Energy Solutions sets Idaho Falls GNEP meeting

Energy Solutions, LLC, a Salt Lake City engineering services firm, will hold a series of public meetings on its GNEP proposal for Atomic City, ID. The meetings are co-sponsored by North Wind, an Idaho Falls, ID, environmental consulting firm.

Meeting times and places include

• April 10th, Idaho Falls, Red Lion Inn 6:30-9:30 PM
• April 11th, Pocatello, Red Lion Inn, 6:30-9:30 PM
• April 12th, Blackfoot, City Council meeting chambers, 6:30-9:30 PM.

According to an emailed announcement, Energy Solutions plans to use the meetings to "raise awareness of the scope and type of facilities that GNEP will require." A presentation on the project will be followed by time for Q&A from the public.

The Energy Solutions proposal for Atomic City addresses two of the three GNEP facilities, a nuclear fuel recycling center and an advanced recycling reactor. Energy Solutions has also proposed GNEP sites for Barnwell, SC, and Roswell, NM.

The other Idaho GNEP proposal was submitted by the Regional Development Alliance (RDA) for a site at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The INL site proposal includes AREVA, the French nuclear giant, Boise, ID, based Washington Group Int'l, and the Battelle Energy Alliance, the INL site contractor for nuclear research programs. On March 29th Japan Nuclear Fuel joined the consortium. The RDA proposal addresses all three GNEP facilities including an advanced fuel cycle research center.

The Department of Energy has extended the comment period for the GNEP programmatic environmental impact scoping process from April to June of this year.

Kotek to Gallatin Group

John Kotek has joined the Gallatin Group, a Boise, ID, consulting firm according to a report in the Idaho Statesman. Kotek is an energy policy expert and former deputy manager of the Idaho National Laboratory. The firm provides consulting services in government affairs and public relations to public and private sector clients.

AEHI in land deal for Idaho reactor site

The Idaho Statesman reports that Alternative Energy Holdings (AEHI), the Lynchburg, Va.-based company that wants to build a nuclear power plant in Owyhee County has secured the land where the proposed plant would be built.

CEO Don Gillispie said the company will use a portion of 4,000 acres of land owned by James C. Hilliard to build a 1,600-megawatt energy complex that would include a nuclear and biofuels plant. In return for use of his land, Gillispie said Hilliard has agreed to become a major investor in the company.

According to the Statesman, Hilliard, who was raised in Nampa and now lives in Florida, has been involved in a number of business ventures across the United States. He currently owns radio stations in New Mexico, Dallas and Florida.

Larry Craig and Al Gore on Nuclear Energy

NEI Nuclear Notes

The Nuclear Energy Institute blog has a video of Idaho Senator Larry Craig asking former Vice President Al Gore if he recalls taking the nuclear R&D budget to zero dollars in 1998 at the Department of Energy.

There's a nice slide by NEI on its blog to illustrate the funding trends. According to NEI Gore told Craig he did not recall the fiscal history of nuclear R&D at DOE, and would reply to the question at a later time.

International Isotopes announces new investors

International Isotopes of Idaho Falls, ID, (OTC INIS.OB) announced March 21st it had entered into a private placement with Firebird Global Master Fund II. The placement provides International Isotopes with $1.2M in cash.

Firebird Funds Ltd. is a Cayman Islands based, New York NY managed hedge fund with US$2.75 billion in eight funds dedicated to equity investment in emerging markets, and resource situations, of which the Global Master Fund is one of the eight. The Global Master Fund is managed by James Passin.

International Isotopes Inc. manufactures nuclear medicine calibration and reference standards, high purity fluoride gases, and cobalt-60 products such as teletherapy sources. The Company also provides radioisotopes and radiochemicals for medical devices, calibration, clinical research, life sciences, and industrial applications and provides analytical, measurement, recycling, and processing services on a contract basis to clients.

On March 30th the firm reported a 50% increase in revenues for the 12 months ending 12/31/06 to $4.5M. It reported $2.9M in revenue for the prior 12-month period ending 12/31/05. Revenue from nuclear medicine markets represents the largest segment of the firm's activities at $1.68M for 2006 compared to $1.54M in 2005. The firm reported a net loss for 2006 of $1M attributable to the costs associated with the startup of a new transportation subsidiary and other factors.

In 2007 CEO Steve Laflin says the firm expects to begin commercial production of germanium tetraflouride. According to a company press release, the gas products produced through the Fluorine Extraction Process (FEP) are suited to specialty applications such as microelectronics and chemical vapor deposition processes where ultra high purity gases are required. The product is used in methods for fabricating semiconductor nanocrystal and semiconductor memory devices using the semiconductor nanocrystals.

In addition, the company plans to research additional applications in areas such as refrigerants or pharmaceutical products that could be enhanced by various fluorination reactions using these products.

GNEP PEIS Comment period extended 60 days

The Department of Energy (DOE) will be announcing the week of April 2nd that it intends to extend the public comment period for submitting comments on the scope of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (GNEP PEIS) from April 4, 2007 to June 4, 2006.

The Federal Register notice announcing the 60-day extension will be available on the DOE website once it is published.

Limited details of the 13 GNEP nuclear site studies are listed here.