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France’s government demands that EDF fix Flamanville nuclear reactor within one month

EDF given a month to draw up a fix for Flamanville’s nuclear woes French energy group under pressure to address faults highlighted in a new report.    https://www.ft.com/content/877eedae-f987-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6  David Keohane in Paris, 28 Oct 19.

The French government has given energy group EDF a month to deliver a plan to fix the litany of problems at the state-backed group’s over-budget flagship nuclear project at Flamanville. The planned plant at Flamanville in north-west France is considered a litmus test for the next-generation European Pressurised Reactor technology, and will help determine whether the French government will build further nuclear plants.
EDF had warned earlier this month that the cost of the project had ballooned by €1.5bn to €12.4bn, in part due to faulty weldings. On Monday, a government-commissioned report into the failings at Flamanville lambasted EDF. It pointed to several issues besetting the wider French nuclear industry, including a lack of specific skills at EDF, poor project management and headaches the group has had in integrating the nuclear business of its failed competitor Areva.

 “This is a failure for the entire French nuclear power industry, we must recognise this failure and treat it and address all the consequences,” Bruno Le Maire, French finance minister, said at a press conference in Paris.

 Flamanville was “supposed to have cost €3bn and its construction was supposed to have lasted four and a half years; it will now cost four times as much, and its construction will last for 15 years,” Mr Le Maire added.

 A decision by French president Emmanuel Macron on whether to build new nuclear plants comes as the government aims to cut the percentage of nuclear electricity used in France from 72 per cent to 50 per cent. Even as the overall percentage generated by nuclear drops, new plans may need to be build as older ones are shut.
Construction at Flamanville has been delayed until the end of 2022, having previously been scheduled for the end of 2019. EDF, which is controlled by the government, is also gearing up for an internal reorganisation of its structure.
 For EDF, the quid pro quo for reorganising itself is the hope of a new higher price for its nuclear energy — assuming it can be agreed with Brussels.
 Flamanville is just one of three projects being built in Europe using the next-generation EPR technology. The other two are the Olkiluoto project in Finland, which is more than a decade late, and the UK’s Hinkley Point, which is also delayed and mired in controversy over its high costs.   https://www.ft.com/content/877eedae-f987-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6

October 29, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, France, politics | Leave a comment

The reprehensible pro nuclear campaign for bailing out nuclear power in Ohio

Melting Ice, Crumbling Nukes, Cecile Pineta Newsletter Sunday, October 27, 2019 For anyone following or attempting to follow nuclear energy news in the United States, what’s been going on in the State of Ohio is a solid indicator of just where we stand, technologically, and from a style of government standpoint.

Without going into stupefying background detail, I’ll try to sum up the Ohio situation with help from the summary published Oct. 26 by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman who have been birddogging this issue for decades now. And I quote:

  • In July, the gerrymandered Ohio Legislature passed HB6, a massive

[1 billion-dollar] bailout to keep the two dying nukes operating on Lake Erie, [Davis-Besse, and Perry].

  • Akron-based First Energy is bankrupt…[demanding] a promised $1 billion bailout.
  • Signature gatherers were offered as much as $2,500 to turn over their signed petitions. [Contrast this with receiving only $.25 cents a signature.]

While disrupting legitimate [signature] gatherers, pro-nuke thugs aggressively collected multiple duplicate signatures for a fake non-binding petition.

Deep Pockets

  • First Energy then claimed it had gathered more than 800,000 “pro-nuke’ signatures.
  • First Energy accompanied [thug] assaults with a massive radio/TV/mailer campaign [with the ridiculous claim that] “Chinese Communists” were buying Ohio’s grid.
  • OACB’s court filing showed that state regulations imposed on certification have vastly reduced the number of referenda Ohioans can vote on.
  • Wednesday last, Oct. 26, a federal judge rejected OACB’s request for more time to gather signatures, and sent the case to the Ohio GOP-dominated Supreme Court.
  • OACB is rumored to have about 225,000 signatures on hand, 40,000 short of the threshold. Far more will be needed to overcome a [Republican] Secretary of State certain to disallow as many as [possible].
  • [And here’s the kicker:] Polls show Ohioans [who will be the rate-payers] vehemently opposed to the bailout. [That’s why] most observers believe if it [got] on the ballot, the referendum would pass by a large margin.
  • [But] should Federal appeals fail, and the Ohio Supreme Court refuse the request for more time, the referendum process will have suffered a potential death blow nationwide. It will mean Fascist thugs will be free to assault legitimate signature gatherers at will.

This last point is the main take-away. First Energy mounted this campaign in major Ohio cities: Youngstown, Akron, Toledo, and Columbus among them. It underwrote its million-dollar-plus cost-of-doing business in flyers, TV/radio/mailer announcements. It paid thousands of goon-disrupters to do their thuggish business on the streets.

At play is a $1 billion bailout. A million-dollar cost-of-doing business is a mere investment, a drop in the corporate bucket. At issue is that its cost will be passed directly to ratepayers.

Core tests conducted at Davis Besse show that its containment vessel is critically embrittled. Should there be an accident (like Three-Mile Island for example} Lake Erie is at serious risk of nuclear contamination. First Energy’s ratepayers draw their water from Lake Erie, the fourth largest of the Great Lakes and source of fresh water for Canadians and Americans living in the area.

Already in 2011, following the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima, I covered the issue of Davis Besse’s critical embrittlement in Devil’s Tango: How I Learned the Fukushima Step by Step.

That was 8 years ago….. https://devilstangobook.blogspot.com/2019/10/melting-ice-crumbling-nukes.html?showComment=1572237519303#c7332297197888828316

October 28, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, politics, secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | 1 Comment

Over 300 financial institutions put $748 billion in to nuclear weapons companies

300 lenders invest $748 bil. in top nuclear weapon producers: report https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/10/cff8aadc7863-300-lenders-invest-748-bil-in-top-nuclear-weapon-producers-report.html KYODO NEWS – Oct 26, 2019 More than 300 financial institutions in the world invested a total of $748 billion in companies involved in the nuclear weapons industry in a two-year period through January, according to a report by an international nongovernmental organization.

Of the 325 investors, eight are Japanese lenders with a total investment of $25.5 billion, says the Netherlands-based PAX. The eight include Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.

The 18 recipients, which PAX calls “the top 18 nuclear weapon producing companies,” include Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. a U.S. defense giant involved in the manufacturing of the long-range nuclear Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile.

The total investment was up 42 percent from the tally in the previous report, which covered 20 companies in a period between January 2014 and October 2017, according to Susi Snyder, a PAX member who is the main author of the new report.

She attributed the increase to a 192 percent jump by Boeing and a 300 percent surge by French defense company Thales SA.

Snyder, however, said the number of investors “continues to drop” amid rising criticism against investment in inhumane weapons such as nuclear bombs.

She cited a provision in the nuclear weapons ban treaty banning “to assist” developing nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devises. The treaty was adopted in 2017 at the U.N. General Assembly.

Snyder praised Resona Holdings Inc. for not providing loans to borrowers that are involved in the development of nuclear weapons.

Such a policy is “a really positive step” toward reducing — and eventually eliminating — nuclear weapons, she said.

Of the eight Japanese lenders listed in the report, Fuyo General Lease Co. said it has not invested in nuclear weapon producing companies, although a company that had business dealings with a Fuyo subsidiary in the United States was acquired by a nuclear weapons-related company.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. said it invests in the given companies through some index funds handled by a group company.

Six other lenders — Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui, Orix Corp., Nomura Holdings Inc. and the Development Bank of Japan — said they do not comment on individual dealings.

PAX focused on all financial institutions involved in underwritings of share and bond issuances for one or more of the 18 companies since January 2017 and own at least 0.5 percent of the outstanding shares or bonds of at least one of the companies based on the latest data available through June last year.

October 28, 2019 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, weapons and war | Leave a comment

For the climate’s sake, the $multibillion nuclear industry bailouts must stop

October 26, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, climate change, politics, USA | Leave a comment

Uninsurable – and for good reason – nuclear power

October 24, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, politics, USA | Leave a comment

US Energy Secretary Perry turns New Nuclear Salesman to Europe

October 22, 2019 Posted by | EUROPE, marketing, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear shill Rick Perry switching from DOE Secretary to Small Nuclear Reactor Salesman

Perry to Resign as DOE Secretary, With Nuclear Weapon Programs on Autopilot, OCTOBER 18, 2019, BY DAN LEONE,Rick Perry on Thursday announced his resignation as the Donald Trump administration’s first secretary of energy after more than two-and-a-half years on the job. In a published letter to President Donald Trump, Perry said he would resign “later this year”…(subscribers only) https://www.exchangemonitor.com/perry-resign-doe-secretary-nuclear-weapon-programs-autopilot/

Energy Wire 17th Oct 2019, Energy Secretary Rick Perry will head back to Europe next week as part of an effort to boost the U.S. advanced nuclear industry’s ability to export its technologies across the globe.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2019/10/17/stories/1061299145

October 19, 2019 Posted by | EUROPE, marketing, politics, USA | 1 Comment

Trump grants extension for nuclear fuel recommendations

Trump grants extension for nuclear fuel recommendations SFChronicle 

Oct. 17, 2019 FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A U.S. task force has been given more time to recommend ways to revive domestic uranium mining as it lags amid low prices and global competition.

The Nuclear Fuel Working Group had been expected to deliver recommendations to President Donald Trump last week. But the Commerce Department says Trump granted a 30-day extension.

Uranium mining interests say the global market for uranium ore is vulnerable to political turmoil.

They want Trump to boost U.S. demand to help domestic suppliers. But the president rejected a requested quota during the summer and gave the task force 90 days to come up with other ideas….. https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/us/article/Trump-grants-extension-for-nuclear-fuel-14541894.php

October 19, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, politics, Uranium | Leave a comment

Soaring costs of France’s Flamanville project casts a blight on the global nuclear industry

‘Curse of Flamanville’ strikes again as cost of EDF’s reactor soars, 14 Oct 19,  The French energy group that is building Britain’s new nuclear reactors has admitted that a similar project in Normandy will cost almost four times the original estimate.

EDF said that its European pressurised reactor in Flamanville was now expected to cost €12.4 billion. This is €1.5 billion more than the previous estimate.

Initially it was supposed to cost €3.3 billion and the reactor was supposed to come on stream in 2012. The company says that under the revised plan it hopes to load fuel at Flamanville at the end of 2022, a decade late.

EDF is an electrity business with interests worldwide, including operating 58 nuclear reactors in its home country. It is majority-owned by the French state, which holds an 83.7 per cent stake…(subscribers only) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/edf-admits-flamanville-reactor-will-cost-four-times-original-estimate-k55qjn9b5?fbclid=IwAR0-APtlBA77Q8ixdA4VPMl3YCO24A_ivA0dL9Xf_Hyo0mwKn4w0898zmjY

October 15, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

35,454 Petitioners call for scrapping of UK’s “regulated asset base” (RAB) funding for Sizewell nuclear project

Sizewell.
TASC 11th Oct 2019, Just one major problem with the Sizewell C plans is that nuclear new build projects have been largely a financial disaster. Almost every major nuclear project in the West has been plagued by delays and cost overruns: Some delays are in the order decades. Likewise, the cost overruns are of epic proportions.

Some new-build projects have had cost overruns that run into billions. Changing the funding method for the planned Sizewell C to a
regulated asset base model would shift the risk of rising costs from EDF to consumers, and could lead to even worse project planning because the existing RAB model would offer little incentive for EDF to build on-time and on-budget. EDFs investment is safe regardless, and we wind up footing the bill no matter how incompetently EDF proceeds.

http://www.tasizewellc.org.uk/index.php/submissions-and-reports/296-tasc-response-to-the-nuclear-regulated-asset-base-consultation

TASC 11th Oct 2019,Today, campaigners from Sizewell, Hinkley Point and Bradwell nuclear sites and consumer group SumOfUs will visit the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to deliver a 35,454-signature petition protesting the government’s proposal to subsidise new nuclear power plants by hiking energy bills.

The petition calls on the government to scrap plans to subsidise the nuclear industry through a “regulated asset base” (RAB) funding model, under which consumers would be forced to pay a surcharge on their energy bills for new nuclear power projects such as Sizewell C in Suffolk and Bradwell B in Essex.

http://www.tasizewellc.org.uk 

October 14, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, politics, UK | Leave a comment

Flamanville nuclear reactor repairs will cost $13.6 billion

EDF Cost Overrun at French Plant Piles Pressure on Nuclear Giant, by
Francois De Beaupuy, October 9, 2019, 
  •  Repairs at Flamanville reactor will lift cost to $13.6 billion
  •  Plant won’t load nuclear fuel until end of 2022 at earliest
Electricite de France SA said repairs of faulty welds at a nuclear plant under construction in western France will boost the project’s cost by 14% to 12.4 billion euros ($13.6 billion), adding further financial strain to the cash-strapped atomic power giant.

The latest budget hike at the Flamanville-3 reactor is yet another blow to the French state-controlled utility, which raised its cost estimate for two similar reactors it’s building in the U.K. just weeks ago. It also fuels doubts about nuclear’s future in France, where the government has been reluctant to approve new projects before Flamanville-3 is online….. (subscribers only) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/edf-lifts-cost-of-french-nuclear-reactor-by-14-to-13-6-billion

October 12, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, France, safety | Leave a comment

French nuclear company EDF rules out any interest in UK’s Wylfa nuclear plan

New Civil Engineer 10th Oct 2019, EDF Energy has ruled out taking an interest in the new Wylfa nuclear site in Wales despite claiming it is the ‘best site in the UK’ for nuclear
power.   https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/edf-rules-out-wylfa-bid-despite-naming-it-best-site-in-uk-10-10-2019/

October 12, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Ex-generals aim to shift conservative resiliency dialogue away from coal, nuclear subsidies

