Nuclear Energy

General Physics Corp. plans to relocate and shrink its headquarters within Columbia by September, a shift the company expects will save $1 million annually.The nuclear and environmental engineering firm's new offices in the Columbia Overlook building will be roughly one-half as large as its current headquarters.General Physics recently eliminated jobs because of a reduction in its core nuclear energy business and the sale of some subsidiaries.The space reduction was also made possible by cuts in administrative staff after the absorption of GPS Technologies Inc., a subsidiary that was spun off in 1991 but reacquired in August 1994.

VERNON, Vt. - To understand how the fortunes of the nuclear power industry have turned around lately, consider the case of Vermont Yankee, a small, rather old nuclear plant beside the broad Connecticut River. When it was put up for sale in 1999, only one buyer showed interest, offering $23.5 million for the plant. But just before the sale closed, another company said it would pay more. The first company countered with an offer of more than $93 million. The state board that oversees Vermont Yankee has ordered that the plant be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

WASHINGTON -- What do President Bush and the former director of Greenpeace International, Patrick Moore, have in common? They both back expansion of nuclear energy use. A growing number of prominent environmentalists are hopping on the nuclear bandwagon because of alarm about global warming. The process from uranium mining to nuclear power generation emits less greenhouse gases than conventional coal or oil-fired power generation. In his State of the Union address, Mr. Bush played to concerns about energy dependency and perhaps global warming by calling for more investment in "clean, safe nuclear energy."

Maryland's Allegheny Energy recently mailed two compact fluorescent light bulbs to each of its customers. Imagine the indignation when those customers noticed a $12 charge for the unsolicited mailing. Despite promises that the bulbs would save money, help the environment and prevent blackouts, Allegheny's customers were peeved. They wrote letters to editors and lit fires under local politicians. Allegheny relented and agreed to pay for the bulbs. Why was a power company compelled to pull a stunt that predictably raised the ire of its customers?

Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group's nuclear development arm said yesterday that it has asked state regulators for a permit to build a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs in Lusby, though the company maintains it has not yet decided to go ahead with the project. UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between Constellation and Electricite de France SA, applied to the Maryland Public Service Commission for what's called a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The PSC will coordinate a multiagency review of the project's potential impact on the environment and state infrastructure, among other things.

PITTSBURGH -- Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s second-quarter operating profit fell 6.9 percent as weaker results at its power-systems businesses offset gains in broadcasting, and a charge for environmental costs resulted in a bottom-line loss.The largest U.S. broadcasting company also said yesterday that it expects third-quarter earnings to drop from the second quarter because advertising revenue and ratings at its CBS television network declined during NBC's Olympics coverage.Profit from operations fell to $27 million, or 6 cents a share, from $29 million, or 4 cents, in the year-earlier quarter.

WASHINGTON -- Ukraine's government has agreed to shut down the remaining nuclear reactors at its power plant in Chernobyl, which was heavily damaged in a catastrophic accident in 1986, the Clinton administration said yesterday.After three days of meetings with a U.S. delegation, Ukraine abandoned its insistence that nuclear production must continue at the plant, agreeing instead to a joint effort with the United States to find options such as energy conservation and nonnuclear power generation to replace electricity from the plant, which generates about 1,700 megawatts of power.

FEDERAL approval of a 20-year license extension for the Calvert Cliffs twin-reactor power plant sets Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. on a course for expanded use of nuclear energy in the next three decades. The new licenses expire in 2034 and 2036. The Baltimore company is poised to acquire other nuclear facilities and has an active consulting firm to assist other nuclear power companies in getting license extensions from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. BGE is the first to receive the extensions, which is seen as a step toward recovery of the stagnant nuclear energy industry.

Westinghouse Electric Corp., the Pittsburgh-based defense and electronics giant, said yesterday that it expects its first-quarter income will be sharply lower than a year ago because of poor results in its nuclear energy and environmental divisions.In a statement released yesterday, Westinghouse Chairman and Chief Executive Michael H. Jordan said earnings in the quarter that ends March 31 will drop to 4 cents a share, from 14 cents a year ago."I indicated that first-quarter earnings would be off during the meeting we had with security analysts in January and, most recently, when we reported our 1993 year-end results, so none of this should come as a surprise to stakeholders," Mr. Jordan said in a statement released after the stock market closed.

STRELNA, Russia -- President Bush and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin committed their nations yesterday to cooperate in fighting potential nuclear terrorism, as they struggled to demonstrate that they could move beyond thorny differences over the state of democracy in Russia. They affirmed their shared goal of working closely to counter nuclear weapons programs in Iran and North Korea and agreed to boost nuclear energy cooperation, but they failed to overcome trade differences - or the chilly tenor of their meeting.