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France shows the way to nuclear financial meltdown

Last week, AREVA posted a massive operating loss of 485 million euros for the first half of 2010…..Electricite de France (EDF)  finds itself in a similar predicament. In the first half of 2010, the company saw its profits slashed by almost half.

France leads the way in the nuclear debacle Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – August 2, 2010 If you want to know why the so-called nuclear ‘renaissance’ is never going to happen, you need only look at the news that’s been coming out of France in the last few days.

In short, the supposedly leading world experts in nuclear power are making fools of themselves. French nuclear giants AREVA and EDF stride across the landscape like two great big, stupid Godzillas. Nuclear power has a bad name already yet these two are performing the miracle of making things even worse.

Last week, AREVA posted a massive operating loss of 485 million euros for the first half of 2010. The ‘state of the art’ third generation EPR reactor being built by the company at Olkiluoto in Finland is feasting on the company’s money. Olkiluoto-3 is 2.7 billion euros over budget and four years late. The only reason the company has made a profit this year is because it sold a chunk of its business.

EDF finds itself in a similar predicament. In the first half of 2010, the company saw its profits slashed by almost half. Not only that but the EPR reactor the company is building at Flamanville in France is one billion euros over budget and running two years late.

EDF’s business in the US has stalled while the projects wait for government support in the form of loan guarantees. A $9 billion project to build an EPR Calvert Cliffs on the Chesapeake Bay is in deep trouble – the economics of it are a joke:

France leads the way in the nuclear debacle | Greenpeace International

August 3, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium