No easy fix for France’s multi-billion dollar Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR)
France’s nuclear power giant beset by setbacks France 24 17 April 15 France, which has one of the most advanced nuclear energy systems in the world, is struggling to remain a major player in the nuclear field as its state-owned company Areva leaks cash and faces safety concerns.
France’s nuclear security authority ASN (Autorité de surete nucléaire) last week declared that a multi-billion dollar Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) being built by Areva in Flamanville, Normandy has “a serious anomaly”.
The anomaly comes at a difficult time for the French company as it faces a host of setbacks related to the construction of nuclear power plants around the world. ……..
“Either EDF abandons the project or it takes out the vessel and starts building a new one… this would be a very heavy operation in terms of cost and delay,” Pierre-Franck Chevet, head of the ASN, told the French daily ‘Le Parisien’.
So what next for the EPR?
Overall, there doesn’t seem to be an easy fix.
Yannick Rousselet, a nuclear specialist at Greenpeace in France, says that replacing the tank in Flamanville is more difficult than one might think.
“The tank is the only element that you cannot move easily,” Rousselet told FRANCE 24.
“Historically, tanks were not designed with the idea of dismantling them. In addition, the one at Flamanville is already welded in place, and fixed to the pipe of the reactor.”
Because EDF is state-owned, tax payers will ultimately pay the bill for the expensive project, says Rousselet.
“It’s the French who will pay for the mistakes. Officials collectively took us to a dead end.”…….http://www.france24.com/en/20150417-french-nuclear-company-faces-major-setbacks/
Japan’s nuclear restart is stalled – causing yet more depression in the uranium market
Japanese Court Blocks Reactor Restarts on Safety Concerns, Uranium Investing News
April 16, 2015, By Staff Writer The U3O8 spot price has floundered a little since the start of April. Though it was sitting at $39.50 at the beginning of the month, it’s since dropped down to $39 per pound.
Compounding that stagnancy, the uranium market was dealt a heavy hit this week when a Japanese court issued an injunction to block the restart of two reactors at Kansai Electric Power Company’s (TSE:9503) Takahama nuclear power plant. Reactor restarts are a key psychological catalyst for the uranium market, and the news is expected to have a negative impact on the space.
Safety concerns
Nuclear power is not looked upon favorably in all areas of Japan, and the Fukui Prefecture, where the Takahama plant is located, is one such place. It’s thus perhaps not too surprising that the Fukui District Court shelved plans to restart the two reactors.
The court’s decision was reportedly made on the basis of safety concerns and is the first injunction against any nuclear power plant in Japan in 50 years. Specifically, the court ruled that regulations implemented after the 2011 Fukushima disaster are no guarantee against another accident.
“The new regulations are not reasonable, therefore there is no need to study whether the Takahama plant satisfies them,” the court said, adding that the regulations are “so loose that compliance with these regulations wouldn’t secure the safety of this plant.”
According to NHK, residents of the Fukui Prefecture are in favor of blocking the reactors, and have “argu[ed] that the government’s plans ignored or underestimated risks and failed to meet tougher safety standards that were imposed after the Fukushima crisis.”
Kansai Electric is working on getting the injunction lifted. Originally, the reactors were scheduled to restart later this year, but that is now unlikely given the setback……..
It it is unclear if Japan’s pro-nuclear central government will be able overturn district courts like the one in Fukui Prefecture. In addition, the court’s decision could still have a negative impact on equities, and could slow down the process of bringing nuclear power back to Japan. Sadowski also believes that if more utilities are blocked, the uranium price could bear the burden, sinking lower as the market factors in the implications…….
investors would do well to watch not only what’s going on in Fukui Prefecture, but also what’s happening in Kagoshima Prefecture. According to NDTV, activists there are seeking an injunction to stop the restart of reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Company’s (TSE:9508) Sendai nuclear power plant. A court ruling is expected there on April 22. http://uraniuminvestingnews.com/21492/japan-kansai-electric-power-takahama-nuclear-power-plant.html
Surge in renewable energy trade n Europe
Renewable energy surge revives Europe’s power trade FRANKFURT/LONDON | BY VERA ECKERT AND NINA CHESTNEY(Reuters) 17 Apr 15 – The rise of renewable energy is delivering a boost to Europe’s declining power market as traders get busy in short term deals to juggle unpredictable supplies of wind and solar.
Exchanges show more trade as suppliers buy and sell power closer to when demand will appear, to meet their delivery obligations, because electricity cannot be stored effectively. New players are also attracted by lower capital requirements and risks.
