France’s President Hollande backs Hinkley nuclear project, despite near bankruptcy of EDF
Hollande renews support for Hinkley Point nuclear reactors http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/17/hollande-renews-support-edf-hinkley-point-nuclear-reactors
French president backs project despite fears that £18bn price tag could bankrupt EDF, which is 85% state-owned François Hollande has renewed his support for the controversial nuclear project planned by the French energy company EDF at Hinkley Point in Britain.
“I am in favour that this project goes ahead,” the French president told Europe 1 radio on Tuesday.
“It’s very important to understand that we need a high-performance, highly secure nuclear industry in France, and that we cannot let others take over terrain, including on exports, that has been French up to now,” he said.
A final decision on the plan to build two new-generation nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in south-west England was due this month, but was delayed after unions at EDF demanded a review of the costs.
A joint project between EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corporation, it carries a projected price tag of £18bn ($26bn, €23bn) that will make it one of the world’s most expensive nuclear power plants.
Unions at EDF, which is 85% state-owned, fear it could bankrupt the company, which is already saddled with more than €37bn of debt.
Last month, the management agreed to consult the internal committee which has brought in outside experts to review the financial implications of the project.
Hollande said the review would be completed “in the coming weeks”.
There have been dissenting voices over Hinkley Point within the French government.
On Friday, France’s environment minister Ségolène Royal, who is also mother to Hollande’s children, told the Financial Times that she was worried about the “colossal sums” involved in the project and questioned whether it should go ahead
Ratings agencies Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s both lowered their forecasts for EDF last week, saying efforts to streamline the company were insufficient.
Hollande restated his vow to restructure and boost financing at EDF and rival energy giant Areva, “because they are the future”.
“The French nuclear industry has 200,000 employees. It represents our energy independence,” Hollande told Europe 1.
“EDF and Areva are public companies on which we should rely. But at the same time, we must give them new support.”
CGN, which is due to cover a third of the costs, said on Monday that it would not go ahead with the project if EDF pulls out.
India to sell nuclear reactors to Bangladesh (But what if Bangladesh is under water before long?)
India, Bangladesh power ties with 21st-century nuclear deal Times of India Indrani Bagchi| TNN | May 15, 2016, NEW DELHI: India has concluded a nuclear agreement with Bangladesh in a sign that the bilateral neighbourhood relationship is becoming special. …..The nuclear agreement is a three-document package that has been negotiated between the MEA and the Bangladesh department of science and technology over the past few months……
Russia joins the throng desperate to sell nuclear radioactive trash to Britain
Russia’s state-owned nuclear group keen to break into UK market Rosatom understood to be hoping to revive plans to build reactors in Britain if EDF proposals for Hinkley Point C fail, Guardian, Terry Macalister, 14 May 16, A Russian nuclear group is hoping that the potential meltdown of French plans to build new European pressurised reactors at Hinkley Point could offer an opportunity to break into the British nuclear market.
Deeper concerns about the future of the Somerset scheme were raised by the French energy minister, Ségolène Royal, who warned of the “colossal” cost, which EDF admitted could be £18bn or even £21bn.
Recent talks have been held between state-owned Russian nuclear group Rosatom and the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) despite the chilly political relations between London and Moscow over Ukraine, Moscow sources claimed.
These discussions centred on whether Russia could help Britain with removal of uranium from old reactors – but Rosatom is understood to have a wider agenda of trying to resuscitate earlier plans to build its own reactors in Britain.
“There is still an appetite to enter the UK market,” said a senior Russian nuclear industry source who claimed Rosatom’s London-based representatives still maintained contacts with the Department ofEnergy and Climate Change…….
The Russians accept that sanctions and other political considerations make it difficult for such a plan to progress, but they point out that Rosatom still supplies uranium to UK and US nuclear plants.
The NuDA confirmed that it had held a series of talks with Rosatom. “We have met with them. We are a recognised global authority and we meet with a lot of organisations,” said a spokesman……..
China wants to use Britain as a showcase for its Hualong technology and agreed to take a third share in EDF’s Hinkley scheme in return for being allowed to proceed with Chinese-owned technology at Bradwell……..
Those worries were given extra weight with Royal’s comments in an interview with the Financial Times in which she said: “I am wondering if we should go ahead with the project. The sums involved are colossal.”
And they added to fears about the future of the Somerset project earlier this week when the company’s management was pilloried by shareholders at its annual general meeting and credit agency Moody’s downgraded EDF debt.
