Jason Simpkins of Money Morning says that “…some analysts estimate that India’s nuclear energy sector could be worth as much as $200 billion.”

Here he shows us what majors are lined up for the deal:

India launched its first nuclear test in 1974, but the country refused to sign the global Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). As a result, the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) banned India from global nuclear trade.

That ban was lifted last September when Washington pushed through a “waiver” that freed India from 34 years of sanctions.

Critics of the deal worry that by lifting the trade restrictions on India, the world’s “responsible” nuclear powers are undermining the NPT and could potentially reignite an arms race with India’s rival Pakistan. But the deal’s supporters see the decision as an act of good faith towards India that will enhance global ties and help that nation meet its growing energy demand, perhaps through a more eco-friendly method than burning coal and oil.

As it now stands, about 69% of India’s electricity is generated from coal, according to the World Coal Institute. Demand is projected to soar from 391 Megatonnes (a metric ton, also referred to as “Mt”) in 2002 to 758 Mt in 2030 – a 94% jump.

In fact, only one country is expected to have greater demand for coal during that period – China.

Up to now, one problem has been that India only has 17 nuclear reactors, which produce just 2.5% of the country’s electricity.

“India does not have much of energy option,” V. Raghuraman, an energy advisor to the Confederation of Indian Industry, told the Voice of America. “We are short of hydrocarbons. We are short of coal. We are short of everything. We need an energy mix. We need to make the ground today to prepare for the future.”

India would like to boost its nuclear energy capacity from by 60,000 megawatts (Mw) over the next 15 years, according to Raghuraman. That would more than double the contribution that nuclear power is making to India’s electricity grid. For that to happen, however, India would need to add 40 new nuclear reactors at a cost of roughly $80 billion.

This nuclear “explosion” will generate billions of dollars of new business for the world’s leading energy companies, as India scrambles to secure fuel, acquire equipment, upgrade its technology, and develop and train workers to build, operate and maintain the power plants.

“Today, since there has been a technology denial and fuel denial for the last more than three decades, India has developed an in-house program and there have been some capabilities, but surely these are not world class or also of the capacities which are required for future development,” said Raghuraman. “Which would mean we really need to access technology. We would like to look at accessing technology from all around, because the kind of capacities which we need are phenomenal.”

Global Powers Swarm India’s $200 Billion “Mega-Opportunity”

Last month, an 18-member delegation from the United Kingdom, headed by Lord Peter Mandelson, the British secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, arrived in Delhi with executives of companies such as Urenco Enrichment Co., Thompson Valves Ltd., and the Weir Power unit of The Weir Group PLC.

That delegation was accompanied by an additional group from Canada, whose members included representatives from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Cameco Corp. (CCJ), and SNC-Lavalin. Canadian Minister of International Trade Stockwell Day led the delegation.

“Canadian companies are well positioned to capitalize on opportunities and to work with their Indian counterparts to meet the needs of India’s civilian nuclear market,” Minister Day told Knowledge@Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania’s business journal. “India is very enthusiastic about using Canadian technology and resources to help build [its] nuclear energy capacity.”

India also entertained similar delegations from France, Japan, Russia, and even Kazakhstan.

All of these groups were eclipsed by the U.S. delegation, represented by 60 senior executives of 30 nuclear power companies.  The U.S. group spoke with a host of Indian companies, including Tata Power Co. Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (PINK: LTOUF) and Punj Lloyd Ltd.

The representatives were originally scheduled to arrive in December, but their visit was delayed by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

“The robust presence here of the U.S. commercial nuclear industry, so soon after the unfortunate events in Mumbai, speaks of the commitment of our companies to partner with India in the coming nuclear renaissance,” Ted Jones, director for policy advocacy at the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) told Wharton.

Exactly how much money is at stake for these delegations is unclear, but some analysts estimate that India’s nuclear energy sector could be worth as much as $200 billion.

“It is premature to provide specific numbers as details of the work involved cannot be discussed with any of the foreign companies pending clearances from their respective governments,” said Larsen & Toubro Senior Executive Vice President M.V. Kotwal.  “An approximate assessment of the business potential available for Indian industry could be on the order of $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year after a couple of years.”

Even more optimistic is an L&T white paper, which takes a broader view.

“The Indo-U.S. nuclear deal will open two-way cooperation between India and the U.S. on key technologies in the areas of defense, nuclear energy, aerospace and aviation,” says the paper. “This is a business mega-opportunity of more than $200 billion.”

Who’s Profiting From India’s Nuclear Buildup?

