United Press International
May 1 2008

Outside View: Nuke power future — Part 2

Published: May 1, 2008 at 1:09 PM
By SERGEI GOLUBCHIKOV
UPI Outside View Commentator

MOSCOW, May 1 (UPI) — Uranium prices are increasing throughout the
world; over the past three years, they have doubled, and not
surprisingly. One cubic centimeter of uranium is equivalent to 60,000
liters of gasoline, 110 to 160 metric tons of coal, or 60,000 cubic
meters of natural gas.

Being highly concentrated, this fuel can be easily and cheaply
transported any distance. Its price factored in as part of generated
power is comparatively small. So even a massive rise in uranium fuel
prices has little effect on nuclear power costs. Since 1997 they have
gone up by just 7 percent.

With current uranium production at 3,400 metric tons a year, its
reserves will last for half a century. How will Russia’s nuclear
industry fare once the explored reserves run out? There are two
options. The first is to look for an alternative way of supplying fuel
for the nuclear industry. One is to use so-called "fast reactors" —
fast-breeder nuclear reactors.

Their advantages are moderate power intensity and low fuel
consumption. Fast reactors can use uranium from poor fields, with a
low degree of enrichment.

Another way is to recycle spent fuel, namely to obtain plutonium fuel
separated from the uranium extracted from nuclear reactors.

Russia has cornered a sizeable part of the world’s future uranium
market, and its share could grow as new fields are tapped in Eastern
Siberia.

It can also receive supplies from other countries — ones that have no
nuclear industry of their own or lack enriching technologies.

Russia already owns 49 percent of the Russian-Kazakh Zarechnoye
company, which is developing a field of 19,000 metric tons of uranium.

In 2007, Australia became one of Russia’s uranium partners. It boasts
the world’s largest uranium deposits. The leaders of the two
countries, Vladimir Putin and John Howard, signed an agreement in
Sydney, under which Russia will receive $1 billion worth of raw
Australian uranium per year for its nuclear needs. The document will
come into effect once the two parliaments ratify it.

Mongolia is also going to play an important role. Theoretically, its
natural uranium resources put the country at the cutting edge of the
world market, and just need to be explored.

Russia’s potential uranium reserves (natural and weapons-grade) will
enable it to claim 45 percent of the world’s uranium enrichment
services market by 2030 and 20 percent to 25 percent of the nuclear
plant construction market.

Given closed nuclear cycle technologies — fast-breeder reactors —
these resources will be able to meet global power needs for 1,000
years.

(Sergei Golubchikov is an associate professor at Russian State Social
University. This article is reprinted by permission of the RIA Novosti
news agency. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the RIA Novosti news
agency.)

(United Press International’s "Outside View" commentaries are written
by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important
issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United
Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum,
original submissions are invited.)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress