White-Hot Profits

My Guru's Corner column for Marketwatch is up ....

http://tinyurl.com/zuq7r

Some bullet points from the story....

• Today there are 441 operational nuclear power reactors around the world. According to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, 130 new nuclear power plants are either being built or are in the planning stages. Some put the number of planned reactors as high as 160!
• China currently has nine reactors in operation at three nuclear plants with total capacity of 6,600 megawatts. That provides just 2.3% of China's power consumption. China set an ambitious goal for 36,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2020.
• To meet that goal, China plans to build two new 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactors each and every year -- 28 in all. And the World Nuclear Association forecasts that China's annual uranium needs would jump from 3 million pounds per year now to 10 million pounds per year by 2010 -- then 18 million pounds per year by 2020.
• India, meanwhile, generates about 3.7% of its electricity with nuclear power. India's total nuclear capacity is around 2,700 megawatts, with 14 commercial reactors in operation at six plants. India plans to have 10,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2010 and 20,000 megawatts by 2020.
• India's uranium requirements should grow from around 1 million pounds per year currently to 2 million pounds per year by 2010 and more than 4 million pounds per year by 2020. India's own uranium production will likely be just 1 million pounds by 2010. That means India is going to be a huge net importer of uranium.
• China is about to sign a new deal to buy uranium from Australia. India can buy from Russia, but not for long. Last year, Russia's three uranium mines produced 3,657.5 tons -- just one-fifth of the 17,600 tons Russia consumes per year in its reactors, military, and export obligations. In fact, Russia had to draw on reserves (old warheads) to fill its demand for 2005.
• Just recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin said nuclear power's share of Russia's energy use would increase from 15% to 25% by 2030. To get from here to there, Russia needs to add 40 gigawatts of nuclear energy each and every year -- building 40 new nuclear reactors by 2030.

And I also give a stock pick to play surging uranium prices. Click through on the link to see what it is... http://tinyurl.com/zuq7r

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com