Some energy companies are already landing big deals in India.

One of the first was Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, which announced joint venture with Larsen & Toubro to build nuclear reactors at the conclusion of the United States’ five-day trade mission to Mumbai in January.

France’s Areva SA followed, agreeing to supply the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. with six reactors just two days after India said it would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect 14 of its reactors. NPCIL Chairman and Managing Director S.K. Jain said the deal was worth $12.3 billion.

Still more nuclear power contracts are expected in coming months.

Canada’s Cameco Corp. might be one of the companies to ink a deal. The Saskatoon-based Cameco is the world’s largest uranium miner, making it vital to the global supply.

India will require about 1,600 metric tons of uranium per year to achieve the energy output it desires

The cash-rich Cameco reported an 86% increase in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008, and Chief Executive Officer Gerald W. Grandey remains optimistic that his company will continue to weather the global financial crisis.

“Our customers are well-established electrical utilities, many government-owned or with regulated rate structures. In tough times, they run their low-cost nuclear plants at full capacity, assuring demand for our products,” Grandey said in a conference call last Tuesday. “Our strategy of seeking price protection in our contracting has reduced the sensitivity of our revenue to softening spot prices and we are seeing the benefit now,”

Uranium use will increase 3% annually over the next 10 years, as new reactors are built around the world, Grandey said. A short-term loan taken last June to help finance investments in new assets has been extended on good terms, and Cameco has also received new credit of $100 million.

Among those scheduled to meet with Indian interests, was Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. However, Rudd decided to postpone his visit when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became ill and underwent heart surgery.

When the two leaders do eventually catch up with one another, they’ll have plenty to talk about with respect to India’s nuclear buildup. Australia is the world’s second-largest uranium producer, trailing only Canada.  Australia exports about 10,000 metric tons of uranium a year – representing a $900 million injection into the domestic economy.

Because India hasn’t signed the NPT, Australia has so far been coy about selling uranium to that country. But since the Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver, India has signed intergovernmental civil nuclear cooperation agreements with France, Russia, the United States and Kazakhstan. If Australia does change its position, BHP Billiton Ltd. (ADR: BHP) will be a big beneficiary.

BHP is the second-largest commodities company in the world, mining steel, aluminum, copper, iron, nickel, titanium, diamonds and gold. It is also proprietor of the world’s largest uranium deposit, the Olympic Dam.

In addition to suppliers, India will need partners to build and operate its new energy grid.

Fenil Maru, an equity advisor at ICICI Bank Ltd (ADR: ICICI), told Knowledge@Wharton that India’s Bharat Heavy Engineering is “looking for a tie-up and has been in talks with Alstom SA, GE Energy, Russia’s Leningrad Metal Factory and Siemens AG (ADR: SI).”

Vendors such as GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Inc., Toshiba Westinghouse, and Areva also could be enlisted to provide light water reactors, which will be necessary in nuclear parks with six to eight reactors at in a single location.

Source:  India’s Nuclear “Explosion” a Cash Generator for Global Energy Companies

The venture – Areva Newport News LLC – will emanate from a $360 million investment, and will lead to the construction of a 300,000-square-foot production-and-engineering facility, the two companies said yesterday (Thursday). It will employ 500 workers when completed in 2011, according to an MSNMoneycentral report.

Mike Petters, president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, the unit that has signed on to work with Areva, told The Wall Street Journal that “we’ve watched manufacturing wane in shipbuilding and we’ve watched for other opportunities to go into adjacent areas…We think a nuclear renaissance is coming and we have the work force.”

The facility will promote U.S. market sales of Areva’s “evolutionary power reactor,” or EPR. Areva is seeking to get the reactor design certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for use in the U.S. market, The Journal reported.

The deal is also the latest illustration that commercial nuclear power – which has been on a more or less permanent hiatus in the U.S. market since the 1979 near-meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear powerlant near Harrisburg, Pa.— may finally be making a comeback in the energy-starved U.S. market.

There hasn’t been a single new nuclear plant built since the Three Mile Island accident; this new manufacturing facility will be the first of its kind built in this country in 35 years, the Newport News Daily Press reported.

The state-run Areva is trying to compete in an industry in which Japanese firms – such as  Hitachi Ltd. (ADR: HIT) and Toshiba Corp. (OTC: TOSBF), have come to play a large role. No surprise, too, that China is building up its nuclear capabilities, and has global objectives for that business.

