money for the taxpayer in the decommissioning and clean-up work of old nuclear power stations,” said business secretary Lord Mandelson.

It will be the latest part of the government’s nuclear sale – it is in the process of selling British Energy, of which it owns 35%, to France’s EDF.

Other European power companies have been preparing themselves to bid to build new nuclear plants around Britain.

The French energy group GDF Suez and Spain’s Iberdrola have created a partnership to build new plants.

Source: BBC News

Toshiba plans to buy controlling stake in Nuclear Fuel Industries Ltd.

Toshiba Corp., Japan’s largest supplier of reactors, plans to buy a controlling stake in a nuclear fuel supplier to help compete with global rivals for new atomic power plants, officials said.

Toshiba’s Westinghouse Electric Co. seeks to buy more than 50 percent of Nuclear Fuel Industries Ltd. from Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. and Furukawa Electric Co., said two officials close to the negotiations who declined to be named before an announcement. Yuichiro Horiba, a spokesman at Osaka- based Sumitomo Electric confirmed the talks and said the companies have yet to reach a decision.

Better access to fuel may help Toshiba win orders as competition with France’s Areva SA and an alliance between Hitachi Ltd. and General Electric Co. intensifies. Nuclear power generation is set to increase as developing countries led by China and India build more reactors to meet demand and cut carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

“It’s more profitable to package reactors with the fuel,” Fujii Tomoyuki, an analyst at Okasan Securities Co., said by phone from Tokyo today. “Customers don’t want to take risks associated with the nuclear fuel business, and offering them together will help win orders.”

Toshiba spokeswoman Hiroko Mochida and Furukawa spokesman Toshinori Kimura declined to comment.

The two officials didn’t say how much Toshiba may pay for the proposed stake. The Yomiuri newspaper reported yesterday that Toshiba will buy all of Nuclear Fuel Industries at a cost of more than 20 billion yen ($205 million).

Hitachi Venture

Toshiba wants to buy a stake in Nuclear Fuel Industries partly because of concern that the company may be pushed out of another fuel venture with General Electric and Hitachi, one of the officials said.

Toshiba and Hitachi each own 24.5 percent of Global Nuclear Fuel Japan Co. while General Electric holds 51 percent. General Electric and Hitachi merged their nuclear energy business in July 2007, a year after Toshiba bought Westinghouse.

Toshiba, which is forecasting its first net loss in seven years, is focusing on nuclear energy as the global recession cuts profit from semiconductors, its main business. The company aims to win orders to build 39 reactors by 2015, it said in the mid-term business plan unveiled in January.

Shares in the company have tumbled 42 percent in the last six months, outpacing the 27 percent decline in the benchmark Topix index. The stock fell 8 percent to close at 263 yen at in Tokyo.

Nuclear Fuel Industries was formed in 1972 and sells atomic fuel rods to companies including Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Kansai Electric Power Co., the country’s biggest utilities. The company operates one plant at Ibaraki, north of Tokyo, and another in Osaka.

The world needs 32 new nuclear power plants a year to meet a goal of halving emissions by 2050, International Energy Agency Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said in June.

India plans to add 40,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2020, while China has increased its goal to 75,000 megawatts from a previous target of 40,000 megawatts, the Shanghai Securities News said today.

Source: Bloomberg

30 years after accident, a nuclear power industry revival

Thirty years after the accident at Three Mile Island, the nuclear power industry is moving ahead with plans to build a string of new reactors in the U.S., though the revival faces many uncertainties.
The crisis that erupted in the predawn hours of March 28, 1979, when a combination of worker mistakes and equipment malfunctions triggered a partial meltdown in the core of one of two reactors at a power plant near  Harrisburg, Pa., was long thought to have sealed the fate of the industry in the U.S.

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NPCIL plans to borrow $4 billion to fund new project with Areva

Nuclear Power Corp. of India plans to raise 3 billion euros ($4 billion) in overseas debt to fund a project to be built in partnership with Areva SA, the world’s biggest maker of atomic reactors.

Mumbai-based Nuclear Power, the state-run monopoly atomic energy producer, received bids from 15 international banks, including 10 French institutions, for the loan, Chairman Shreyans Kumar Jain said in a telephone interview.

“Our expression was for 3 billion euros but we have got commitments for 8 billion euros,” he said.

The project with Areva, to be built at Jaitapur in western India, will be India’s first large-capacity plant using overseas equipment after a three-decade global nuclear-trade ban was lifted last year. India plans to add 60,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032 from the current 4,120 megawatts as it seeks to end shortages of as much as 18 percent of demand.

Nuclear Power last month signed a preliminary agreement to buy two Areva reactors of 1,650-megawatt capacity each to be set up at Jaitapur in the state of Maharashtra. The company may increase the number of reactors to six to form its first “nuclear park.”

