WILMINGTON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF), a joint-venture of GE, Hitachi and Toshiba, has been awarded a multi-million dollar, 10-year contract to supply fuel fabrication and reload-engineering services for Entergy Corporation's five boiling water reactors (BWRs).
GNF will supply reactors operated by Jackson, Mississippi-based Entergy Nuclear with GNF's latest fuel bundle design. GNF also will provide a series of innovative and standard reload engineering services including reactor core and bundle design; safety analysis; reload license analysis; databank services; and core monitoring services.
Under the contract, GNF will provide fuel fabrication and reload engineering services for the utility's Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, Miss., the River Bend Station in St. Francisville, La., the James A. FitzPatrick plant in Oswego County, N.Y., Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vt., and the Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Plymouth, Mass. starting in 2008.
The Entergy contract represents GNF-America's largest-ever fuel services order over a 10-year period.
"Global Nuclear Fuel is excited to have the opportunity to build on our existing support of Entergy Nuclear to help assure the long-term, successful performance of its entire fleet of BWRs," said Jack Fuller, president and CEO of Wilmington-based GNF. "This order underscores the value of nuclear energy as a cost-effective, carbon-free source of base load power."
Previously, GNF supplied fuel fabrication services for Entergy's northern merchant BWR plants. The new award expands that work to Entergy's reactors in both the northern and southern United States, covering the utility's regulated and merchant nuclear plants.
Commercial Debut of GNF2 Advantage™
The Entergy contract marks the commercial launch of GNF's latest BWR fuel design, GNF2 Advantage™. The benefits of this design will provide Entergy with an increase in overall BWR fuel performance. This improvement is achieved through increased energy output while reducing total uranium requirements, with reductions in batch size and average batch enrichments, while at the same time maintaining focus on GNF's "Defense in Depth" fuel reliability program. The combination of GNF technology and the "Defense in Depth" approach on a fleet-wide basis will enable Entergy to achieve a new level in overall fuel cycle cost management for its customers.
About Global Nuclear Fuel
GNF is a leading supplier of BWR fuel throughout the world and continues to work with the customers to provide design and innovation relative to uranium and MOX fuel. GNF operates Global
Nuclear Fuel - Americas, LLC in Wilmington, N.C. and Global Nuclear Fuel -- Japan Co. Ltd. in Kurihama, Japan. GNF also operates GNF ENUSA Nuclear Fuel S.A., a European nuclear fuel marketing company jointly owned with ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas S.A. of Spain.
Contacts
GE Energy
Dennis Murphy, 678-844-6948
[email protected]
or
Masto Public Relations
Tom Murnane or Howard Masto, 518-786-6488
[email protected]
[email protected]
Britta Kons
GE Healthcare Global Services
[email protected]
1-203-400-1892