GE Hitachi Inks Deal for First North American SMR // The UK's Prophetic Power Shut Off // India Plans to Roll Coal

GE Hitachi Inks Deal for First North American SMR

Here's one for the maple leaves!

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Ontario Power Generation, SNC-Lavalin, and Aecon signed a contract for the deployment of a small modular reactor (SMR) at OPG's Darlington New Nuclear Project site. This is the first commercial contract for a grid-scale SMR in North America.

"Darlington, home to four 878-MWe CANDU pressurized water reactors, is the only site in Canada currently licensed for new nuclear. OPG was granted a license by the CNSC in 2012 to allow site preparation activities for a nuclear new-build project," reports the American Nuclear Society. "The license was renewed in October 2021, and is now valid until October 11, 2031."

OPG announced in 2020 that they were partnering with GEH, Terrestrial Energy, and X-energy to advance SMR tech. In November, they resumed planning for future nuclear generation at Darlington with the goal of hosting a grid-sized SMR by 2028. Finally, OPG chose GEH as their technology partner for the SMR project in December 2021.

“This contract is an important milestone and solidifies our position as the leading SMR technology provider,” GEH President and CEO Jay Wileman said in a press release. “We aim to deliver the first SMR in North America and, in doing so, lead the start of a new era of nuclear power that will provide zero-emission energy generation, energy security and energy reliability around the globe.”

The BWRX-300 looks to be a hot commodity. Potential deployments are located in Tennessee, Saskatchewan, and Poland. GEH has agreements with companies in multiple countries. The company sees the BWRX-300 as vital to GEH's energy transition goals.

The UK's Prophetic Power Shut Off

The United Kingdom is asking households to cut their electricity consumption during peak hours to spare the grid.

"Hundreds of thousands of households took part in the effort to reduce electricity demand during a couple of hours when energy supplies were forecast to be particularly tight," reports Bloomberg. "There was a financial incentive offered, but there’s more to the emergency measures. They’re a preview of the choices and behaviour that will have to become commonplace as the world transitions its energy supply to depend overwhelmingly on intermittent renewable sources."

Octopus Energy reported that 400k customers took part. Last Monday, households cut usage by 200 MWh--that's equal to Bristol, one of the ten largest cities in the UK, blacking out.

It appears many believe that encouraging consumers to slash energy use will simply become routine as the transition to renewables continues.

“Demand-side response needs to become part of the everyday, part of business as usual,” Sarah Honan, flexibility policy manager at the Association for Decentralised Energy, told a committee in the UK Parliament last week.

India Plans to Roll Coal

Who's afraid of coal? Not India.

The Indian government plans to use emergency law to force coal power plants that rely on imported fuel to maximize output ahead of expected high energy consumption this summer, according to government sources.

Some Indian coal-fired plants, including those owned by Adani and Tata, haven't run at full capacity due to competition with cheaper domestic coal plants. The power ministry plans to help those debt-laden power plants restructure in order to make them operational.

"India expects its power plants to burn about 8% more coal in the financial year ending March 2024, with increased economic activity and erratic weather to continue boost growth in demand for power," reports Reuters.

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Conversation Starters

1. Copper miners in Serbia are on strike. “Hundreds of workers at a joint Chinese-Serbian copper mine in Bor, in eastern Serbia, blocked access to the facility on January 26 to protest for higher wages and a new collective bargaining agreement with the mine's Chinese majority owners. The demonstrators blocked four entrance gates to the mining and smelting complex,” reports Oilprice.com. “’We are only blocking heavy trucks -- we let in the ambulance, firefighters, and police. Anyone can walk by foot and get to work,’ Dragan Elek, from the smelters trade union organization, told RFE/RL. Chinese Zijin Copper bought around two-thirds of the Bor mining facility from the Serbian state in 2018 and employs some 6,200 people to exploit copper, gold, and other ore deposits in eastern Serbia.”

2. Oman and Turkey have cut a gas deal. "Oman LNG announced the signing of a binding term-sheet agreement with Turkish BOTAŞ Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) to supply 1 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, starting in 2025. This agreement helps to strengthen Oman LNG’s partnership with international firms in the energy and LNG industry," reports the Times of Oman. "The signed term-sheet agreement will see Oman LNG supplying BOTAS with a total volume of 1 million metric tonnes per annum of LNG based on a 10-year contract, starting from 2025; helping to emphasize Oman LNG’s role in leveraging the Sultanate of Oman’s reputation and Oman LNG as a reliable and trusted LNG supplier, coupled with the effective management of business processes to produce clean energy delivered to customers around the world safely and reliably."

3. Chinese oil exports are poised to slow down this year. "China's much anticipated oil demand revival will likely prompt the country to keep more barrels at home this year -- a trend that could lead to a slump in clean oil product exports from Asia's biggest oil consumer toward the later part of 2023," reports S&P Global. "Although Chinese refiners are holding plentiful export quotas now, analysts and industry sources said Beijing could do another U-run and put a lid on exports if domestic demand picks up. Any shortfall in cargoes from China at a time when the products market is bracing for an EU ban on Russian product exports may lift oil product cracks."

Crom's Blessing