Nuclear Stocks: Too Hot for an Eco Portfolio?
Guest Author Nuclear energy is not the “bad boy” it once was For many years, nuclear energy was labelled as a potential threat to the environment as well as the global population. Interestingly enough, the memories of the disasters at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island are now distant and the perspective of nuclear energy is changing in positive fashion. The growing worries created by the ballooning demands on the world’s energy sources, an increase in the competition for energy supplies, rising concerns regarding global warming, and the volatility of the gas and oil prices are reasons that...
NuScale’s Small Nuclear Reactors Land A Big Investor
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
NuScale Power is in a new pact with South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co. to support development of NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR). In addition to direct investment of $40 million in NuScale, Doosan has agreed to provide parts and equipment for the innovative nuclear power reactor valued at a total of $1.2 billion.
NuScale has been working on its power reactor for several years. The new design is based on pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology that has been used to power nuclear submarines and naval vessels. The design uses ordinary water as a coolant rather than ‘heavy’ water used by...
Lightbridge Flirts with Areva
by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week nuclear fuel developer Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR: Nasdaq) announced an agreement with nuclear power plant builder Areva (AREVA: Paris; ARVCF: OTC/QB) to form a joint venture. The present pact is a precursor to a formal joint venture agreement that would team up the two companies - one very large multinational nuclear power house and one still quite small fuel developer - in joint development of Lightbridge’s metallic nuclear fuel technology. Lightbridge has developed and patented a novel design that replaces conventional tubes filled with ceramic uranium pellets now used by pressurized...
A Light At The End Of The Bridge For Lightbridge?
by Debra Fiakas CFA Earlier this week nuclear fuel technology developer, Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR: Nasdaq), reported year-end 2015 financial results and provided an update on recent accomplishments. Not unexpectedly, Lightbridge reported a net loss of $4.3 million or $0.24 per share for the year. During the year the company scraped together $900,000 in revenue from consulting services, an effort to leverage the expertise of its scientists and engineers as they continue work on new fuel technologies. The contribution margin of the consulting work was $216,239 - not nearly enough to cover administrative spending or the costs of...
Offshore Wind A Big Part Of Why GE Wants Alstom
Who's the Energy Alpha Dog? GE or Siemens? By Jeff Siegel General Electric (NYSE:GE) wants to acquire one of the largest companies in France, and it could get what it wants if Germany doesn't get in the way. Alstom SA (AOMFF), the target of GE's desires, is a French energy and transportation company with a market value of approximately $11.5 billion. It deals in hydroelectric and nuclear power, environmental control systems, wind turbines and battery storage, as well as trains and rail infrastructure. It's a huge company, and GE could spend as much as $13 billion to...
Watch This Nuclear Player Boil
by Debra Fiakas CFA The last post on Chicago Bridge and Iron (CBI: NYSE) noted the entrance of CBI into the nuclear field with the acquisition of The Shaw Group, which has an exclusive relationship with Toshiba Corporation related to the Toshiba Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). More evolutionary than revolutionary the ABWR is supposed to be superior other designs in its light water reactor class. ABWR produces power by superheating water to the boiling point. The resulting steam is then used to drive a turbine attached to a generator. Other light water reactors also heat...
Flocking to Uranium
The post Yellow Cake Debut described the capital raising effort of one of the newest players in the uranium supply chain. Yellow Cake leadership brought the aspiring intermediary to the capital market at a critical time for uranium producers. The uranium market has been in an extended trough period since the industry peak in 2007. At that time considerable development had been undertaken and capacity was beginning to generate sufficient supply to create stockpiled inventories. As this bloated condition persisted, in 2011 the nuclear power and its uranium supply chain were shocked by a Pacific Ocean tsunami that led to a nuclear spill at...
Admin Reviews Fuel Production To Mixed Nuclear Reactions
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
The U.S. Administration took a swing at the uranium ball, but it is not clear if it was a miss and strike out or just a walk. Some in the uranium industry are applauding a decision by the Trump Administration on the January 2018 petition by U.S. uranium producers Energy Fuels (UUUU: NYSE) and Ur-energy (URG: NYSE), requesting protection from uranium imports. The U.S. Commerce Department had investigated the petition under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. No new trade restrictions are being implemented at this time, but the Administration is establishing a working group to analyze U.S. nuclear fuel production. A report...
