A Nuclear Energy Revival
Nuclear energy is when once again producing news and when some thing is creating news, a person is generating dollars. The news was littered with stories late last year of the United Arab Emirates, their nuclear cooperation deal with the U.S., and the billion nuclear program that ensued. Those reports went viral, spawning all sorts of discussion about a nuclear boom in the Middle East. It was sufficient to create headlines like, “UAE Could Spur Nuclear Energy Rush,” and sufficient to briefly get excited about the businesses in the operating for potential contracts, like Areva (PA: CEI), GE (NYSE: GE), and Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP).
A consortium which includes Korea Electric Energy, Hyundai Engineering, Samsung C&T, and Doosan Heavy Industries eventually won the contract in December. They’ll construct four nuclear reactors in the UAE for billion… and earn an additional billion to operate the plants for 60 years. And after lifting a moratorium on nuclear expansion in 2008, the United Kingdom gave the go-ahead to ten new nuclear energy stations last month. That’s two major announcements in 1 month. So it is time we began searching at this trend for individual acquire.
Nuclear’s Growing Pros You’re all properly conscious of nuclear’s cons: Waste disposal and safety problems are what have prevented a nuclear renaissance over the passed few decades. But now, a growing and energy-hungry global population is making nuclear a viable choice when again. In a globe exactly where “emissions” has turn out to be a dirty word, nuclear is increasingly gaining traction in energy and political circles – each on the left and right. And I can say for specific that safe nuclear is more of a reality than the idiomatic clean coal. Even though a number of nuclear plans had been initiated around the globe last year, not 1 new coal plant was built here in the States. In fact, 26 of them had been defeated or abandoned. And improvements are becoming produced…
Westinghouse is marketing and advertising a reactor known as the AP1000 which takes a new, passive approach to safety. It demands half as many safety valves, 83% much less pipes, and 33% much less pumps. Areva is creating the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), which has four emergency core cooling systems instead of the usual two. And GE is pioneering the Economic Simplified Boiling Reactor, developed for far better natural circulation so there is much less reliance on pumps. To cap off this resurgence, The New York Times reported: “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is also considering a proposal that it give approval to a handful of standardized, completed designs, rather than approving each and every plant’s style individually right after construction had begun. The hope is to cut a 10-year construction method in half.” The Path to Nuclear Profits In a current article, my colleague Chris DeHaemer put forth his 11 black swans for 2010. 1 of them predicted uranium to surge to per pound: “The price of uranium launched in 2007 up to five a pound. Now, following the crash, it is back to a pound. But the identical demand that drove uranium up is still there. China is currently constructing eight nuclear power plants and has another twenty in the planning stages Britain is developing ten. Egypt, India, Sweden, South Korea, and most of Africa are developing or searching for to build nuclear power facilities.
The Globe Nuclear Association just had a meeting which concluded uranium demand is growing and at the very same time, prior production projections have dropped off due to the credit crisis. Businesses like Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) will benefit.” I also believe Cameco is a good bet. And you can get broad exposure by holding an business ETF, like Market Vectors Nuclear Power (NSYE: NLR). But for a actual shot at legendary nuclear returns, you could want to take a look at Alternate Power Holdings (OTC: AEHI). The organization just graduated from the Pink Sheets, and is already eyeing NASDAQ listing. And they’ve already filed an application to develop a power plant in Payette County, Idaho. And, according to Nuclear Street: “On January 14th the Payette County Preparing and Zoning Commission will make its choice concerning a alter to the county’s comprehensive plan. If a alter is created, it would set the stage for an eventual rezone of agricultural land for a nuclear energy plant involving a hybrid cooling technique.” That’s tomorrow! A positive ruling could send this .11 stock soaring. But a negative one could send it down sharply. It could be a excellent bet, as lengthy as you can stomach the risk. So be sure to check it out.
