Power & Sites · United States

PSEG Power plans 200-MW nuclear uprate as company eyes data center deals

Credited to Utility Dive · utilitydive.com · 10h ago

But one of the units at the Salem plant in New Jersey, which is jointly owned with Constellation Energy, faces an extended outage to deal with degraded equipment, according to federal filings.

PSEG Power and Constellation Energy are planning a 200-MW uprate at their jointly owned Salem nuclear power plant in southern New Jersey, according to an earnings presentation by Public Service Enterprise Group, PSEG Power’s parent company.

Salem’s current installed capacity is 2,280 MW. PSEG Power would have a 112-MW share of the uprate and Constellation would own the remainder, which would support a recently announced nuclear-focused power purchase agreement with Google.

PSEG Power’s roughly 3,760-MW nuclear fleet ran at a 95.5% capacity factor in the third quarter, up from 92.4% in the same period last year, according to the presentation.

However, there has been a snag at the Salem plant, PSEG said Monday in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

During a scheduled refueling outage at Salem 1, a visual inspection last month revealed that the thermal shield inside the reactor vessel is degraded, according to the filing.

“We have initiated further testing, which is ongoing and is expected to extend the refueling outage,” PSEG said. “The impact of the outage on Salem 1 will depend on the timing and results of the inspection and necessary repairs.”

Meanwhile, PSEG continues to explore potential deals with data center developers centered around PSEG Power’s roughly 3.8-GW nuclear fleet, according to Ralph LaRossa, PSEG chair, president and CEO.

“PSEG Power is continuing to develop terms with large load entities for contracting arrangements involving existing nuclear production, future nuclear upgrades and other generation opportunities, similar to recently announced power purchase agreements in the PJM region and specifically in New Jersey,” he said during the earnings call.

FERC’s recent decision to reject key portions of the PJM Interconnection proposed plan for interconnection data centers and other large loads “reinforces that the focus has shifted to the states to address retail curtailment and cost issues associated with large load customers,” LaRossa said.

Public Service Electric and Gas Co., a PSEG utility, is working with the administration of New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D, and the state’s utility regulators to limit electric cost increases for consumers and consider new utility regulatory models, according to LaRossa.

PSE&G, for example, plans to ask the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to approve a plan for recovering the costs for investments made since its last distribution rate case, LaRossa said.

“Our filing … is all about staying aligned with the governor's goals to keep rates flat for as long as possible,” he said. The utility expects to file the proposal by the end of the year, PSEG said in its SEC filing.

Meanwhile, the BPU’s study on modernizing New Jersey's electric utility business model is now in its second phase, LaRossa noted.

“This initiative is focusing on cost discipline, financing modernization, targeted incentives and shared savings and staged performance-based ratemaking,” he said.

Those and other options mentioned in the Phase 1 report, such as multi-year rate plans, performance-based rates, performance incentive metrics, earnings sharing mechanisms, decoupling and shared saving mechanisms, provide “constructive paths to strengthen the connection between customer value, cost accountability and timely recovery of prudent investment,” LaRossa said.

PSE&G may have opportunities to invest in solar and grid readiness for distributed resources, but the extent of it could hinge on the state allowing utilities to own generating assets, according to LaRossa.

“I think the policy is not yet certain here in New Jersey as to whether or not it will move in a regulated direction or stay solely competitive,” he said.

On the financial front, PSEG’s third-quarter income fell to $376 million, or 76 cents/share, down from $622 million, or $1.25/share a year ago, mainly on mark-to-market losses at PSEG Power, the Newark, New Jersey-based company said in its SEC filing.

Third-quarter revenue slipped to $3 billion from $3.2 billion in the same period last year.

Screen doubles investment as Kyoto equipment site takes shape

Credited to DigiTimes$ · digitimes.com1h ago

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Screen Holdings is expanding production of semiconductor cleaning equipment with a JPY25 billion (US$157.53 million) site in Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, while raising its capex budget for the year ending March 2027 to JPY58 billion (US$367.33 million). The new facility is scheduled to…

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Chips & Supply · United States

GlobalWafers to issue US$500m in bonds to Micron

Credited to Taipei Times · taipeitimes.com · 2h ago

CORPORATE RELATIONS: The 10-year convertible bonds would be issued to bolster ties between the companies following an agreement to collaborate

GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it plans to issue unsecured convertible bonds of up to US$500 million in a private placement, with US memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc as the sole subscriber.

Hsinchu City-based GlobalWafers said in a statement that its board approved the bond issuance plan at a meeting yesterday.

The 10-year convertible bonds would be issued to Micron to bolster ties with the US chipmaker following an agreement reached by the two companies in July to collaborate under a 10-year agreement.

The bonds would carry an annual coupon rate of 0.5 percent, GlobalWafers said.

The agreement is designed to combine long-term supply commitments with strategic financial cooperation to support the development of GlobalWafers’ US operations and enhance its capacity to supply advanced semiconductor wafers.

Under the arrangement, Micron is to subscribe to the bonds, providing GlobalWafers with US$500 million in financing.

“Our deeper collaboration with Micron reflects both the trust developed over many years and a broader industry shift from traditional supplier relationships toward sustained strategic partnerships,” GlobalWafers chairwoman and CEO Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said in the statement.

“By aligning customers’ future needs with timely manufacturing investment, we can reinforce supply chain resilience across market cycles and create sustainable value for the global semiconductor industry,” Hsu said.

The private placement plan is subject to shareholder approval, GlobalWafers said.

Ahead of the planned bond issuance, GlobalWafers completed a US$1.432 billion global depositary receipt offering in September to finance raw material purchases and overseas production expansion and enhance its financial structure. The offering was the third-largest global depositary receipt issuance by a Taiwanese company on record.

GlobalWafers said it posted net profit of NT$7.18 billion (US$219.2 million) in the first nine months of this year, or earnings per share of NT$15, close to the NT$15.29 recorded for the whole of last year.

Consolidated sales during the nine months fell 4.4 percent from a year earlier to NT$44.07 billion, the company said.

The board also approved a cash dividend of NT$6 per share based on earnings per share of NT$11.87 in the first half of the year.

GlobalWafers is to distribute a total of NT$3.169 billion in cash dividends on Jan. 22, after its shares go ex-dividend on Jan. 4, the company said.

GlobalWafers, which has expanded its operations significantly through mergers and acquisitions, operates 18 facilities in nine countries: Taiwan, China, the US, Japan, Denmark, South Korea, Italy, Malaysia and Singapore.

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