John Sauven, Greenpeace’s executive director, said the downgrading was just “a long line of massive red flag warnings” the UK government had received over the Hinkley nuclear project. He added: “Hinkley power station must not become ‘too big to fail’ because of politicians’ egos that are too big to back down.” http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/13/russias-state-owned-nuclear-group-keen-to-break-into-uk-market
China General Nuclear Power Corp keen to export nuclear, named as conspirator
U.S. Conspiracy Charges Spotlights China Nuclear Champion http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-15/u-s-conspiracy-charges-put-spotlight-on-china-nuclear-champion Stephen Stapczynski sstapczynski
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CGN indicted for conspiracy to illegally make nuclear material
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Company part of venture to develop China’s Hualong One unit
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A U.S. indictment on charges against China General Nuclear Power Corp. for conspiracy to illegally produce nuclear material is shining a light on one of the Asian country’s leading atomic energy companies and a key player in its effort to export nuclear technology.
The state-owned company, part of a venture designing the country’s first homegrown reactor, was named as conspirator in an indictment unsealed by the U.S. government Thursday. The reactor, known as Hualong One, is the centerpiece of China’s efforts to compete globally against more-established nuclear developers including Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric Co. and Paris-based Areva SA.
- “They are the largest nuclear power company, but less known compared with big oil, telecom or Internet names,” said Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities (Asia) Ltd. in Hong Kong.
China is seeking to shift from being a buyer of foreign technology to developing homegrown expertise it can sell globally. CGN and China National Nuclear Corp. last month established a joint venture to export the technology and the country plans tobuild about 30 nuclear units by 2030 in Asia and Europe, CNNC chairman Sun Qin said last month, according to China Daily.
Related: U.S. Charges Chinese Nuclear Firm, Engineer With Conspiracy
“We have noted the announcement from the Department of Justice of the U.S. We cannot comment at this stage,” CGN said in an e-mail.
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Technical Assistance
The U.S. accused CGN of directing Szuhsiung Ho, a nuclear engineer in the U.S. also known as Allen Ho, to obtain technical assistance from U.S.-based experts related to the development and production of special nuclear material without required authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy. The indictment said the assistance was related to CGN activities including its Small Modular Reactor and advanced fuel assembly program, as well as “verification and validation of nuclear reactor-related computer codes,” according to the indictment.
CGN and Electricite de France SA signed an accord in October to build three nuclear power stations in the U.K., including the 18 billion pound ($25.5 billion) Hinkley plant in southwest England, in exchange for the opportunity to build a Chinese-developed reactor at a separate site. The company may develop a Hualong One reactor at Bradwell in southern England in the future as part of the agreement signed during President Xi Jinping’s visit to the country in October. -
AP1000
CGN signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kenyan government in September to build Hualong One reactors and agreed with Romania in November to build two reactors. CNNC has its own projects in Argentina and Pakistan.
The CGN indictment isn’t the first time the U.S. accused China of illegal activity in the nuclear industry. The U.S. charged five Chinese military hackers in 2014 of cyber espionage against U.S. corporations, including Westinghouse.
Between 2010 and 2012, Chinese hackers stole confidential designs and internal communications from Westinghouse’s computer systems while it was engaged in negotiations with an unidentified state-owned company about building four of the American company’s AP1000 reactors, the Justice Department said at the time. The hackers stole internal e-mails in which Westinghouse executives discussed talks with the Chinese company, it said.
Pipe Specifications
The attackers also sought to acquire pipe specifications that “would enable a competitor to build a plant similar to the AP1000 without incurring significant research and development costs,” the 2014 indictment said.
- Westinghouse referred questions about the most recent case to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to comment Thursday, referring questions to the Justice Department.
“The notion of stealing U.S. civil nuclear technology is bizarre, given the close technical R&D relationships between China and the U.S.,” Ian Hore-Lacy, senior research analyst at World Nuclear Association, said by e-mail Friday. “Chinese nuclear engineers have been helping to build the AP1000 reactors in the U.S.”
China to set up nuclear reactors in Bulgaria: Bulgaria says no government guarantees
Bulgaria Seeks Chinese Investors into Nuclear Power, Novinite.com, April 15, 2016, Bulgaria is looking for a strategic investor into an expansion of nuclear capacities, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has told a committee in Parliament…….
She has explained there is certain interest from China in getting involved in Bulgaria‘s nuclear sector.
http://www.novinite.com/articles/174043/Bulgaria+Seeks+Chinese+Investors+into+Nuclear+Power#sthash.cy7Y2ZJE.dpuf
Russia marketing nuclear power stations to Laos: Russia will build and operate them
Russia and Laos plan nuclear cooperation, World Nuclear News, 15 April 2016
A memorandum of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes has been signed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the ministry of energy and mines of Laos……
In August 2015, it was reported that Rosatom and Laos were in negotiations to set up the Southeast Asian country’s first nuclear power plant. The talks concerned Russia building two 1000 MWe nuclear power reactors in Laos on a build-operate-transfer basis. http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Russia-and-Laos-plan-nuclear-cooperation-1504164.html
Russi, france, USA, all vying to market nuclear reactors to China
Rosatom hopes to plug into nuclear industry By Lyu Chang (China Daily) 2016-04-08 Rosatom, the Russian State Atomic Energy Corp, is seeking to hit big in China’s nuclear industry with the opening of a regional center headquartered in Beijing on Thursday,according to a senior official of the company.