“As the percentage of renewables generation increases, the need for short-term adjustments will grow, reflecting the limited precision of forecasts for wind and solar generation in comparison to schedules of conventional thermal plants,” said Bonn-based independent energy consultant Thomas Niedrig.
“Over the last five years, (spot) volumes jumped by 25 percent, making the spot sector a growth star in difficult times,” UK research company Prospex said in a study………
German government data shows renewables capacity almost quadrupled from 2003 to 2014 and renewables now account for 26 percent of total electricity generation………
The market leader is the Nordic countries’ Nord Pool Spot, followed by EPEX Spot, Italy’s GME, Spain’s OMIE and N2EX in Britain, according to Prospex.
EPEX last December introduced a German auction for 15 minute intraday power, held at 3pm in the afternoon of the previous day as a tool to concentrate liquidity.
A number of big trading houses already active in EPEX Spot’s short term market, among them Geneva’s Vitol SA, Noble Clean Fuels Ltd. and Total Gas & Power, signed up for it in 2015, it said.
But there is also money to be made by smaller operators.
“Whereas previously intraday trading was largely the preserve of utilities…now it’s definitely very much in vogue and seen as a profitable activity, especially with the flexibility of not being tied to assets,” said Chris Panton, senior analyst at Energy Fundamentals, a London based investment and advisory firm……http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/17/us-europe-power-trading-idUSKBN0N814H20150417
France’s State owned nuclear company AREVA now a costly burden
Areva Is Costing France Plenty The company thought it had a winning nuclear reactor technology http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-16/france-s-areva-falters-in-reactor-business-leaks-cash Nuclear plants supply almost three-fourths of France’s electricity, and they boast a near-spotless safety record and some of the cheapest electric rates in Europe. In 2001 the government created a state-owned company, Areva, to export French reactors and nuclear know-how to the rest of the world. Those ambitions are now in tatters, offering an object lesson in the dangers of French dirigiste industrial policy.Areva, along with competing reactor builders Westinghouse Electric and General Electric, was hit hard when orders dried up after the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan. Cheap shale gas and development of renewable energy have compounded those woes. But “you can’t really blame Areva’s plight on Fukushima,” says Steve Kidd, a British nuclear consultant and former executive of the World Nuclear Association, a London-based trade group.
$5.1b
Areva’s loss in 2014, on sales of $8.9 billionFrench authorities reported on April 7 that flaws were found in some of the steel used in the reactor vessel of an EPR being built in Normandy. That reactor is five years behind schedule, and its price tag has ballooned from $3.5 billion to $9.3 billion. Areva also is facing an investigation of its 2007 acquisition of Uramin, a Canadian uranium mining company. In 2011, Areva wrote off almost all of the $2.5 billion purchase price after concluding that the ore deposits were of negligible value. The government’s chief auditor, who faulted management for inadequate oversight and possible “dissimulation,” asked prosecutors to look into the Uramin purchase.
The next step for Areva may be a tieup with EDF, its top customer—an idea that horrified the utility’s investors, who dumped the stock after Energy Minister Ségolène Royal suggested it in March. Other government officials have suggested that Areva might work with EDF on engineering and maintenance, stopping short of a full merger.
The company still makes money supplying fuel and reprocessing waste for nuclear plant owners. It’s already clear, though, that Areva won’t be selling many new reactors. North American and European utilities stopped ordering them after the Fukushima accident, and the EPR’s problems have cast a pall over the company’s prospects in China, which now accounts for more than half of the new reactors expected to come online by 2030. Thanks to past collaboration with Areva and other Western suppliers, the Chinese have developed the technology they need to build their own reactors, says Steve Thomas, a professor at the University of Greenwich in England who studies the industry. The reactors built by Areva and Westinghouse “are just too expensive for the Chinese,” he says.
The French government’s 80 percent ownership of Areva helped mask its problems, consultant Kidd says. “Everyone was laughing” at the company’s projections for reactor sales, he says. “Everyone in the know could tell the chickens were going to come home to roost. I don’t think that would have happened in a private business.”
—With Francois de Beaupuy and Tara Patel
The bottom line: Areva’s bid to be the globally dominant maker of reactors was undone by cost overruns and strategic blunders.
How investments are damaged by the continuing nuclear radiation crisis at Fukushima
5 Ways Fukushima The radiation Emits Tend to be Poisoning Ventures. International Health Insurance and Medical Health 16 Apr 15 (? weird translation)
“…….1. Investors with Uranium are usually Hurt:
The purchse price for every lot associated with uranium has tanked since the 03, 2011 nuclear meltdown with Fukushima, which in turn brought about cutbacks for anybody invested in uranium exploration gives. ……..
