Bloomberg: Areva's European Wins Lift Chances in $1 Trillion Global Tussle July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Areva SA, the largest builder of nuclear plants, is seeking to use a lead in its home European market over Toshiba Corp.'s Westinghouse Electric Co. to gain an edge in the $1.05 trillion of global contracts up for grabs. Areva's new model, the evolutionary power reactor, or EPR, has been chosen for at least 11 of the 41 new plants planned or under construction in the European Union. Westinghouse, which is pushing its AP1000 pressurized water reactor, hasn't built a plant in the region for more than 20 years. As many as 180 reactors may be completed in the next eight years in countries from China to Brazil, according to the World Nuclear Association, while a further 282 have been proposed. Areva and Westinghouse face rivals such as General Electric Co.'s venture with Hitachi Ltd., Russia's ZAO Atomstroyexport and Korea Electric Power Corp. in bidding for contracts.

AFP: South Korea courts Poland on nuclear, LNG projects WARSAW (AFP) - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Tuesday signalled Korean firms were keen to build Poland's first atomic reactor and liquefied natural gas terminal, projects key to its energy diversification bid. "I know that in the context of energy security and diversification Poland is planning to build a nuclear electricity plant and an LNG terminal. Korea has a very strong position in these areas and awaits greater cooperation with Poland on these matters," he told a Polish-Korean economic forum in Warsaw. "Over the last 30 years Korea has built and safely used over 20 nuclear power plants and is currently constructing eight more. We have a wealth of experience and the most modern technology," he added. Poland, currently nuclear-free, is trying to reduce its reliance on coal which provides 94 percent of its electricity. The government has signalled the construction of "one or two" nuclear energy plants by 2020 and is in talks with France and South Korea regarding technology for the project.

Bloomberg: US Utilities Seek to Suspend Nuclear Waste Payments
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. nuclear utilities say they shouldn't have to pay an estimated $769 million this year toward a waste repository since the U.S. is abandoning the Yucca Mountain site and hasn't settled on another disposal plan. The Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based group representing owners of all 104 operating U.S. reactors, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu today asking for the payments to be suspended. About $29.6 billion in fees and interest has gone into the nuclear fund as of the end of 2008. Utilities pay into the fund via a surcharge on electricity produced by nuclear power. President Barack Obama announced earlier this year in budget documents that the U.S. would no longer seek to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Chu has proposed a panel to make recommendations on a plan for waste disposal. "There is no clearly defined program for disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Frederick Butler, president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, said in a separate letter today to Chu. "Therefore, there is no basis to assess the adequacy of fees that continue to be paid into the Nuclear Waste Fund."

AP: US, UAE nuclear deal would end if terms violated
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. would cancel a nuclear energy agreement with the United Arab Emirates if the Middle East nation were to violate any terms of the deal, an Obama administration official said Wednesday. Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, sought to convince lawmakers that the pact is designed to keep sensitive technology from flowing to Iran or allowing the UAE to develop atomic weapons. "We have set a very high bar," Tauscher told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The administration approved plans in May to help the UAE become the first Arab country with a civilian nuclear power industry that would fuel its growing demand for electricity. The U.S. is promoting the deal as a counterweight to Iran's pursuit of atomic weapons and a model for others in the Middle East to follow. Under the pact, the UAE must import, rather than produce, fuel for its nuclear reactors. It also has committed not to enrich uranium or reprocess spent nuclear fuel for plutonium, which is used in nuclear bombs.