“We are looking to expand our business in China, a market with huge potential for growth inthe nuclear industry, and the activities of regional center are designed to help strengthen ourcooperation with the country,” said Alexander Merten, president of Rosatom InternationalNetwork……..
China’s nuclear industry is on the fast track to become one of the world’s largest, with plans tohave completed 58 gigawatts of installed capacity with another 30 gW under construction bythe end of 2020.
But Rosatom will face fierce competition from companies such as the US WestinghouseElectric and France’s nuclear giant Areva with rival third-generation nuclear designs such asAP1000 and EPR1000, both of which aim to expand its presence in the Chinese market…….https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox?compose=153f5049f5598818
Marketing frenzy to sell nuclear reactors to the Middle East
Nuclear Power to the People The Middle East’s New Gold Rush, Foreign Affairs May 2015 By Bennett Ramberg There’s a gold rush in the Middle East, but it isn’t gold that prospectors are seeking. It’s reactor sales; these have been talked about for decades, but they’re now picking up steam. So far, Russia has taken the lead. Having built the region’s only operational nuclear power plant—Iran’s Bushehr reactor—it will begin construction in Turkey later this year or next on four reactors, with energy set to begin flowing in the early 2020s. Russia has also stuck agreements with Algeria, Egypt, Iran, and Jordan, and it is seeking to enter the Saudi market.
Other countries are now trying to make up for lost time. South Korea has already contracted to build four plants in the United Arab Emirates, with the first expected to come online in 2017. And Argentina, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom are among those pursuing their own agreements for reactors, component parts and/or service deals.
The United States, subject to Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act—which requires that nuclear recipients adhere to a set of nonproliferation criteria to receive transfers of nuclear material, equipment, or components—finds itself more constrained in exploiting the markets. Still, in addition to supplying the Emirates with component and engineering support services under the 123 Agreement, the U.S. Commerce Department reports that GE-Hitachi and Toshiba-Westinghouse have signed contracts with Exelon to pursue reactor construction in Saudi Arabia, presuming that a 123 Agreement will be negotiated…….(registered readers only) https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2015-05-25/nuclear-power-people
Russia marketing nuclear power to Bolivia
Bolivia Hopes to Gain Knowledge From Nuclear Deal With Russia, Sputnik News, 29 Mar 16, “……..Russia and Bolivia signed an agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation in 2015. Rosatom and the Bolivian Hydrocarbon and Energy Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for peaceful uses of nuclear energy in November. http://sputniknews.com/business/20160329/1037166194/bolivia0russia-rosatom-nuclear.html#ixzz44KHYmPUv
India’s Prime Minister Modi in the grip of the global nuclear salesmen
PM’s recent visits to France, Russia and Japan India Infoline News Service | Mumbai | March 10, 2016
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visits to France, Russia and Japan were aimed to bring in socio-economic and scientific development particularly in the field of atomic energy
Russia marketing nuclear reactors to Bolivia
Bolivia agrees $300 million nuclear complex with Russia’s Rosatom, Reuters, 6 Mar 16, LA PAZ Bolivia and Russia’s state-owned atomic energy corporation Rosatom said on Sunday they had signed a provisional agreement for the construction of $300 million nuclear complex in the Andean nation.
Under the terms of the accord, which needs to be approved by Bolivia’s Congress, Rosatom will help Bolivia develop infrastructure
for its embryonic nuclear program.
The center will include a research reactor, a cyclotron for radiopharmaceuticals and a multi-purpose gamma irradiation plant. Opposition politicians have criticized the project over fears of environmental risks……..http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bolivia-rosatom-idUSKCN0W80R3
China marketing nuclear reactors to Pakistan and beyond
China plans to build 30 overseas nuclear plants by 2030 China is building two 1000 mg nuclear power plants in Pakistan’s port city of Karachiat a cost of $6.5 billion. Business Standard, Press Trust of India | Beijing March 1, 2016 China aims to build 30 nuclear power units in countries involved with its Silk Road Initiative by 2030 as it looks to cash in its new 1000 mw nuclear reactor technology being built in Pakistan.
The China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has reached bilateral agreements on nuclear energy cooperation with countries including Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Britain, France and Jordan, its President Sun Qin said today.
