Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Friday, January 1, 2010

SKorean-led group wins 20.4-billion-dollar UAE nuclear deal

SKorean-led group wins 20.4-billion-dollar UAE nuclear deal
Abu Dhabi (AFP) Dec 27, 2009 - The United Arab Emirates has awarded a 20.4-billion-dollar contract to build four nuclear power plants to a South Korean-led consortium, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation said Sunday. The UAE "has determined that the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) team is best equipped to fulfill the government's partnership requirements in this ambitious programme," ENEC chairman Khaldoon al ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/SKorean-led_group_wins_20.4-billion-dollar_UAE_nuclear_deal_999.html

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Feds near announcement of loan guarantees for U.S. nuclear sector

Feds near announcement of loan guarantees for U.S. nuclear sector
The Department of Energy is set to announce the first recipients of loan guarantees for the country's nuclear energy sector. "When DOE issues their first loan guarantee, that's going to send an important signal to private-sector financing, and Wall Street in particular," said Nuclear Energy Institute spokesman John Keeley. Southern, which seeks to construct two reactors in Georgia, is seen as a front-runner for a loan guarantee. Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BR39H20091228

South Korea eyes nuclear deal with Turkey

South Korea eyes nuclear deal with Turkey
Korea Electric Power is in discussions with Turkey for the construction of as many as four nuclear reactors, an official said. This comes after the country forged a nuclear export deal worth $40 billion with the United Arab Emirates. The Turkish government would start the bidding for the $20 billion venture next year, the official added. The Korea Times
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/12/116_58057.html

Arab Dictatorships Take 4 of Top 5 Spots in Purchase of US Weapons and Services

Arab Dictatorships Take 4 of Top 5 Spots in Purchase of US Weapons and Services

http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Arab_Dictatorships_Take_4_of_Top_5_Spots_in_Purchase_of_US_Weapons_and_Services_91228

US Intel: Iran Nuke Document Was Forged Gareth Porter gets the scoop from Philip Giraldi

US Intel: Iran Nuke Document Was Forged

Gareth Porter gets the scoop from Philip Giraldi

http://original.antiwar.com/porter/2009/12/28/us-intelligence-found-iran-nuke/

# Iran to unveil new home-built satellite: report

Iran to unveil new home-built satellite: report

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Iran_to_unveil_new_home-built_satellite_report_999.html

NKorea built plant to make gas for uranium enrichment: report

NKorea built plant to make gas for uranium enrichment: report

Washington (AFP) Dec 27, 2009 - North Korea may have constructed a plant to manufacture a gas needed for uranium enrichment in a development that would indicate that Pyongyang had opened a second way to build nuclear weapons as early as the 1990s, The Washington Post reported late Sunday. Citing a previously unpublicized account by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb program, the newspaper said North K ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/NKorea_built_plant_to_make_gas_for_uranium_enrichment_report_999.html

Israel says Iran nuclear plant immune to conventional strike

Israel says Iran nuclear plant immune to conventional strike

Jerusalem (AFP) Dec 28, 2009 - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday that Iran's recently diclosed second uranium enrichment plant is "immune" to conventional bombing. "The new site near Qom is meant for enrichment. What was revealed by the Iranians had been built over years and is located in bunkers that cannot be destroyed through a conventional attack," Barak told parliament's foreign affairs and committee. Iran notified the UN nuclear watchdog in September that it was building a second enrichment plant near the central shrine city of Qom, after Washington accused it of covertly evading its notification responsibilities under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. ... more

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Israel_says_Iran_nuclear_plant_immune_to_conventional_strike_999.html

Russia to keep developing nuclear missiles: Medvedev

Russia to keep developing nuclear missiles: Medvedev
Moscow (AFP) Dec 24, 2009 - President Dmitry Medvedev voiced hope Thursday that Moscow and Washington would reach an agreement on a new nuclear treaty but said Russia would continue developing nuclear missiles to defend itself. Russia and the United States have missed a series of deadlines to agree a new text setting out major cuts in their nuclear arsenals, after a previous agrement expired on December 5. Asked about the delays in a live year-end televised interview, Medvedev admitted the negotiations were "difficult" but insisted: "We need to create a quality document. I am sure that we will create it." ... more

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Russia_to_keep_developing_nuclear_missiles_Medvedev_999.html

Monday, December 28, 2009

South Korea group lands $40B nuclear deal with UAE

South Korea group lands $40B nuclear deal with UAE
A consortium of South Korean companies secured a deal worth $40 billion to construct and run four nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates, outclassing rival bidders from the U.S. and France. The first plant is slated for a 2017 startup, and the group seeks to finish the 1,400-megawatt reactors by 2020. Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE5BQ05O20091227?type=marketsNews

Energy Dept. official sees potential in small nuclear rectors

Energy Dept. official sees potential in small nuclear rectors
As the Energy Department nears the designation of a blue-ribbon commission that will look into new policies for handling used nuclear fuel, it still has a way to go in finalizing loan guarantees for new reactors, Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman said. Poneman also is interested in the development of small modular reactors, calling them a carbon-policy option with potential in the U.S. and internationally. "I certainly agree with the premise that small, modular reactors are a very interesting path to explore," Poneman said. The New York Times/ClimateWire (12/24

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/12/24/24climatewire-doe-to-study-storage-options-for-spent-nucle-97694.html

Sunday, December 27, 2009

UAE Awards $20 Billion Nuclear Contract to Korea

UAE Awards $20 Billion Nuclear Contract to Korea

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-27/u-a-e-awards-20-billion-nuclear-contract-to-korea-update3-.html

A South Korean group led by Korea Power Electric Corp. won a $20 billion contract to build four nuclear plants in the United Arab Emirates, the second-biggest Arab economy.

Korea Power, a state-run utility that supplies almost all the power in South Korea also known as KEPCO, won the U.A.E.’s first nuclear power plant order together with Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Samsung C&T Corp. and Westinghouse Electric Co., it said in a statement today.

“The KEPCO team is best equipped to fulfill the government’s partnership requirements in this ambitious program,” Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak, chairman of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp., or ENEC, said in a separate statement. “The nature of this project will require a partnership that endures for nearly 100 years.”

The U.A.E., the fourth-biggest producer among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is turning to nuclear power to meet growing electricity demand as the country’s infrastructure investments use up domestic natural-gas supplies. Power demand in the nation will double to 40,000 megawatts by 2020, Anwar Gargash, the minister of state for foreign affairs, said Nov. 16.