Uranium news, Japan
From: David Sadowski [mailto:
David.Sadowski@raymondjames.ca]
Sent: April-21-15 7:40 PM
Subject: Uranium - second Japan court APPROVES restart of reactors, avoiding injunction at Sendai - positive
Japan Court Approves Restart of Sendai
· A second district court has just made a decision regarding restart of a local nuclear plant – this time,
the court has blocked the injunction sought, effectively approving the Sendai 1& 2 reactors for resuming operations
· Today’s legal approval is a big win for PM Abe and Japan’s effort to restart its 43-reactor fleet (of which we model 20 returning to service over the next four years, albeit, Japanese officials have publically guided for up to 2/3rds)
· We had been worried that after Takahama 3&4 were blocked from restarting last week, other districts could be empowered to similarly prevent restarts
· However – logic, in our view, has prevailed – and the Takahama block appears in retrospect to have been the decision of an isolated, anti-nuke judge with questionable grounds (argued regulator guidelines, viewed by most as the world’s most stringent, as being insufficient)
· We model Sendai 1 & 2 starting-up in July or August; with the legal hindrance out of the way, these will be the first units back online and just need the very last sign-off from regulator NRA, which has already provided the preliminary green-light
Positive Impact – buy the equities
· Today’s decision significantly de-risks the reactor restart process and should pave the way for the other 16 reactors which have applied to the NRA regulator to fire up their units
· Recall, restarts should reduce the perceived overhang of Japan’s massive uranium inventories (>100 Mlbs), reducing their dumping risk and providing a psychological catalyst for uranium equities
· Along with very compelling supply-demand fundamentals (deficit starting 2020E) and the return of utility contracting to meet high uncovered requirements (of which last week’s India-Cameco is likely just the first step), we believe spot and term prices will begin a move towards mine-incentivizing levels of US$70/lb within the next 6-12 months
UPDATE 1-Japan court approves restart of reactors in boost for Abe's nuclear policy
9:57 PM Apr 21, 2015
* Court approves restart of Kyushu Electric's Sendai power
station
* Injunction decision second in a week
* Abe policy to restart reactors back on track
* Courts seen as final bulwark for nuclear opponents
(Recasts after court rejected injunction request)
By Kentaro Hamada
KAGOSHIMA, Japan, April 22 (Reuters) - A Japanese court has
approved the restart of Kyushu Electric Power's <9508.T> Sendai
nuclear power station, plaintiffs said on Wednesday, rejecting a
legal bid to halt the process by residents worried about the
safety of the plant.
The decision by the Kagoshima District Court clears another
hurdle for the plant to begin starting up as early as June as
the government pushes to restart Japan's idled nuclear industry
four years after the Fukushima disaster.
It also suggests another court ruling last week to prevent
the operation of two reactors west of Tokyo may have been an
aberration for Japan's conservative judiciary, which
anti-nuclear activists are petitioning to block restarts as a
majority of the public remains opposed to atomic power.
The Sendai reactors, on the coast of Kagoshima prefecture in
southwestern Japan, are "very close" to getting final regulatory
approval to being operations, an official from Japan's nuclear
regulator told Reuters earlier this month. [ID:nL4N0X62LI]
Four years after a quake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima
Daiichi plant north of Tokyo, leading to meltdowns and mass
evacuations, the Sendai reactors have cleared most regulatory
hurdles and could begin starting up as early as June.
A court order preventing Kyushu Electric from operating
Sendai would have risked tying up the industry in legal battles
for months or years.
A spokeswoman at Kyushu Electric contacted by phone said the
company could not immediately comment.
Kyushu Electric shares rose after the decision and were 2.5
percent higher at 0134 GMT.
Local residents who submitted a request to prevent the
restart of the Sendai reactors argued the utility and regulator
has underestimated the risk of nearby volcanoes and operational
plans lack credible evacuation measures.
Kyushu Electric denies this and the Nuclear Regulation
Authority says it sees no need to change its rules, after last
week's ruling said the regulations "lack rationality."
The decision is a boost for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who
wants to reboot nuclear to help reduce high energy costs and
reduce reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports.
