nuclear-news

Problems in AREVA nuclear company’s plans to ‘conquer the world’

a three-year delay and the doubling of the costs for the construction of the first EPR the group had to build in Finland,….Areva must be “in conquest mode” internationally……..

Areva Needs Clarity From France Over Nuclear Strategy – WSJ, by Geraldine Amiel 22 Dec 10, French state-controlled nuclear engineering firm Areva’s impending capital increase can’t hide the fact that the government’s strategy regarding what it considers one of its energy industry’s jewels is still confused……the government’s nuclear policy is yet to be determined, as newly-appointed energy minister Eric Besson admitted last week.

“My priority is to organize the French nuclear industry… so that it performs better than it used to,” he said in a radio interview.

About time. Though he didn’t elaborate and hasn’t done so since. When asked during question time at the National Assembly Tuesday about the government’s strategy for Areva, French finance and economics minister Christine Lagarde didn’t really make matters any clearer, saying that Areva must be “in conquest mode” internationally……..

Ever since it was created in 2001, Areva’s fate has been tightly linked to political considerations, due to its strategic position and France’s prominent position on the  nuclear market, having been from 1970 to 2000 one of the global leaders of the sector, at one point building one out of four of the reactors being erected around the world.

That is all the more true after president Nicolas Sarkozy was elected in 2007, as he regularly pledged support for the country’s nuclear industry,…..a three-year delay and the doubling of the costs for the construction of the first EPR the group had to build in Finland,….

December 22, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, politics