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Financial success for investors who dumped holdings in coal, gas and oil
Fossil fuel-free funds outperformed conventional ones, analysis shows, Guardian, Patrick Collinson 11 Apr 15 Investors who dumped holdings in coal, oil and gas earned an average return of 1.2% more a year over last five years, data from the world’s leading stock market index reveals Investors who have dumped holdings in fossil fuel companies have outperformed those that remain invested in coal, oil and gas over the past five years according to analysis by the world’s leading stock market index company,
MSCI, which runs global indices used by more than 6,000 pension and hedge funds, found that investors who divested from fossil fuel companies would have earned an average return of 13% a year since 2010, compared to the 11.8%-a-year return earned by conventional investors.
The figures indicate that if a major charitable institution or foundation with £100m in funds had divested from fossil fuels in November 2010 they would be around £7m better off today than if they had maintained their holdings in coal, oil and gas companies.
In total, a portfolio of shares with fossil fuel companies included has grown in value by 62.2% since 2010, but this compares to the 69.9% growth of a fund without fossil fuel investments.
The data will challenge the widespread belief among asset managers that divestment hurts the financial performance of investment funds……….http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/10/fossil-fuel-free-funds-out-performed-conventional-ones-analysis-shows
France’s nuclear corporation AREVA in deep financial trouble – needs tax-payer bailout
Areva in Deep Financial Trouble, The Energy Collective, Dan YUrman 10 Mar 15 French government and investors ask whether it has hit bottom?
It is no secret that state-owned nuclear energy giant Areva has ten tons of financial debt on a five ton truck. After several years of smacking the bumper with a 2 x 4 to keep half of the IOUs in the air, the truck has hit a red light and all the weight of that debt has come down in one place and at one time. This week Areva’s senior leadership went public with the numbers and what they say is a path toward new earnings. Phillip Knoche, the new CEO of Areva, said, “We have to cut our costs and master difficult projects.”
Here’s the bad news
Areva is facing huge financial challenges with reported losses of {e}4.8 billion ($5.4 billion US) compared to a loss of just {e} 500 million last year. Sales were down in 2014 by 8% compared to 2013. The company wrote down assets by {e}1.5 billion, took a {e}1.1 billion charge on three nuclear projects, and wrote off another nearly {e}1billion in assets that it now believes are essentially worthless. They include a uranium mine bought by former CEO Anne Lauvergeon who’s expansionist strategy overextended the company in terms of its capital requirements.
The bad news isn’t over
This year the firm expects to see a further reduction in sales of at least 5% compared to 2014. The firm will sell off its unprofitable renewable energy business, and other assets, for {e}430 million. It will scale back other investments. Overall, debt has risen to {e}5.8 billion compared to a market cap of {e}3.6 billion. Essentially, the firm is underwater and needs a huge infusion of capital from the French government………
Bulgaria pulls out of $4bn Westinghouse nuclear deal
Bulgaria drops $4bn Westinghouse nuclear deal Yahoo 7 News, April 1, 2015 Sofia (AFP) – Bulgaria has dropped a deal with US-based firm Westinghouse Electric to build a new reactor at its only nuclear plant because of financial pressures, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced Wednesday.
“We cannot uphold the agreement” which is worth $4 billion (3.8 billion euros), Borisov told parliament, adding that the cash-strapped country was unable to shoulder the costs…….
Westinghouse, a subsidiary of Japanese company Toshiba, had initially planned to take a 30-percent stake in the Kozloduy project, but Bulgarian media reported that it now refused to invest in the deal.
The company has not yet commented on Borisov’s announcement.
In 2012, Bulgaria was forced to drop another project, this time to build two Russian VVER 1,000-megawatt reactors at the planned Belene nuclear plant in the country’s north.http://news.yahoo.com/bulgaria-drops-4bn-westinghouse-nuclear-deal-161118449.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=tw
UK’s Hinkley nuclear plant developments stalled as financial negotiations drag on
Hinkley Point C nuclear project workers face layoff , Guardian 2 Apr 15 Up to 400 constructors at site of new nuclear power station could be laid off as preparation work comes to end before final investment decision by owner EDF. As many as 400 workers at the site of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point face being laid off while the French owners of the project decide whether to make an investment in the £16bn project.EDF has almost completed the project’s preparatory earthworks, drainage, welfare facilities and roadworks, but is yet to decide on the investment to mark the beginning of the construction the plant in Somerset.