China is building two 1000 mgnuclearpower plants inPakistan’s port city of Karachiat a cost of $6.5 billion……..http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/china-plans-to-build-30-overseas-nuclear-plants-by-2030-116030101086_1.html
China ramping up its nuclear industry, with plans for exporting reactors
China Inc.’s Nuclear-Power PushIn a shift, Chinese state-owned companies seek to roll out advanced reactors for export, WSJ, By BRIAN SPEGELE Feb. 23, 2016 SHENZHEN, China—China wants to shift from customer to competitor in the global nuclear industry as it seeks to roll out its first advanced reactor for export, a move that adds new competition for already struggling global firms.
Two state-owned firms teamed up to design the advanced indigenous Hualong One reactor with plans to sell overseas. On Tuesday, one of them, China General Nuclear Power Group, hosted dozens of business executives from Kenya, Russia, Indonesia and elsewhere, as well as diplomats and journalists, at its Daya Bay nuclear-power station to promote the Hualong One for export.
Asked how much of the global market share for new nuclear reactors CGN wants Hualong One to win, Zheng Dongshan, CGN’s deputy general manager in charge of international business, said: “The more the better.”
The move marks a turnaround for China and the nuclear-power industry. For three decades, China served as a big market for nuclear giants including U.S.-based, Japanese-owned Westinghouse Electric Co. and France’s Areva SA. …….
turning promotion into sales takes time, and there is no guarantee the Hualong One will find success abroad. Discussions over building the reactor overseas in many cases remain preliminary, and the first of Hualong One model reactor won’t enter service in China for several more years……
Regulatory approvals are among the challenges China Inc. faces as it seeks to sell homegrown reactors abroad. CGN executives said obtaining needed regulatory permits in the U.K. and other countries for the Hualong One would still take several years, a process that would need to conclude before construction gets under way……..
At the heart of its sales pitch for potential customers overseas, CGN touts itself as a “one-stop shop” for nuclear needs—from nuclear design to construction, financing and other services.
“If you choose the HPR1000, it’s like you’re joining a big family,”Yang Maochun, a deputy general manager of CGN’s international business department, told the visiting foreign executives on Tuesday…….
Political concerns over Chinese nuclear investment in the West could also pose hurdles, though these may be overcome through jointly investing with local partners.
While acknowledging CGN’s deepening competition with Western nuclear companies, Mr. Zheng said the company remains eager to cooperate with them too. He cited joint investment with France’s Électricité de France SA in the U.K.’s Hinkley Point C project as a model for cooperation, and said CGN would be willing to help market non-Chinese reactors in the future as well. http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-inc-s-nuclear-power-push-1456251331
USA govt’s position: its nuclear companies should be exempt from civil or criminal liability
How American Penalties Dwarf the Liability US Nuclear Firms Will Face in India, The Wire BY AMIT BHANDARI, INDIASPEND.ORG ON 21/02/2016 A $48-billion (Rs 3.26 lakh crore) penalty claimed by the US government from Volkswagen for cheating on diesel-car emissions is about 200 times as large as the $225 million (Rs 1,500 crore) insurance pool set up by Indian insurance companies to compensate US nuclear companies for mishaps in India.
If a US nuclear company were to build a reactor in India that suffered a catastrophe, and people were to die in India, the US government’s position seems to be that American suppliers shouldn’t face
. The US believes the Indian civil nuclear liability law, which calls for both penalties, is unduly harsh. Rather than say so directly, US officials keep repeating that the “Indian law is inconsistent with the international liability regime.”
The Indian civil nuclear liability law holds the equipment supplier responsible for any incident caused by the supplier or its employees. The Indian liability law differs from those of other countries because it was drafted keeping in mind the 1984 Bhopal tragedy – where despite 5,000 deaths and effects across generations, no one was held criminally liable.
Although the Indian government wants to protect US nuclear companies against the Indian liability law, critics argued that these companies are using India’s eagerness to avoid any liability, if something goes wrong…….
Indian firms also fined in the US
While the US nuclear industry wants to avoid any liability in India for acts of omission or commission, Indian companies have often been slapped with large fines for violations of US law.
Russia is offering bribes for Egypt to buy its nuclear reactors
Negotiations over establishment of Dabaa nuclear plant ongoing: Minister of Electricity, Daily News, Egypt, 21 Feb 16 Egyptian minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker, said the ministry is still negotiating with Russia’s Rosatom over technical, financial, and technological agreements to establish the first Egyptian nuclear power plant in the Dabaa area.
He told Daily News Egypt the Russian offer has better features than other offers from French, Chinese, and Korean companies. The offer includes providing nuclear fuel supply to the nuclear power plant throughout its operating period, which is estimated to be 60 years. In addition, it will be responsible for the management of spent nuclear fuel, operation and maintenance, and training human resources……http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/02/21/negotiations-over-establishment-of-dabaa-nuclear-plant-ongoing-minister-of-electricity/
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