NEI's Energy Markets Report - March 17-March 21, 2008

Here's a summary of what went on in the energy markets last week:

Electricity peak prices all decreased between $0.30-4.40/MWh. Though peak prices declined, prices at all hubs except ERCOT are still higher than their previous 52 week averages (see pages 1 and 3).

Estimated nuclear plant availability fell to 83 percent last week. Eleven reactors were down for refueling and nine were down for maintenance. Fort Calhoun’s turbine tripped while at 85% power due to a turbine control valve problem. Comanche Peak 2 tripped due to a broken sensing line. Wolf Creek 1 tripped due to a low steam generator level from the loss of a main feed water pump. Grand Gulf 1 scrammed due to an actuation of an RPS signal while the reactor was critical. Information is not yet available on why River Bend and Nine Mile Point 2 are down (NRC, see pages 2 and 4).

Gas prices at the Henry Hub fell $0.56 to $9.20/MMBtu. Gas prices are 34 percent higher than the same time last year. According to a recent CERA report, the higher natural gas prices over the past few months are due to colder than normal temperatures across much of the U.S., lower Canadian gas production, lower LNG imports, and higher storage withdrawals (see pages 1 and 3).

Spot coal prices from EIA have increased moderately to significantly at five basins - Central Appalachia, Northern Appalachia, Illinois, Uinta and Powder River. Spot prices at the Northern and Central Appalachia basins have increased from about $45/ton in November 2007 to $80/ton today. Prices at the Illinois and Uinta Basins have increased from about $35/ton and $25/ton, respectively, since December 2007 to over $50/ton and $40/ton today (http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/coalnews/coalmar.html). According to a Forbes article on 3/10, coal spot prices have been increasing due to tight supplies after producers in South Africa and Australia, which supply a large portion of Europe's and Asia's coal needs, were hit by severe weather and power problems.

For the report click here. It is also located on NEI's Financial Center webpage.

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A Design Team Pictures the Future of Nuclear Energy

For more than 100 years, the shape and location of human settlements has been defined in large part by energy and water. Cities grew up near natural resources like hydropower, and near water for agricultural, industrial and household use.

So what would the world look like with a new generation of small nuclear reactors that could provide abundant, clean energy for electricity, water pumping and desalination and industrial processes?

Hard to say with precision, but Third Way, the non-partisan think tank, asked the design team at the Washington, D.C. office of Gensler & Associates, an architecture and interior design firm that specializes in sustainable projects like a complex that houses the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. The talented designers saw a blooming desert and a cozy arctic village, an old urban mill re-purposed as an energy producer, a data center that integrates solar panels on its sprawling flat roofs, a naval base and a humming transit hub.

In the converted mill, high temperat…

Sneak Peek

There's an invisible force powering and propelling our way of life.
It's all around us. You can't feel it. Smell it. Or taste it.
But it's there all the same. And if you look close enough, you can see all the amazing and wondrous things it does.
It not only powers our cities and towns.
And all the high-tech things we love.
It gives us the power to invent.
To explore.
To discover.
To create advanced technologies.
This invisible force creates jobs out of thin air.
It adds billions to our economy.
It's on even when we're not.
And stays on no matter what Mother Nature throws at it.
This invisible force takes us to the outer reaches of outer space.
And to the very depths of our oceans.
It brings us together. And it makes us better.
And most importantly, it has the power to do all this in our lifetime while barely leaving a trace.
Some people might say it's kind of unbelievable.
They wonder, what is this new power that does all these extraordinary things?

New Home for Our Blog: Join Us on NEI.org

On February 27, NEI launched the new NEI.org. We overhauled the public site, framing all of our content around the National Nuclear Energy Strategy.

So, what's changed?

Our top priority was to put you, the user, first. Now you can quickly get the information you need. You'll enjoy visiting the site with its intuitive navigation, social media integration and compelling and shareable visuals. We've added a feature called Nuclear Now, which showcases the latest industry news and resources like fact sheets and reports. It's one of the first sections you'll see on our home page and it can be accessed anywhere throughout the site by clicking on the atom symbol in the top right corner of the page.
Most importantly for you, our loyal NEI Nuclear Notes readers, is that we've migrated the blog to the new site. Moving forward, all blog posts will be published in the News section, along with our press releases, Nuclear Energy Overview stories and more. Just look for the &qu…

NEI Nuclear Notes

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