Nuclear Energy Industry Transitions

David Amerine is the new senior vice president of Parsons’ infrastructure and technology group. Amerine comes to Parsons from CH2M Hill’s nuclear business group, where he was executive vice president and deputy general manager.

William Barnet III is the newest member of Duke Energy's board of directors. He was elected to a seat on Oct. 25 and will serve on the board's audit and nuclear oversight committees. Barnet is the may of Spartanburg, S.C., and the chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Barnet Co. Inc., a real estate and investment firm.

Canada’s Natural Resources Department has proposed Robert Van Adel for reappointment as president and chief executive officer of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Van Adel has held the position since February 2001. The department will refer the proposal to a parliamentary committee for review. Van Adel is an NEI board member.

David Miller has been elected president and chief operating officer of Strathmore Minerals Corp., and president and chief executive officer of its U.S. subsidiary, Strathmore Resources Ltd. Miller previously was the company’s chief geologist.

American Electric Power has elected Linda Goodspeed to its board of directors. Goodspeed is executive vice president and chief technology officer for Lennox International Inc. She will serve on the audit, nuclear oversight and policy committees.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics

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Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...

Wednesday Update

From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...

NEI Nuclear Notes

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