nuclear-news

France selling India increasingly costly, untested, nuclear reactors

India is slated to purchase up to six of these reactors, of which the first two alone carry an estimated price tag of €11 billion…..The exact cost of each EPR in India has not been disclosed…..If the regulator asks for an additional safety system, for example, that could increase the price of the plant. If I was India, I would wait to see when that happened.”

India racing to buy an untried reactor?, The Hindu, 6 Dec 2010,  The EPR is still a reactor in the making, whose design is likely to undergo serious modification before it can be built as a series.The announcement last week by the Finnish utility TVO of yet another year-long delay in the construction of the new Areva European Pressurised Reactor/Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) being built at Olkiluoto in southern Finland has re-launched the controversy surrounding the world’s biggest, most expensive and as yet untried nuclear reactor.
India is slated to purchase up to six of these reactors, of which the first two alone carry an estimated price tag of €11 billion. A memorandum of understanding for the sale of two EPRs was signed in 2009 and there are chances that a framework agreement will be signed during French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s working visit to India which began on December 4.
…………critics point out that the technology, which is extremely capital intensive, remains untried and the EPR has run into trouble wherever it is being built……..The EPR has been marketed as the safest and strongest reactor in the world capable of withstanding hits from a full-size passenger airplane. But critics say that the redundancy of the safety measures has made the reactor extremely complex and costly to build, resulting in huge delays and cost over-runs……..

The exact cost of each EPR in India has not been disclosed. Ms Lauvergeon told The Hindu that the cost would be less than Rs. 4 per Kilowatt/hour. Professor Thomas rubbishes the claim. “There are three important factors in determining the price of a kilowatt/hour of nuclear electricity. The first is the cost of building the plant and until you see Areva’s bid you don’t know what that is going to be. The second element is the cost of borrowing the money. Now what rate of interest will India have to pay? Areva does not know that. And the third element is whether the plant is reliable because if its unreliable there will be fewer kilowatt hours to spread those fixed costs over,” Professor Thomas told The Hindu…………..

EDF documents reveal that the architect engineer at Flamanville3 tried to find safer cladding material. However, these attempts have so far not been successful.

Says Professor Thomas: “The EPR will eventually be certified in the U.K. and the U.S., but not for two maybe three years. Until that point there could be significant design changes and the additional requirements of the regulators could further increase the cost. If the regulator asks for an additional safety system, for example, that could increase the price of the plant. If I was India, I would wait to see when that happened.”

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : India racing to buy an untried reactor?…..

December 6, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, India