Skip to main content

Monday Update

By

TEPCO Injects Nitrogen Into Reactors, Prepares for “Cold Shutdown Condition”

December 5, 2011

Plant Status

  • Tokyo Electric Power Co. has begun injecting nitrogen into the pressure vessels of Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1 through 3. The action will reduce any buildup of hydrogen in the reactors as TEPCO prepares to announce, as early as next week, its achievement of what the company calls a “cold shutdown condition.” A new “Ask the Expert” page on NEI’s Safety First website explains how and why TEPCO’s definition of the term differs from common industry usage.
  • TEPCO reported today that about 45 metric tons of water containing radioactive strontium leaked from desalination equipment at a water decontamination facility used to recycle cooling water at the Fukushima Daiichi site. Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has ordered the company to investigate the causes and report on the impacts should any water reach the ocean and to take steps to prevent future leaks.

Industry/Regulatory/Political

  • TEPCO said Saturday it paid farmers and livestock workers about $500 million in compensation for loss of livelihood after the Fukushima accident. The company has so far paid about $1.2 billion to farmers and will pay another $96 million by the end of the year.

New Products

  • An article on NEI’s Safety First website describes how the Electric Power Research Institute is collaborating with global utility, regulatory, research and engineering entities on projects to gain a deeper understanding of lessons learned from Fukushima.

Media Highlights

  • The Japan Times reports on a government pilot project to test the effectiveness of its decontamination procedures in Okuma town near the Fukushima nuclear energy facility.
  • The Wall Street Journal notes that some mayors in Japan have been pushing for the restart of nuclear reactors that have been shut down for inspection after the Fukushima accident, as taxes levied on operating nuclear energy facilities have provided a source of revenue to local municipalities.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fluor Invests in NuScale

By
You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...
1 comment
Read more

Wednesday Update

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more