The company said a decision would be reached in the coming months, and it has already launched a 45-day redundancies consultation, said the unions…….
It is the first new new nuclear plant in the UK in decades and is scheduled to start producing electricity in 2023. EDF, however, is still negotiating with UK authorities about government debt guarantees for the project, along with decommissioning costs and other details.
It is also negotiating with two Chinese utilities about their role in Hinkley Point and possible future UK nuclear projects with EDF……http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/02/hinkley-point-c-nuclear-project-workers-face-layoff-power-station-investment-edf
A risky precedent – if ratepayers bail out Ginna nuclear plant
Bailout of nuclear power plant would set bad precedent, Times Union By David O. Carpenter, March 30, 2015 The New York state Public Service Commissionand the Cuomo administration will soon decide whether ratepayers can be forced to bail out Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power plant operator, and its Ginna nuclear plant, one of the world’s oldest commercial reactors, built near Rochester in 1969. A bailout would set a costly, dangerous precedent with state and national implications.
Across New York and the U.S., as older nuclear plants age, their operating costs are rising while prices for electricity from competing sources are falling, making many of them uneconomical, including a third of Exelon’s fleet. So they seek shelter from market forces that increasingly favor cleaner, cheaper alternatives, including wind and solar.
Ginna is an important test case. It lost $100 million in the last three years. So Exelon negotiated a new purchase agreement withRochester Gas & Electric worth $735 million — $165 million above the market price for electricity — passing on its losses to customers by raising their rates.
Exelon threatens that without a bailout, it will close Ginna and other uneconomical reactors, undermining electricity supply. Supply fears are overblown — Ginna could be phased out and its power replaced more cost-effectively, including by improving substations and transmission lines. The PSC may be more worried about losing Ginna’s 600 jobs (though there would be hundreds of decommissioning jobs if the reactor shut down).
Meanwhile, many oppose the bailout. Physicians for Social Responsibility’s New York chapter opposes it because of growing public health and safety risks as Ginna ages. New York utilities and power producers oppose it because it violates established procedure for shuttering plants. A group of 60 large industrial, commercial and institutional energy consumers oppose it because it would distort electricity markets and trigger “potentially staggering” rate hikes. Alliance for a Green Economy opposes unjustly forcing consumers to subsidize Exelon and its obsolete reactor, which would also pre-empt better energy alternatives. It wants Ginna’s losses borne by RG&E, not ratepayers, and swift, orderly decommissioning.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s administration opposes a Ginna bailout as bad precedent for other troubled plants, which might try to hold his city’s residents hostage to closure threats. For example, what if the aging, leaking Indian Point nuclear plant, which should be decommissioned, followed suit and demanded to be propped up through extortionate rate hikes?
These are all good reasons to say “no” to bailing out Ginna and other aging nuclear plants that might seek to follow in its wake…….. http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-opinion/article/Bailout-of-nuclear-power-plant-would-set-bad-6168217.php
France struggles to save its financially strapped nuclear company AREVA
France Renews Push for Nuclear Shake Up Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron urges stronger cooperation between the state-controlled businesses. By INTI LANDAURO April 2, 2015 PARIS—The French government has turned up the heat on the country’s biggest nuclear-power companies to restructure the industry to help stem multibillion-euro losses at state-controlled equipment maker Areva SA.Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron has asked Eléctricité de France SA–the operator of France’s fleet of nuclear power stations which provide most of the country’s electricity—to come to the rescue of Areva by deepening their industrial and possibly financial ties.
EDF and Areva, which are both majority-owned by the French state, have to cooperate better over the construction of 
nuclear reactors and tendering for international business, Mr. Macron said on Thursday. He said that he has asked both companies to make proposals in the coming weeks………
Changing international attitudes to nuclear power, notably after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, have complicated the task for the French government by crimping demand for new business at Areva………
For now, Areva is working on a plan to sell assets, cut costs, reduce capital expenditure and start talks with unions over possible job cuts after posting a €4.8 billion ($5.4 billion) net loss in 2014, the fourth loss in as many years.
The company faces major hurdles with its contract to build a reactor in Finland, which has suffered a series of delays and cost overruns, and has also made a poor investment in uranium mining,……..http://www.wsj.com/articles/french-government-pushes-areva-edf-to-make-tie-up-proposal-1427961063
New coal plants being cancelled twice as fast as ones being built
For Every New Coal Plant Being Built, Two Are Being Cancelled, Clean Technica, March 21st, 2015 Originally published on The Carbon Brief. By Sophie Yeo
The global coal boom has started to slow, a new report says, as more plans for new power plants are now being shelved than completed.