Debt will fund 70 percent of the project, Jain said yesterday. The Indian company will pay toward 30 percent equity in the Jaitapur project from cash reserves of 110 billion rupees ($2.2 billion), he said.

Uranium Supplies

Nuclear Power expects to complete raising the funds after signing the final contract with Areva by the end of this year, he said.

The French company will supply uranium to run the plants for 60 years, Anne Lauvergeon, Areva’s chief executive officer, said last month.

Nuclear Power’s agreements to buy reactors from Areva, U.S.-based GE Hitachi Nuclear and Russia’s Rosatom Corp. include assured uranium supplies, Jain said. The Indian company may need 750 metric tons of uranium each year to fire the 25,000 megawatts that it plans to set up with overseas assistance, Jain said.

The company plans to invest as much as $1.2 billion buying equity in overseas uranium mines and is looking for long-term supply contracts with countries including Kazakhstan and Canada, he said.

“We want to insulate all future programs from any possibility of starvation on account of fuel,” Jain said. “We want to maintain a big inventory so that any disruption won’t result in wastage of the huge investments we plan to make building nuclear capacity.”

Kazakhstan Plans

Nuclear Power has received “in-principle clearance” from the Indian government to look for uranium assets abroad and buy stakes in them. The company doesn’t plan to develop expertise in uranium mining, he said.

“We simply want to buy stakes to enable us to have a life- long commitment in proportion to our equity,” Jain said. “A couple of concrete proposals are with us and we are reviewing them.”

The Indian government may soon sign a nuclear-trade agreement with Kazakhstan, Jain said. The company signed an accord for uranium supplies, mining and fuel fabrication technologies with Kazakhstan’s KazAtomProm in January, he said.

Nuclear Power plans to buy 2,000 tons of uranium from Kazakhstan, the world’s third-biggest uranium producer, Jain said. The company will in return build a 220 megawatt or a 540 megawatt power project in Kazakhstan, he said.

Nuclear Power plans to appoint lead and co-arrangers for the overseas loan in the next one month, Jain said, without giving details.

Source: Bloomberg

Life Technologies Corp. and Nanosys Inc. introduce quantum dot technology for counterfeit prevention

Life Technologies Corporation, and Nanosys, Inc. on March 23, 2009 announced a cross-licensing agreement to share rights to an intellectual property estate related to fluorescent nanocrystals (also known as quantum dots). New products developed as a result of this agreement will help prevent counterfeiting worldwide. The quantum dots will allow manufacturers to trace the source of their materials and manage and track product shipments, helping stop counterfeit material use in pharmaceutical and diagnostic products, food and beverages (and their agricultural and environmental sources), and electronic goods, reducing counterfeiting of currency, documents, fine art, and luxury goods.

Quantum dots are tiny (nanometer size) fluorescent particles. While invisible to the eye, they emit intensely bright light when exposed to low-cost violet or ultraviolet light sources. Quantum dots display unique colors due to differences in size. Due to their particulate nature, quantum dots can easily be blended with polymers, gels, or inks and printed onto most surfaces. The complexity of their manufacturing process also makes them almost impossible to counterfeit. And, because quantum dots are highly stable, extremely bright and absorptive, they offer advancements in solid state lighting, solar collector and electronic display technology.

“Life Technologies’ quantum dots are currently being used in life science research and pathology, but there are vast opportunities to use them in a wide variety of applications,” said Paul Grossman, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy at Life Technologies. “Our new partnership with Nanosys will allow both companies to expand the opportunities for our combined technologies, and further the reach of Life Technologies into the applied markets.”

Jason Hartlove, CEO of Nanosys, continued, “We are very excited to be partnering with Life Technologies to use our combined nanotechnology to address the growing and pervasive problem of counterfeit goods. By working together with Life Technologies, we can now offer comprehensive solutions and technology licensing to our customers to help them use our unique quantum dot materials for anti-counterfeiting.”

The combination of the two companies’ vast intellectual property estates includes over 270 patents and applications, including 84 issued U.S. patents, for use of fluorescent nanocrystals. The licenses will allow both Life Technologies and Nanosys to work with a variety of manufacturers who want to protect their products from counterfeiting. Nanosys is currently using quantum dot technology to produce devices such as LEDs, photovoltaics and electronic displays, while Life Technologies is focused on life science applications, including in vitro and in vivo cell imaging, flow cytometry, tumor margin detection, and protein detection.

The worldwide counterfeit goods trade, excluding counterfeit money, is believed to be on the order of $1 trillion annually. The U.N. estimates counterfeit drug sales alone were over $300 billion in 2008, while the World Customs Organization believes that other counterfeit goods sold for more than $600 billion. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, these losses cost American industry and trade between $200 billion and $250 billion each year and equate to 750,000 American jobs lost.

