Harry Reid leads push to end nuke waste project Nevada never wanted
‘Washington - After all the years spent fighting the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, a phone call on a Wednesday in July between the Senate majority leader and the new energy secretary turned the tide. The Senate was facing a late-night vote on the Energy Department's 2010 spending plan, and Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, had the backing of his colleagues to slash funding for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review of a license for the nuclear waste dump. Reid picked up the phone and got Energy Secretary Steven Chu on the line. Although President Barack Obama was no friend of Yucca Mountain, Chu was intrigued by the scientific lessons that could be learned studying the nation's 25-year attempt to build a nuclear waste repository in the Nevada desert. Chu, a Nobel laureate, had said repeatedly since joining Obama's Cabinet that although Yucca Mountain was no longer an option, he saw value in pressing on with its license application before the commission - a prospect that sent shudders through Nevada's anti-dump contingency. Reid had other plans. He believed the licensing process had to end and wanted to pare Obama's budget for that review.’

Envoys head to North Korea to push for nuclear talks
‘SEOUL (Reuters) - A senior Chinese envoy was in North Korea to prod the reclusive state back to stalled nuclear talks while the South sent a team across the border on Monday for talks to restart tourism projects halted due to political wrangling. The North will also host the U.N.'s top political envoy later this week, with analysts saying this engagement may bode well for the dormant six-way disarmament-for-aid talks and could lead to Pyongyang reducing the security threat it poses to the region. The destitute North is feeling pressure to return to the nuclear talks, where it can win aid to prop up its broken economy, due to U.N. sanctions imposed after its nuclear test in May 2009 and a botched currency revaluation that sparked inflation and rare civil unrest. Analysts said there is a chance the North could launch military moves if the talks do not go well. Market players have said this would dampen sentiment and serve as a reminder of the dangers of investing in the troubled peninsula. Chinese Communist Party international affairs chief Wang Jiarui flew to North Korea at the weekend. Wang met Kim Jong-Il last year, and received a denuclearization pledge from the North Korean leader.’

KEPCO seals deal with Areva to develop uranium mine in Niger
‘SEOUL, Feb 08, 2010 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Sunday it has signed a deal with French state-owned nuclear group Areva SA to jointly develop a uranium mine in Niger. The latest deal came after the South Korean state-run power company purchased a 10-percent stake in the French group's subsidiary, Areva NC Expansion, which owns a 67-percent stake in the Imouraren mine, at an investment of 300 billion won (US$258 million), KEPCO said. The deal is expected to secure 700 metric tons of uranium per year for 24 years from 2013, according to the company. KEPCO chief Kim Ssang-su said in a statement the company plans to obtain half of its uranium needs from overseas mines of its own by 2020.’

Koreans keen on Rössing South
‘A CONSORTIUM of Korean companies led by Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) is preparing to bid for a stake in Extract Resources' Rössing South, with the potential to become the second biggest uranium mine in the world within the next five years, the Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. The agency based the report on "two people familiar with the matter". State-run utility Kepco, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co, and Korea Resources Corp are looking to take a stake of around 15 per cent in Rössing South, "one of the persons said". According to the Dow Jones Newswires, the consortium is working to submit the bid by a deadline of March 18, and the outcome is likely to be known a few months later. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, didn't disclose the likely value of the Korean consortium's offer. Another person confirmed Kepco and Korea Resources Corp are in talks over a possible joint bid, but membership of the consortium hasn't been finalised.’

Argentina announces completion of third nuclear plant by end of the year
‘Argentina will complete work on its third nuclear power plant by the end of the year, Planning Minister Julio De Vido said at a press conference. Last April, De Vido said work on the plant, called Atucha II, wouldn't be finished until the first or second quarter of 2011. De Vido said the government also will finish new work on the bi-national Argentine-Paraguayan Yacyreta hydroelectric plant this year. Once finished, the two projects will add 2,000 megawatts to the national power grid, he said. That will increase Argentina's total power generation capacity by about 10%, he said. The energy tsar downplayed recent power outages, saying they have affected only 0.5% of users, but that figure refers only to clients in Greater Buenos Aires. Blackouts have affected millions of users in other areas. The Atucha II plant, which is expected to generate around 700 megawatts, will provide about 3% of Argentina's total power output. Atucha II was originally supposed to come online more than 20 years ago in 1987. The project was stalled for 14 years because of "inexplicable" political and economic reasons, De Vido said last year.’

EDF, Areva reach deal on used nuclear fuel
‘PARIS, Feb 5 (Reuters) - French energy giant EDF and nuclear specialist Areva (CEPFi.PA) said on Friday they had reached an agreement on used nuclear fuel management after the state stepped in to mediate fraught talks. The two state-controlled firms -- whose chief executives are locked in a public spat -- were on Jan. 20 given a two-week deadline by the French government to resolve their differences over how to apply a 2008 framework agreement on nuclear waste. French prime minister Francois Fillon on Friday said in a statement that he was pleased with the deal. Strategy disagreements between EDF head Henri Proglio and Anne Lauvergeon, Areva's CEO, turned to public hostility earlier in January when Areva briefly halted fuel deliveries to and collection of waste from EDF after a deadline to renew their contract expired. The two companies said in a statement on Friday they would sign a contract covering transportation, treatment and recycling of used nuclear fuel before the end of March. The agreement reached by the two groups lays out conditions for applying the framework agreement of Dec. 19 2008, which set out a partnership covering treatment-recycling of used fuel, and reprocessed fuel fabrication, the firms said.’