The number of cancelled coal projects across the world has outstripped those completed at a rate of two to one since 2010, according to Sierra Club and CoalSwarm – two campaign groups that have tracked the progress of 3,900 intended plants since 1 January 2010.
The findings update a 2012 report by the World Resources Institute, which estimated that 1,199 new coal-fired power plants, with a total capacity of 1,401 gigawatts, were in the pipeline for construction.
New figures suggest that, by 2014, this had shrunk by 23% to a proposed 1,083 gigawatts of new coal-fired capacity. The report puts this down to citizen opposition, competition from renewables, new policy initiatives and political scandals putting a freeze on the highly polluting projects………
Stranded assets
The current rate of coal project cancellations is already causing a headache for investors in the industry, Ted Nace, one of the report’s authors, tells Carbon Brief:
“The clearest example right now is in coal mining stocks like Peabody, Arch, and Alpha Natural Resources. Arch’s stock, for example, hit $75 per share in 2008 and now sells for 88 cents per share. An individual or an institutional investor that invested $75,000 in Arch stock in 2008 would have lost over $74,000 in the past seven years.”
The decline in the European and US coal fired capacity growth has been taking place for over a decade, but mining companies had hoped that exports to China and other Pacific Rim nations would help to make up the difference.
This has not happened. China’s coal consumption fell by 2.9% in 2014, while the use of existing coal plants dropped to 54% – a 35-year low.
Meanwhile, new renewable energy capacity exceeded new coal capacity in China for the first time in 2013, and then again in 2014 – although coal remains the dominant source of Chinese electricity.
The rate at which projects are being shelved in India has also had an impact on connected projects overseas, explains Nace:
“With capacity growth stalling in India, numerous overseas mega-projects such as mines, railroads, and terminals designed to increase imports of coal to India are now on turning into white elephants.”……..
The rate at which coal plants are being cancelled is an improvement upon previous estimates on the future growth of the industry.
But with international efforts targeted towards keeping global warming to below two degrees, the news that there is still 1,083 gigawatts of coal capacity in the pipeline is little cause for celebration. http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/21/for-every-new-coal-plant-being-built-two-are-being-cancelled/
Switzerland’s revised nuclear liability law makes things much more expensive for nuclear companies
Switzerland revises nuclear liability law World Nuclear News, 30 Mar 15 Switzerland’s government has adopted a total revision of the federal ordinance on civil nuclear liability. The ordinance governs the enforcement of the country’s new civil nuclear liability law, which was passed by parliament in 2008 but has yet to come into force.
The Federal Council adopted a revision of the ordinance on 25 March, the Swiss Federal Energy Office (SFOE) announced. Under the revision, the minimum coverage to be provided at the national level increased from CHF 1 billion ($1 billion) to €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion), which corresponds to provisions of international civil liability……
SFOE said the revision also simplifies the compensation procedure, improving the protection of Swiss victims in the event of a nuclear incident occurring abroad. It said that in such cases, the conditions for compensation and procedural provisions that would apply to Switzerland would be the same as for all other signatory states to the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability and the Brussels Supplementary Convention……
the revised ordinance “burdens the owners of nuclear facilities by the end of the term with unnecessary additional premium costs.”
The organization claims the revision means that operators of nuclear facilities will not only have to pay for insurance cover for their plants, but also separate coverage for each transportation of even low-level material. This, it says, “reduces the international competitiveness of the Swiss electricity industry once more.” http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Switzerland-revises-nuclear-liability-law-3003154.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Don’t buy the hype for new nuclear plants: energy alternatives are better
Plant Closure Opportunity: Hitting Those Clean Energy Notes The Energy Collective By Larissa Koehler, 28 Mar 15 When the door to one power plant closes, a window to more clean energy solutions opens.
It may seem logical that once a power plant closes, another one needs to be built to replace it – after all, we need to make up for its potential energy generation with more natural gas or nuclear-powered energy, right? San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is certainly trying to convince Californians this is true. Trouble is, EDF and other environmental groups, along with theCalifornia Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), aren’t buying it. And you shouldn’t either……..
a plethora of clean, efficient resources exist that can help us manage energy demand more effectively without turning to fossil fuels. For example:
- California can make much greater use of demand response programs. Demand response sends a signal to customers to voluntarily and temporarily reduce their energy use at times when the grid is most burdened – thereby preventing the need to ramp up fossil fuel resources to meet demand and reducing system costs and emissions.
- Incorporate time-of-use (TOU) electricity pricing. By charging lower energy prices to encourage use during off-peak times, or when renewables are available, California can integrate more clean energy resources and relieve strain on the power grid during peak times. In fact, EDF has demonstrated that if half of Southern California Edison’s residential customers adopted a voluntary TOU electricity price, they could replace two-thirds of SONGS’ lost capacity, saving $357 million per year – and the same trend would likely follow in SDG&E’s service territory.
- Bolster energy efficiency programs. Emphasizing the use of energy-efficient technology will lower demand, offset the need for expensive and dirty fossil fuels, and reduce system costs by avoiding additional power plant, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. For example, in 2010 and 2011, CPUC energy efficiency programs produced enough energy savings to power more than 600,000 households and offset 1,069 megawatts (MW) of electric capacity.
- Utilize increasing viable storage technologies. By storing energy at times when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, and drawing on that energy when these resources are not available, storage provides a powerful mechanism to integrate more clean energy and greatly reduces the need for fossil fuels. As demonstrated by the CPUC’s storage mandate for utilities – as well as the fact that Southern California Edison already went above and beyond this directive– storage is a reliable and growing part of the solution.
EDF applauds the CPUC for issuing a clear statement on how the SONGS capacity should be replaced – making it apparent that SDG&E should commit to more than the minimum required procurement of energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage, demand response, and other clean energy resources. And with SDG&E’s history of forward-thinking energy policy, they should embrace this opportunity for continued leadership. The key to California’s energy needs lies in a suite of solutions that are good for the grid, the environment, and the health of California’s citizens. The CPUC’s statement highlights an important priority for the state in the coming decades to address these needs. This should be the beginning, not the end, of Southern California’s push to adopt preferred resources. Diversifying the region’s energy mix opens the door to a clean, sustainable, and healthy future. http://theenergycollective.com/edfenergyex/2209746/hitting-those-clean-energy-notes
France’s nuclear industry now a liability, with AREVA’s down ward spiral
France’s Nuclear Decline Exposed as Areva Confronts Cash Crunch by Tara Patel, 27 Mar 15, (Bloomberg) — For decades France’s nuclear industry was seen as a source of economic strength, providing cheap power for factories, high-tech exports and tens of thousands of well-paid jobs. Today, it’s looking more like a liability.
Electricite de France SA, the world’s largest nuclear operator, must spend $63 billion over the next decade to keep the country’s aging fleet of 58 reactors running safely. More urgently, nuclear engineer Areva SA, touted as an export champion for a new atomic age, has lost billions from a project in Finland and investments in African uranium mines, raising the prospect of a state bailout…. The financial “sickness” at Areva could prove contagious to the whole nuclear industry, said Juan Camilo Rodriguez, an analyst at Alphavalue SAS…..
“The situation is difficult for Areva,” French Energy Minister Segolene Royal said Monday, just hours after the company shocked investors by saying losses for 2014 would be about 4.9 billion euros ($5.5 billion), more than its market capitalization……
Areva has been in a downward spiral since the meltdown at Fukushima’s atomic plant in Japan shook the global industry in 2011. The nuclear engineering company, which services existing reactors and supplies them with fuel, has lost about 75 percent of its value since as nations pulled back from atomic projects.
Last November, Areva’s credit rating was reduced to junk status by Standard & Poor’s after it abandoned financial targets. The company blamed its losses on construction of a new reactor on a Finnish island, delays in restarting Japanese plants and a worsening outlook for other export orders.
Before Fukushima, France’s atomic industry was readying for a nuclear energy renaissance. Former EDF Chief Executive Officer Pierre Gadonneix predicted France’s flagship reactor, the giant EPR model, would sell “like hotcakes” around the world.
Over Budget Fukushima ended the prospect of new reactors in many countries, including Italy and Switzerland, in addition to damping a number of potential export markets for Areva and EDF. Germany decided to shut all its nuclear reactors.
Not a single EPR has yet fired up as construction projects in France’s Normandy region as well as in Finland and China are behind schedule and mostly over budget…….
Against the backdrop of Areva’s financial uncertainty, a long-delayed law that would reduce France’s reliance on nuclear power is in the Senate. Prospects for Areva and EDF will be affected by the decision of lawmakers on whether to shut some reactors……http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-27/france-s-nuclear-decline-exposed-as-areva-confronts-cash-crunch
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