Light at the End of the Tunnel for Lightbridge
by Debra Fiakas CFA The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to execute on the Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing carbon emissions from U.S. power generation facilities. Each state has to meet a set of standards set by the EPA based that state’s particular circumstances in electrical generation. The carbon pollution limits begin in 2022 and ramp to full effect by 2030. In the meantime, the power generation industry must begin preparation in order to be ready for the initial standards. The lower-carbon emitting power sources will clearly be in favor as a consequence of the...
Two Stocks That Could Benefit From NuScale’s Sucess
After toiling away for almost two decades, perfecting its nuclear power reactor design, NuScale Power is on the cusp of commercial stage with its innovative Small Modular Reactor (SMR). The company has applied for certification by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and expects to approval by 2021. In a departure from conventional construction methods NuScale’s SMR is to be manufactured in a factory setting and assembled on site. NuScale has also lined up a first customer, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), which is planning to build a nuclear power plant with twelve of NuScale’s 50-gigawatt SMRs. UAMPS expects its project to be...
Clean Energy Stocks to Fill the Nuclear Gap
Tom Konrad, CFA If the Japanese use less nuclear power, what will take its place? I'm astounded by the resilience and discipline of the Japanese people in response to the three-pronged earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, perhaps in large part by my cultural roots in the egocentric United States, where we seem to have forgotten the virtue of self-sacrifice for the greater good. Yet while Japanese society has shown itself to be particularly resilient, the Japanese electric grid is much less resilient. According to International Energy Agency statistics, Japan produced 258 TWh of electricity from...
Nuclear and Solar From Down Under
by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week the Aussies invaded New York City, bivouacking at a popular hotel and parading a string of Australia-based companies in front of investors. Of course, there were the usual mining and minerals companies for which resource-rich Australia is so famous. However, the Australia Stock Exchange - one of the event sponsors - has diversified with listings in communications, biotechnology and alternative energy. One of the presenters, Silex Systems, Inc. (SLX: ASX and SILXY: OTCQX) is a talented little company with technologies for solar and nuclear power generation. Silex has developed a laser...
Yankee Graphite
Several graphite developers have made plans to integrate forward into the hottest segment of the market - battery-grade graphite. According to Industrial Minerals, spherical graphite suitable for lithium ion battery anodes is priced in a range of $2,700 to $2,800 per metric ton in China where many battery manufacturers are located. This compares quite well to the range of about $655 to $790 per metric ton for flake graphite concentrate.
The integration strategy has sent the sector into a frenzy of activity to prove their graphite meets expectations of battery manufacturers. The only graphite deposit in the U.S. mainland is under development by Westwater Resources...
Exelon’s Dividend Siren Song
by Debra Fiakas CFA When the market gets volatile, many investors dive behind the protective shield of dividends. Exelon Corporation (EXC: NYSE) is an owner of nuclear power generation plants and is included in Crystal Equity Research’s Atomics Index of companies using the atom to create energy because more than half of its power output is generated at nuclear power plants. The company offers a handsome dividend near $1.24 per year. Granted it is not a small-cap company, which is the usual target for this column, but yield is beguiling. At the current price the dividend yield is...
CB&I: The Energy Beyond Bridges & Iron
by Debra Fiakas CFA The business interests of Chicago Bridge and Iron (CBI: NYSE) have varied far and wide from its bridge building start in the late 1800s. These days the company is no longer headquartered in Chicago, builds a lot more than bridges and works with so many more materials than iron. It may seem even more questionable to include Chicago Bridge and Iron among alternative energy companies. However, since February 2013 when CB&I bought out The Shaw Group with its nuclear power plant construction services, CB&I has jumped directly into the alternative energy...
Four Green Money Managers’ Top Stock Picks
Green money managers' stock picks after the Japanese nuclear crisis. Even as the nuclear disaster in Japan unfolds, it's clear that the world's energy industry will be forever changed. Russian reactors were never considered safe, but a Japanese to have a nuclear meltdown is an entirely different story. Market Reaction Since Monday, nuclear stocks and ETFs have been plummeting. As of Wednesday night, The Market Vectors Uranium + Nuclear Energy ETF (NYSE:NLR), the iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index (NASD:NUCL), PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy Portfolio ETF (NYSE:PKN), and the Global X Uranium ETF (NYSE:URA) are down...