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ex-generals-aim-to-shift-conservative-resiliency-dialogue-away-from-coal-n/564815/ The project aims to educate stakeholders on the possibilities of competitive contracts to promote resilience. “There’s an element within the country that says we can’t reveal” engineering improvements for the critical substations and nodes “for causes classified…and so there’s no competition in the pricing of those repairs,” Handy told reporters on Thursday.
“What we’re suggesting, from a national security standpoint is … companies know how to compete in a classified area or a confidential area, and not just about the grid, about anything,” Hagee said. “These competitive forces can in fact be brought to bear even when you have information that is sensitive.”
  by  Iulia Gheorghiu  Oct. 11, 2019  

Dive Brief:

  • Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) launched a project this month to direct conservative discussions on energy and national security toward market-based approaches, leveraging the knowledge and experience of three former U.S. generals.
  • The Grid Security Project will focus on federal-level policy, as well as Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania, where state subsidy efforts are underway to aid power plants that SAFE has deemed unnecessary for reliability or security, based on a technical analysis from grid operator PJM Interconnection.
  • On Thursday, General Michael Hagee and General John Handy, two leaders of the Grid Security Project, met with energy and defense committees on Capitol Hill to discuss infrastructure legislation, the defense authorization bill and transportation electrification.

Dive Insight:

The new group aims to shift “the narrative in the conservative community away from subsidizing coal and nuclear plants toward one that emphasizes real grid security and resilience,” following proposals from several states and the Trump administration to subsidize power plants with baseload capacity, according to SAFE’s statement.

The Grid Security Project’s fuel-neutral message would target Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania, with education efforts extending to legislators, public utility commissioners and other thought leaders.

n Ohio, coal and nuclear subsidy legislation could go into effect in mid-October. The Grid Security Project is publishing information and working to oppose the subsidies because, according to SAFE, state legislators and First Energy Solutions have contradicted PJM’s assessment by maintaining certain coal and nuclear plants were important to reliability and national security.

On a national level, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is pursuing a docket on resilience, and the Grid Security Project wants to help steer discussions toward market-based approaches.

“We want a reliable, resilient and affordable grid,” Hagee said. “The best way to get to that… [is] with our ingenuity and our competitiveness.”

The project aims to educate stakeholders on the possibilities of competitive contracts to promote resilience. “There’s an element within the country that says we can’t reveal” engineering improvements for the critical substations and nodes “for causes classified…and so there’s no competition in the pricing of those repairs,” Handy told reporters on Thursday.

“What we’re suggesting, from a national security standpoint is … companies know how to compete in a classified area or a confidential area, and not just about the grid, about anything,” Hagee said. “These competitive forces can in fact be brought to bear even when you have information that is sensitive.”

October 12, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, climate change, USA | Leave a comment

Russia’s manipulations in supplying Bangladesh with nuclear technology

Derek Abbott  Nuclear Fuel Cycle Watch Australia,7 Oct 19

I’m at an engineering meeting and got to meet an engineer working on the nuclear program in Bangladesh.

I asked him if Bangladesh had renewables. He said they have a lot.

I then made the point that nuclear is therefore not a good investment as his grid is now in greater need of sources that turn on and off quickly. As nuclear can’t do that, nuclear is not cost effective.

He agreed and said for that reason the Bangladeshi govt would actually never pay upfront for a nuclear station on an economic basis.

He said the nuclear program was a result of a political deal with the Russians.

He said that Pakistan and India have nuclear in the region, so the idea of Bangladesh having a nuclear station is a show of “arm flexing.”

The Russians were pushy and made a deal too hard to resist: The Russians will only charge 1% of the cost per annum for the first 30 years of operation and have agreed to remove all waste and ship it back to Russia.

I said that deal does seem too hard to resist.

I then naively asked why on earth the Russians would go to such lengths at an apparent economic loss to them.

His answer was that Bangladesh is seen as an economically strategic region. Labour costs are lower than India, and it has a very capable workforce with a GDP that is over 5 times (per head) higher than India!

I hadn’t realised that and asked how they are making money. He said that India is no longer the power house of the clothing industry. Due to lower wages, clothes are now made in Bangladesh. All your designer labels you might be wearing come from there and have been rebranded.

There are very strong trade deals between China and Bangladesh, and it his belief that Russia’s “bargain basement” nuclear deal is way of getting a foothold in the region themselves. It is a geopolitical maneuver.

What the Russians giveth with one hand, they’ll probably find a way to taketh with another.

October 6, 2019 Posted by | ASIA, marketing, Russia | Leave a comment

Scrutiny on Britain’s nuclear plans: small modular reactors uncompetitive

UK nuclear: a Golden Egg or Poisoned Chalice?  UK nuclear power isunder intense scrutiny as costs balloon on the controversial Hinkley Point C station in southwest England

October 5, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, politics, UK | Leave a comment