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Future of UK nuclear power hangs in the balance, says EDF boss -Guardian

The company says it is waiting for government reassurances before going ahead with a nuclear construction programme.

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Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, told MPs at a select committee hearing on Tuesday that he had still not made up his mind whether to go ahead with a construction programme that would see the first new nuclear power stations in the UK for decades.

He said the company was waiting for further reassurances from the government on what assistance the company will receive. This includes assurances on the disposal of waste and the decommissioning of plants at the end of their life, and a regulatory regime that should favour nuclear power through the provision of long-term “contracts for difference” that will penalise fossil fuels in favour of low-carbon forms of energy.

“We are on the brink of delivering an infrastructure project similar in scale to the London Olympics. We are poised to deliver immense benefits in terms of jobs, skills and economic growth – locally and nationally,” said de Rivaz, appearing before the parliamentary select committee on energy and climate change. “But like all investors in capital intensive infrastructure projects we need to have a compelling business case. In this respect our final investment decision requires more progress to be made.”

This new regulatory system, known as electricity market reform (EMR), has been criticised by renewable power companies as unwieldy and overly complex. They fear it will favour big companies and squeeze smaller players out of the market.

The French state company EDF is the government’s best hope of having new nuclear power stations built in the UK, because two German utilities – RWE and E.ON – pulled out of plans to build new nuclear power stations earlier this year. Their consortium, called Horizon, was put up for sale butfailed to garner the expected interest.

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More here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/23/future-nuclear-power-uk-edf

EDF gets stake in uranium project under long-term contract deal with Paladin Energy

October 26, 2012

By 

Australian Stock Exchange-listed Paladin Energy confirmed October 26 that a long-term uranium off-take contract it announced in August is with Electricite de France.

Paladin had not divulged the counterparty in the contract when it was first announced August 15, but confirmed October 26 that the contract for 13.7 million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8) to be delivered over the years 2019 to 2024 was with EDF.

The uranium delivered under the contract will be sold at market prices prevailing at the time of delivery bounded by escalating floor and ceiling prices, Paladin said.

EDF, the state-owned French nuclear utility, operates 58 reactors in France alone making it the single largest nuclear utility in the world.

The contract involves a prepayment of US$200 million by EDF towards future deliveries. Paladin said US$50 million had already been paid and a second tranche for the remaining US$150 million was due by the end of January.

To secure Paladin’s obligation to deliver product representing the prepayment amount, EDF will hold security over 60.1% of Paladin’s Michelin uranium project in Canada.

The percentage of Michelin secured will be reduced by joint agreement as the value of that project is enhanced by Paladin’s ongoing work, Paladin said. The Michelin security can also be replaced by other appropriate security, it said.

http://www.i-nuclear.com/2012/10/26/edf-gets-stake-in-uranium-project-under-long-term-contract-deal-with-paladin-energy/

h/t

Michele Kearney’s Nuclear Wire Major News and Commentary Military and Civilian Nuclear Activities

http://michelekearneynuclearwire.blogspot.co.uk/

October 26, 2012 - Posted by | Uncategorized

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