“Our target is 80% U.S. content” for U.S. nuclear power plants, Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive of Areva, told  The Journal. Lauvergeon believes Areva’s linkup with Northrop will give the French company a competitive advantage over rivals that are more reliant on imported goods. That’s why she said that she’s emphasizing the need to have 80% of the content for U.S. reactors to be built domestically.

Orders from U.S. nuclear operators could top $100 billion in coming years, and some are hoping that a wave of nuclear construction could also bolster the U.S.’s ailing manufacturing sector.

Areva’s Lauvergeon said her company’s existing heavy manufacturing facility at Chalon/Saint Marcel, France, is operating at capacity with a five-year backlog of orders. Nucelar plants built with Areva’s design are under construction in France, Finland and China. Three U.S. utilities have selected Areva’s design including Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG), PPL Corp. (PPL) and Ameren Corp. (AEE).

With its decision to invest so heavily in the U.S. market – and to involve a partner – it’s clear Areva is highly confident that plans to build new nuclear plants in North America will move forward, The Journal reportedSource: French Nuclear Giant Areva Links Up With Northrop in Groundbreaking Production Venture

If you didn’t invest in this nuclear equipment provider (NEP) company on March 31, you missed out. Within minutes of the latest news, shares for this NEP started rising, and currently, they are sitting 25 percent above their March 31 price.

Too bad, eh?

Normally, as an investor, I’d feel left out, but today, I’ve got reason to believe that this event is set to happen over and over, each time churning out profits that you can take! But before I tell you the ticker of this NEP company, let me set the scene for the industry that will make these profits possible…

The Nuclear Power Industry — Set to Rise

There are 104 operating nuclear reactors in the U.S. All are creating precious raw energy. But for time’s sake, I want to talk about only 56 of them — namely, the 56 plants that have operating licenses expiring within the next 12 years:

Many of these plants are on the energy-demanding East Coast — needless to say, they can’t just close down. So the plant operators have to take some important and expensive actions to keep these plants up and running. Actions that can and will make this NEP company loads of profit.

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The company I’m recommending will be booking contracts and locking in profits for the next 12 years! Just read what its CEO said about some recent opportunities:

“With electricity demand on the rise, the value of nuclear power technology as the most efficient and environmentally friendly source of energy available today is clearly being reassessed. With our broad range of core competencies in engineering, analysis, manufacturing and testing, we are well positioned to take advantage of additional opportunities for construction projects in the U.S.”

Recently a “major project” announcement has helped push the company’s stock up 25 percent in less than two months — but that’s not where it ends. Remember, there are 56 nuclear plants that may need service or new units built — and this company is the first (and possibly the only one!) in line. Here’s why…

The Complex World of Nuclear Equipment…

Imagine how many hundreds of thousands of components go into a gigantic nuclear plant. This includes everything from wire bundles and circuit boards to valves and switches and massive steel vessels that are the size of a large house.

Really, every nuclear reactor is an incredibly complex system of systems. There is a giant containment dome that isolates a nuclear core. The core is part of a system that heats water. The hot water exchanges heat with another fluid. The heated fluid turns a turbine. The turbine generates electric power. Regulating systems control the power that gets distributed into the outside grid. For all the heat and power, there has to be a way to cool things down on command, as well.

Over time, the nuclear core bombards the nearby metal and equipment with radiation. Plus, the heating and cooling cycles take a toll on equipment and machinery. Thus, the metal in some components becomes brittle. So periodically, equipment and components have to be repaired or replaced. There is nothing fast, easy or cheap about performing work on a nuclear power plant.

All in all, inside a nuclear plant, there is a vast array of shielding and valves and piping and wiring and switches and control units. All of this suffers from wear and tear over time. There is a massive library of technical specifications, training manuals, training and safety systems and much more to make the whole thing run. And every nuclear plant has a small army of highly trained technical personnel, as well as security forces.

So as you can imagine, almost every component of a nuclear plant has to be “certified” in some way or another. That is, anything and everything that is even remotely close to the “nuclear containment” zone must meet the highest level of specifications. This is for safety purposes, of course.

Too bad, eh?

Normally, as an investor, I’d feel left out, but today, I’ve got reason to believe that this event is set to happen over and over, each time churning out profits that you can take! But before I tell you the ticker of this NEP company, let me set the scene for the industry that will make these profits possible…

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The Nuclear Power Industry — Set to Rise

There are 104 operating nuclear reactors in the U.S. All are creating precious raw energy. But for time’s sake, I want to talk about only 56 of them — namely, the 56 plants that have operating licenses expiring within the next 12 years:

Many of these plants are on the energy-demanding East Coast — needless to say, they can’t just close down. So the plant operators have to take some important and expensive actions to keep these plants up and running. Actions that can and will make this NEP company loads of profit.

