31 Oct (NucNet): The share of nuclear in electricity generation in Japan by 2100 is expected to be 67 percent and come from both fission and fusion reactor units.

In a supply-and-demand study called �2100 Nuclear Vision: Proposal Toward a Low-Carbon Society�, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) says the aim by 2100 is to reduce CO2 emissions by about 90 percent from current levels.

The study includes four major proposals:

� The use of renewable energy and nuclear energy must be increased.

� Nuclear energy will be used for power generation and also as a heat source in the production of hydrogen.

� Final energy consumption should be reduced to about 60 percent of current levels by 2100. The approximate component shares of each type of energy will be 60 percent for electricity � an increase of 25 percent from today�s level � 30 percent for fossil fuels (now 75 percent) and 10 percent for hydrogen.

� The approximate component shares for each type of primary energy will be 60 percent for nuclear (now 10 percent), 30 percent for fossil fuels (now 85 percent) and 10 percent for renewable energies (now 5 percent).

The JAEA said the total amount of generated electricity in 2100 is expected to reach around 1,700 billion kilowatt-hours, with nuclear accounting for about 67 percent, of which 18 percent will come from light water reactors (LWRs), 35 percent from fast breeder reactors (FBRs), and 14 percent from fusion reactors.

Installed capacity is expected to be about 370,000 megawatts (MW), with nuclear making up about 40 percent, of which 10 percent will come from LWRs, 21 percent from FBRs, and 9 percent from fusion reactors.

By 2100, 120 high-temperature gas-cooled reactors will be in use in the production of hydrogen, with a thermal capacity of 72,000 MW.

Today, Japan has 55 reactor units in commercial operation and two, Tomari-3 and Shimani-3, listed by the International Atomic Energy Agency as under construction. All seven units at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant remain offline following a strong earthquake in July 2007. The nuclear share in electricity generation was about 28 percent in 2007.

>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)

Policymakers Urge Japan To �Increase Pace� Of Fast Breeder Development (News No. 116, 5 June 2006)

Nuclear �At Forefront Of Japan Energy Policy� As New Ministers Appointed (News in Brief No. 89, 12 August 2008)

Source: NucNet

Editor: david.dalton@worldnuclear.org

31 Oct (NucNet): The global energy imbalance remains dramatic and it is understandable that many developing countries should see nuclear power as a key source of the energy they need to lift their people out of poverty, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said.

Mohamed ElBaradei told the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 28 October 2008 that the developed countries that make up the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), on average, consume electricity at a per capita rate of 8,600 kilowatt-hours per year � roughly 170 times more than is consumed in Africa.

He said energy is �the engine of development� and nearly every aspect of development requires reliable access to modern energy services.

Mr ElBaradei said nuclear power is undergoing a renaissance and �this is a remarkable development�. Nuclear energy is now seen as offering part of the solution to surging global demand for energy, uncertainty about energy supply and concern about climate change. In the last two years, some 50 IAEA member states have expressed interest in considering the possible introduction of nuclear power and asked for IAEA support. Twelve of these countries are actively preparing to introduce nuclear power.

The General Assembly adopted a resolution praising the IAEA�s role in �encouraging and assisting the development and practical application of atomic energy for peaceful uses�.

>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)

IAEA Chief Proposes New �Global Energy Institution� (News No. 60, 28 July 2008)

ElBaradei Will Not Seek Further Term As IAEA Chief (News in Brief No. 107, 15 September 2008)

Source: NucNet

Editor: david.dalton@worldnuclear.org

31 Oct (NucNet): Centrica, the UK�s largest energy supplier, plans to raise 2.2 billion pounds (GBP) (3.5 billion US dollars, 2.7 billion euro) in a rights offer to help fund the potential acquisition of a 25 percent stake in British Energy Group.

British Energy, which has eight nuclear power plants, is 35 percent owned by the government, but is set to be taken over by French utility company Electricite de France (EDF) in a deal worth about GBP 12.5 billion.

Centrica will sell new shares at 160 pence each on the basis of three new shares for every eight held, the company said today in a statement.

The company said last month it was in talks with EDF about acquiring a stake in British Energy. Centrica said it would fund the acquisition of its stake in British Energy through a combination of debt and equity. It would pay about 774 pence a share, equivalent to GBP 3.1 billion, the same per-share price EDF agreed for the whole of British Energy.

According to the British government, EDF plans to continue operating BE�s existing fleet of nuclear power plants and will also invest in the construction of four new reactor units in England.

>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)

EDF Confirms GBP 12.5 Billion Offer For British Energy (News No. 75, 24 September 2008)

Source: NucNet

Editor: david.dalton@worldnuclear.org

31 Oct (NucNet): Mirion Technologies Sensing Systems Division, a manufacturer of electronic and component systems for the nuclear power industry, has been awarded a contract by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to provide electrical penetration assemblies for units 3 and 4 of the Shin Kori nuclear plant.

Mirion said the plants will be the 21st and 22nd nuclear plants in South Korea to be supplied with electric penetration assemblies manufactured by Mirion. The company�s electrical penetrations are installed in more than 290 nuclear power plants. Mirion has 14 production facilities in the US, Europe, and Asia.

KHNP, a subsidiary of the Korea Electric Power Corporation, will own and operate Shin Kori-3 and -4. Both are 1,400-megawatt advanced pressurised reactors (APR 1400s). Completion is scheduled for 2013 and 2014 respectively.

South Korea has 20 nuclear units in commercial operation and four under construction. The other two units under construction are Shin Kori-1 and -2, which are 950-MW pressurised water reactor type OPR-1000s (Optimised Power Reactors). Unit one is scheduled for completion by 2011, followed by unit two in 2012.

>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)

Westinghouse Signs Contracts For New South Korean Units (News No. 183, 29 August 2006)

Hyundai Consortium To Build South Korea's New Shin Kori Units (News No. 51, 28 February 2007)

Source: NucNet

Editor: david.dalton@worldnuclear.org

31 Oct (NucNet): Two combined construction and operating licence (COL) applications have been posted on the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission�s (NRC) website.

In September 2008 Entergy filed a request for a COL for its River Bend site in Louisiana. It plans to build a 1,500-megawatt GE Hitachi Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR).

The other application was submitted in mid-October 2008 by PPL Generation for a 1,600-MW Areva Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR). The planned unit would be built at Bell Bend, a site close to the company�s existing Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

The NRC said it is carrying out an initial check of both applications to determine whether they contain sufficient information required for a formal review.

The applications are available at http://www.nrc.gov.

>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)

NRC Publishes UniStar COL Application For Nine Mile Point (World Nuclear Review No. 41, 24 October 2008)

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