Nuclear Power - Climate Change Conf. Dec 4, 2015 - The nuclear power industry turned out in force at the Cop21 Climate Change conference at Le Bourget near Paris this week. The European Nuclear Society reminded conference attendees that nuclear energy is a low-carbon emitter and stressed that nuclear should be part of the energy mix. Several countries are indeed moving forward with plans to ensure that nuclear energy has a place in their programs. In Canada, the province of Ontario extended its commitment to nuclear energy on Thursday, announcing a supply deal with Bruce Power under which the private nuclear generator will spend C$13 billion (US$9.7 billion) to refurbish six reactors. The deal calls for Bruce Power to receive $65.73 (US$49.16) per MWh from the start of 2016, a slight increase from its current price but much less than the $83 (US$62.08) per MWh average price of electricity in the province. The refurbishment project will begin in 2020, and add 30-35 years to the Bruce facility’s operating life.
South Africa’s state utility Eskom’s new build program for new power stations received a boost with a R7.2 billion (US$500 million) loan agreement from the China Development Bank on December 2. The agreement, aimed at supporting Eskom’s infrastructure build program, is expected to expedite the construction of some of Eskom’s power stations. China also entered into a deal between its State Nuclear Power Technology Corp. and the South African Nuclear Energy Corp. to enhance bilateral cooperation in the nuclear power. In the USA, legislation was approved that will keep the US Export-Import Bank open for business and extend its charter through Fiscal Year 2019. The re-authorization of the bank is viewed by US nuclear suppliers as critical in order to compete effectively in the large and growing international nuclear energy market.
China will have 110 operational nuclear reactors by 2030, making it one of the largest nuclear energy users in the world by then, state media reported this week. The total scale of nuclear power generation from reactors both under construction and in operation in the country will reach 88 GWe by the end of 2020, according to estimates in the draft 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) for the power industry. Meanwhile, the spot uranium market remained quiet this week in the midst of these developments. The spot uranium price entered into a fourth week unchanged at $36.00 per pound U3O8, with transactions in the spot market closing within a very narrow band.
A total of five transactions are reported for the week. One US utility entered the market seeking 60,000 pounds U3O8 or equivalent UF6, and selected a preferred supplier this week. Intermediaries or traders acted as buyers in the other four transactions. Most sellers appear to have met their sales goals for the year and buyers are shifting their focus to 2016 needs. As a result, both buyers and sellers exhibited little willingness to give ground on pricing, which slowed activity to a mere trickle. TradeTech’s Weekly U3O8 Spot Price Indicator remains at $36.00 per pound U3O8, unchanged from the November 30 Exchange Value and the December 3 Daily U3O8 Spot Price Indicator.
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