The company I’m recommending will be booking contracts and locking in profits for the next 12 years! Just read what its CEO said about some recent opportunities:

“With electricity demand on the rise, the value of nuclear power technology as the most efficient and environmentally friendly source of energy available today is clearly being reassessed. With our broad range of core competencies in engineering, analysis, manufacturing and testing, we are well positioned to take advantage of additional opportunities for construction projects in the U.S.”

Recently a “major project” announcement has helped push the company’s stock up 25 percent in less than two months — but that’s not where it ends. Remember, there are 56 nuclear plants that may need service or new units built — and this company is the first (and possibly the only one!) in line. Here’s why…

The Complex World of Nuclear Equipment…

Imagine how many hundreds of thousands of components go into a gigantic nuclear plant. This includes everything from wire bundles and circuit boards to valves and switches and massive steel vessels that are the size of a large house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Special~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Really, every nuclear reactor is an incredibly complex system of systems. There is a giant containment dome that isolates a nuclear core. The core is part of a system that heats water. The hot water exchanges heat with another fluid. The heated fluid turns a turbine. The turbine generates electric power. Regulating systems control the power that gets distributed into the outside grid. For all the heat and power, there has to be a way to cool things down on command, as well.

Over time, the nuclear core bombards the nearby metal and equipment with radiation. Plus, the heating and cooling cycles take a toll on equipment and machinery. Thus, the metal in some components becomes brittle. So periodically, equipment and components have to be repaired or replaced. There is nothing fast, easy or cheap about performing work on a nuclear power plant.

All in all, inside a nuclear plant, there is a vast array of shielding and valves and piping and wiring and switches and control units. All of this suffers from wear and tear over time. There is a massive library of technical specifications, training manuals, training and safety systems and much more to make the whole thing run. And every nuclear plant has a small army of highly trained technical personnel, as well as security forces.

Uranium is in a bear market; the trend is most definitely down. But we are reaching a point where it’s hard to see how some of them can get much cheaper.

The problem is people have been calling the bottom in uranium for some six months or more now and they’ve all been wrong…

Nuclear energy development is gunning ahead at nuclear speed

The fundamentals for uranium remain extremely strong. At the moment nuclear power is probably the closest thing we have to the silver bullet that is going to deal with the looming global energy crisis. Despite the fear which surrounds nuclear energy, France – 80% of whose power supply is nuclear – has demonstrated that even relatively small nuclear reactors can fuel entire cities cheaply, efficiently and cleanly.

Meanwhile nuclear energy development in Asia is gunning ahead at, well, nuclear speed. We all know about China’s appetite for energy and what they are capable of. Last month they completed a brand new airport in preparation for the Olympics. The entire process took four years. (It took us six just to get planning permission for Heathrow).

It seems they are applying that same speed of construction to the nuclear sector. Reuters recently reported that a senior Chinese energy official told state media that China is ‘expanding nuclear power construction plans faster than earlier planned … installed power capacity by 2020 could be 50% above the initial goal.”

The original plan was for an operating power capacity of 40 gigawatts by 2020. That’s roughly equivalent to the total power demands of Spain. It’s a mere 4% of China’s energy needs. But that figure is now going up to 60 gigawatts.

The supply is unlikely to meet the demand

Uranium supply on the other hand is not increasing by a corresponding amount. Though uranium is an extremely common metal – as common as tin or zinc – there are numerous problems mining it, many of them to do with permitting, and it takes well over five years to get a mine into production. Much of recent supply has come from old military stockpiles, a source which is quickly drying up.

In the 1980s and 90s, uranium got so cheap – as low as $7 a tonne (it is ten times that price now) – that uranium mining and exploration became completely uneconomic and almost completely disappeared. This meant that very little new uranium was actually coming to market as the noughties got underway.

This uranium story became widespread throughout 2006. Then there was that flood at Cameco’s (the world’s biggest uranium mining company) Cigar Lake mine and that was the catalyst for a run in uranium prices that ran through to spring 2007 and reached bubble proportions.

Since then the sell-off in the sector has been agonizingly painful and many companies are off 80% or more from their highs.

Here’s a long-term chart for uranium:

Adjusted for inflation, it looks more like this, though the recent pullbacks are not shown:

And, finally, here’s the uranium price over the last two years: