Monday Morning Breakfast

...nuclear energy news you may have missed this weekend.

The Wall Street Journal looks at the impact that cap-and-trade would have on the nuclear energy industry's bottom line....On ABC's "This Week," House minority leader John Boehner (R-OH) said that the House Republicans will release a "real energy policy" this week. Boehner added, "...we also have to be serious about having nuclear energy, and we need to be able and willing to go produce more oil and gas here in America in an environmentally sensitive way, and we can do that."...The Netherlands needs a nuclear energy program, so says Dutch economics minister, Maria van der Hoeven....On its front page, the St. Petersburg Times weighs in on the proposed new plant build in Levy County,FL....The Wilmington Star-News editorial board is encouraged by the announced GE Hitachi expansion of its campus in Wilmington, NC....The EU Energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs discusses "nuclear without taboos" and EU energy policy on his blog....France is the model for growing the nuclear industry in Australia, according to On Line Opinion....On Friday, NEI's Sr. VP of Governmental Affairs, Alex Flint, appeared before the Senate Republican Conference on Energy Policy. (Flint's testimony begins at 01:16:15 in the video clip.)...Simona De Silvestro lost the race at Laguna Seca on Sunday, but maintained her overall lead in the Atlantic Championship series.

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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...

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