Source: Fox Business

Bruce Power announces location for new build in northern Alberta

Comstock Canada wins major refurb contract at Bruce A Power Plant

EMCOR Group, Inc, a leader in mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure and facilities services for a diverse range of businesses, reported that, its Comstock Canada subsidiary has received contracts from Bruce Power in connection with a major refurbishment of nuclear generators at the Bruce A Power Plant in Tiverton, Ontario.

Comstock Canada will be responsible for providing mechanical and electrical construction services supporting the refurbishment of the facility’s four 900 MW class CANDU type nuclear reactor units. The scope of work involves low-pressure service water and high-pressure recirculation water pipe replacement and flushing, in addition to the filed execution of the valve replacement program.

Bruce Power is Canada’s first private nuclear generator. The 2,300-acre site houses the Bruce A and B generating stations, each of which holds four CANDU reactors. Six of those nuclear units are currently operational and combined produce more than 4,700 megawatts, enough to power 20 percent of the hospitals, homes and schools in Ontario.

“Comstock has had a significant and ongoing relationship with Bruce Power since we performed the removal and replacement of steam generators on Units 1 and 2 at its nuclear power generating facility, and then continued with activities in support of that facility,” stated Geoff Birkbeck, CEO of Comstock Canada. “We are extremely pleased to be further expanding our relationship with Bruce Power and working on yet another highly technical project so important to Canada’s future. ”

Source: Forbes

GE Hitachi to build reactors for NPCIL and BHEL

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) announced today the signing of two separate agreements with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) as the companies prepare to collaborate on building multiple GEH-designed nuclear reactors to help meet India’s energy production goals.

Mumbai-based NPCIL is India’s only nuclear utility operating 17 reactors and New Delhi-based BHEL is one of India’s leading manufacturer and supplier of power generation equipment and components.

The two government-owned companies are helping lead India’s efforts to expand electricity generation from nuclear energy in the world’s largest democracy more than tenfold over the next two decades, from 4.1 Giga Watts (GW) today to 60 GW by 2032.

Under the preliminary agreements, GEH will begin planning with NPCIL and BHEL for the necessary resources in manufacturing and construction management for a potential multiple-unit Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) nuclear power station. The 1,350-MW ABWR technology is the world’s only commercially proven Generation III reactor design, with the first two of four units entering service in 1996 and 1997 and four additional units under construction today.

“These agreements will extend our existing footprint in nuclear energy in India,” said Kishore Jayaraman, chief executive officer, GE Energy India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed after GEH executives recently led a US nuclear industry trade delegation to India to explore potential opportunities to partner with local companies on future nuclear plant projects.

The new agreements lay the foundation for cooperation between GEH and the two Indian companies as additional steps are taken by the Indian and the US governments to implement the agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation they signed in October 2008. These efforts, including adopting a civil liability law and other regulations, continue to progress. India and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed a nuclear safeguards agreement last month in Vienna, representing a critical milestone and sign of further progress towards full implementation of the agreement between the US and Indian governments.

Source: Business Standard

Areva’s SWR-1000 to be called ‘Kerena’ from now on

Areva has announced that its 1250 MWe Generation III+ boiling water reactor (BWR) design, provisionally known as SWR-1000, is henceforth to be called Kerena.

Kerena is one of three Generation III+ reactor designs offered by Areva, alongside the EPR and Atmea pressurised water reactor designs. Whereas Atmea and Kerena are still in the design phase, two EPRs are currently under construction, at Olkiluoto in Finland and Flamanville in France, with construction due to start on two units at Taishan in China later this year and at Penly in France by 2012.

Areva executives told British suppliers this week that a decision to build a third EPR in France could come by the end of the year.

So-called Generation III and Generation III+ reactors feature standardised designs offering numerous advantages over most of the world’s currently operating - or Generation II - reactors. These include enhanced safety, simplified operation, lower fuel requirements and the production of smaller volumes of waste. They typically feature inherent, or ‘passive’, safety features which depend only on physical phenomena such as convection, gravity or resistance to high temperatures, not on functioning of engineered components. For the utility and vendor, standardised design provides the scope for faster licensing, reduced capital costs and shorter construction times.

The Kerena design was been developed from that of the Gundremmingen nuclear power plant by Areva with extensive German input and using operating experience from Generation II BWRs to simplify systems engineering. The 1250-1290 MWe reactor has a 60 year operating life and uses high-burnup fuels, meaning that it can go for up to two years between refuelling outages. The simplified, standardised design incorporates passive safety systems alongside certain active ones and could be built in less than 48 months, according to Areva’s reactor design and construction arm, Areva NP.

Finland’s Fennovoima selected Kerena as one of three possible designs for its new build project, while German utility EOn agreed to work with Areva on further developing the reactor design as part of a 2008 agreement to cooperate on the construction of new UK nuclear power plants.

Source: World Nuclear News

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