Tokyo Electric buys stake In South Texas Nuclear Project

[Statistical]

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO) said Monday that it has signed a contract with Nuclear Innovation North America LLC to buy a stake in the South Texas nuclear power plant expansion project.

This is Tokyo Electric's first stake buy in a nuclear power plant project overseas, and "will be a great opportunity to expand (use of) the boiling water reactor technology," Toshiro Kudama, Executive General Manager of Tokyo Electric's International Affairs Department, told a news conference.

Japan's largest power utility by capacity, also known as Tepco, is virtually the only major user of boiling water reactors, or BWR, worldwide. Pressurized water reactors are much more widely used.

The South Texas expansion project will use two 1.35-gigawatt advanced BWRs, the first project in the U.S. to feature this technology. If they prove reliable, it may lead to more overseas business for Tepco and BWR manufacturers, such as Toshiba Corp. (6502.TO), Hitachi Ltd. (6501.TO) and GE (GE).

Under the contract signed with NINA, as the U.S. company is known, Tepco will purchase $125 million worth of newly issued shares in the project for a stake of about 9%, and a call option for $30 million which gives it the right to buy an additional 10% stake for another $125 million in about a year's time, provided the U.S. Energy Department underwrites loans for the project, Kudama said.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100510-708988.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLEHeadlinesAsia

[Nederland]

1. Another company that didn't get the memo...

...that nuclear power is dead.

[Statistical]

2. Seems to be a poorly circulated memo.

Or maybe they just forgot aka Office Space

Dom Portwood: Hi, Peter. What's happening? We need to talk about your TPS reports.
Peter Gibbons: Yeah. The coversheet. I know, I know. Uh, Bill talked to me about it.
Dom Portwood: Yeah. Did you get that memo?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah. I got the memo. And I understand the policy. And the problem is just that I forgot the one time. And I've already taken care of it so it's not even really a problem anymore.
Dom Portwood: Ah! Yeah. It's just we're putting new coversheets on all the TPS reports before they go out now. So if you could go ahead and try to remember to do that from now on, that'd be great. All right!

[kristopher]

3. What part of "provided the U.S. Energy Department underwrites loans for the project"

do the acolytes of the Church of Uranium not get? TEPCO is trying to help Mitsubishi, which is having MAJOR problems getting the South Texas Project off the ground. It is a case study of dishonesty in the nuclear industry. They lied to the public, and when the utility tried to back out after the lies started unraveling, TOshiba etal tried to make the ratepayers eat the losses. Now Toshiba has managed to get Japan Inc to give them a small fraction of the funding but even Japan Inc isn't dumb enough to bite that hook unless the US taxpayer is going to guarantee their risk.

CPS seeks $32 billion in STP damages
...Nuclear Innovation North America, CPS Energy's partner, claimed San Antonio's utility was in breach of contract and should lose the hundreds of millions it invested if it didn't agree soon to keep funding the deal. NINA, which is a nuclear development joint venture between NRG Energy and Toshiba Inc., made the accusations in a response late Wednesday afternoon to a lawsuit CPS filed earlier this month. Hours later, CPS shot back with new allegations against NINA, NRG and Toshiba, the project contractor.

In court documents, CPS claimed the companies engaged in “fraudulent, defamatory and illegal conduct” to “manipulate project costs for their collective benefit.” CPS asked the court to award it at least $32 billion in damages. “The message I want to send NRG and NINA is that we are not suckers,” CPS Acting General Manager Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley said Wednesday night. “A business solution will benefit both, the sooner we get out of the courts the better. But make no mistake, I am not afraid of having this issue resolved in the courts.”

http://www.livinggreensa.com/CPS_seeks_32_billion_in_STP_damages.html#

[Statistical]

4. How many major solar farms or wind projects would be built without federal subsidies? Not many.

What 70%+ decline in wind capacity installs when PTC expired. Say it isn't so George. Sure looks like wind it just as dependent on subsidies as nuclear is. Lets not even get started on the double down subsidies required to get solar off the ground 50% credits (30% federal + 20% state) plus PPA at above market rate just to get anything started.

Come on low carbon is more expensive than high carbon it is know fact. That is why there are subsidies for low carbon power. Your just mad because this yet another nuclear project you thought was dead. Nuclear is dead remember. Oh wait no it isn't. I am sure the 2011 budget will have the funding increase requested by DOE to boost number of nuclear projects nationwide from 3 to 12!

[kristopher]

5. Yeah, that must be it; it has nothing to do with the lying of the nuclear industry

[joshcryer]

6. Tax credits are not subsidies, straight from the Cato Institute.

A position that the poster you're replying to hasn't disagreed with.

[joshcryer]

7. Don't forget, NINA is taking majority stake in the project now.

Just because the local utility is gas power friendly, doesn't mean that people companies aren't willing to take the brunt of the risk, with the government having majority lien.

[jpak]

8. "If they prove reliable"

:rofl:

[jpak]

9. "provided the U.S. Energy Department underwrites loans for the project"

:rofl: