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French nuclear utility deep in debt

EDF confronts $34.2 billion debt pile

Troubled French utility, Electricite de France, which acquired half of U.S. utility, Constellation Energy, in December, has already offloaded part of its ownership of British Energy, which it also acquired last year. EDF is staggering under a $34.2 billion debt pile and has sold 20% of British Energy – the British nuclear operator – to Centrica. EDF will also try to raise $1.4 billion through retail bonds. For more on EDF’s financial struggles, read here and here. Furthermore, new nuclear build in the UK may be in jeopardy as EDF is demanding government subsidies there to go forward. Read more here.

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/

May 30, 2009 Posted by | business and costs, France | , , | 1 Comment

Is the Nuclear Renaissance Fizzling?

nuclear-elixir09May 29, 2009, Is the Nuclear Renaissance Fizzling?
The New York Times By James Kanter
“……………. long-standing problems with the technology still could lead to canceled orders and renewed public opposition. One problem is what to do with the highly dangerous waste produced by reactors. Currently waste is stored above ground in pools of water or in vast dry casks, but neither of those methods is regarded as adequate over the long term……………..

…………..Another recurring problem is the high up-front price tag of nuclear technology compared with other sources of energy. Utilities were already canceling nuclear power plants before the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. The reason? Huge cost overruns………..

…….nuclear’s difficult history with financing could be repeating itself, as the first two reactors that were meant to lead a comeback have been delayed and are running over-budget.

And even if stars do align for nuclear, it still could take some time for it to play a significant role in lowering greenhouse gas levels,

Is the Nuclear Renaissance Fizzling? – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com

May 30, 2009 Posted by | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | , , , , | Leave a comment

Kazakhstan unrest dims Uranium One shares 40%

Kazakhstan unrest dims Uranium One shares 40%’Misunderstanding’ swirls about stake in Kazakh mine: CEOPeter Koven, Financial Post May 28, 2009

A political flare-up in Kazakhstan’s uranium sector has prompted new investor concerns about an authoritarian country that the world is relying on to provide much of its nuclear fuel in the future.

Yesterday, the government accused Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the former head of state-owned uranium miner Kazatomprom, of illegally selling stakes in uranium deposits to foreign companies……………………………..

The broader issue is that the arrest and the accusations, which came out of nowhere, reinforce the fact the political risk in Kazakhstan remains enormous for mining companies.

Uranium deposits are usually considered strategic by host countries, which makes it difficult for uranium miners such as Cameco Corp. to access most markets. As a result, they have flocked to Kazakhstan, which has emerged as a huge uranium hotbed in the past decade.

May 30, 2009 Posted by | business and costs, Kazakhstan | , , , | Leave a comment

Another Top Kazakh Uranium Company Official Arrested –

Another Top Kazakh Uranium Company Official Arrested Radio Free Europe

May 27, 2009

ASTANA — Baurzhan Ibraev, the vice president of the Kazakh state uranium company Kazatomprom, has been arrested, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

Ibraev’s arrest on May 25 comes after company President Mukhtar Dzhakishev and his deputies — Dmitry Parfenov, Askar Kasabekov, and Malkhaz Tsotsoria — were arrested last week and charged with theft……………….Of the seven top managers at Kazatomprom, only two are not in jail, including former National Security Committee chief Nartai Dutbaev.

Another Top Kazakh Uranium Company Official Arrested – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2009

May 30, 2009 Posted by | Kazakhstan, politics | , , , | Leave a comment

Push is on for full cleanup of NY nuclear site

Push is on for full cleanup of NY nuclear site
newsday.com By CAROLYN THOMPSON | Associated Press Writer May 29, 2009 BUFFALO, N.Y. – With a little more than a week left to be heard in the decades-old debate over how to clean up a western New York nuclear site, supporters of complete decontamination say anything less would jeopardize the health of the Great Lakes and its vital freshwater.State and federal energy officials in November recommended a two-phase plan that would have them spend $1 billion to remove contaminated buildings and soil from the West Valley site over the next several years, while deferring for up to 30 years the larger question of whether to leave some radioactive waste forever buried…………..

………Environmentalists and others say removing all traces of high- and low-level waste is the only way, given the erosion-prone geology, to ensure that it will not eventually seep into nearby creeks, make its way into Lakes Erie and Ontario and contaminate drinking water supplies.

“Common sense dictates we make a decision now to protect the Great Lakes and protect the water,” Diane D’Arrigo of the Nuclear Information & Resource Service said Friday…………………….

………U.S. Reps. Brian Higgins and Eric Massa, both New York Democrats, support a full cleanup and said they would ask Energy Secretary Steven Chu for a 90-day extension of the public comment period that began in November.

Among others weighing in to support a full cleanup have been the Presbytery of Western New York, which passed a resolution citing its “Christian commitment to caring for creation,” Catholic Charities and the Western New York Council on Occupational Safety & Health.

Push is on for full cleanup of NY nuclear site — Newsday.com

May 30, 2009 Posted by | USA, wastes | | Leave a comment

Uranium intrigue

Uranium intrigue

Market Blog May 28, 2009 The Globe and Mail Uranium One Inc. (UUU-T2.20-0.21-8.71%) was whacked on Wednesday after the head of Kazakhstan’s state-owned uranium mining company was reportedly arrested and accused of illegally selling uranium concessions to foreign companies – a potentially big problem, given that Uranium One operates in Kazakhstan.

Uranium intrigue – The Globe and Mail

May 30, 2009 Posted by | Kazakhstan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , | 1 Comment

Hard road to Copenhagen

Hard road to Copenhagen Adam MortonMay 29, 2009Page 1 of 2 Single page viewThe world is starting to get its act together on emissions cuts, but time is running out. “……………….Ross Garnaut knows China………………….he sees a country taking much greater strides in limiting greenhouse emissions than many in the West realise.

Speaking recently in Melbourne, the professor listed a string of environmentally friendly steps being taken in Beijing: taxes on energy-guzzling industries such as cement, aluminium and steel and world’s-best investment in low-emissions energy — nuclear, solar, wind and biomass.

To this he could have added adoption of targets to dramatically cut the amount of energy used per $1 of GDP generated and ensure that a 10th of energy comes from renewable sources by next year.

Garnaut believes China is discouraging energy-hungry industries to “an extent that it would be very difficult, politically, in Australia”.

“I think most Australians would be surprised at the emphasis in China on making sure that future growth is not like past growth,” he says………………………..And Australia? The recent announcement that it may accept a 25 per cent reduction target, albeit it only under a strong global deal, has been warmly received internationally. But experts warn that the lack of finalised emissions trading legislation, likely given the opposition in the Senate, would make the target seem hollow to some developing nations. Even if it is passed, analysts here and overseas note it will count for little unless the Federal Government comes up with concrete proposals on financing.

Hard road to Copenhagen

May 30, 2009 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment