business and costs « nuclear-news

French nuclear firm stuck, unable to sell nuclear reactors in USA

EDF Puts U.S. Nuclear Expansion Plans on Hold, BloombergBy Tara Patel – Nov 16, 2010 Electricite de France the biggest operator of nuclear reactors, put on hold a plan to develop atomic plants in the U.S…. EDF is reviewing its business in the U.S. and supply contracts for developing a reactor, Thomas Piquemal, chief financial officer, said today on a conference call. “When we have a better visibility on the regulatory environment and price evolution, we will be in a better position to see whether we go ahead with U.S. projects.”

EDF agreed last month to pay about $249 million partly to buy out Constellation Energy Group Inc. from a venture to develop EPR reactors in the U.S., including one in Maryland. Slumping power prices has cut the value of three U.S. atomic plants that the two utilities own together and forecasts of sustained low prices prompted Constellation to withdraw from talks on a government loan guarantee for the Maryland reactor…..

November 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactor | 1 Comment

American firms keen to make big money out of selling nukes to India

GE scouting for acquisitions in India | Reuters, By Devidutta Tripathy and Anurag Kotoky NEW DELHI | Mon Nov 15, 2010 GE, which set up India’s first hydropower plant in 1902, is keen to tap a $150 billion atomic market Continue reading →

November 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, India | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Time running out for Vermont nuclear plant

An Uncertain Nuclear Countdown, November 5, 2010, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD If the clock is ticking on the lifetime of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, when will it actually close? Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Entergy trying to sell Vermont Yankee nuclear plant

State lawmakers have reacted vehemently to a series of misstatements and missteps by Entergy and leaks of radioactive tritium at the plant, in Vernon, Vt., on the banks of the Connecticut River near the Massachusetts border….

Vermont Nuclear Plant Up for Sale, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD November 4, 2010 Entergy Nuclear, evidently convinced that the Vermont legislature will not allow the company to run the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant for another 20 years, announced on Thursday that the plant was up for sale. Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

BNP Paribas banking group to fund a dangerous obsolete nuclear reactor

This reactor fails to meet international safety standards, in addition its outdated, decades old technology would never be permitted in France itself. It is a dangerous nuclear project that should not go ahead – yet BNP Paribas wants to finance it. This money would come partially from customers’ savings – which make up 45% of the banking group’s global revenue.

Why isn’t BNP Paribas ‘sharing’ its nuclear projects on Facebook? Greenpeace International, by Laura K. – November 4, 2010 Two weeks ago we revealed banking group BNP Paribas, the world’s leading investor in the nuclear industry, is planning to fund an obsolete, dangerous nuclear reactor in Brazil – Angra 3. Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radiation, reactor | Leave a comment

Trouble in selling a troubled nuclear reactor

Anyone Want to Help Build a Reactor?, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD, November 1, 2010, A partnership between Constellation Energy and Electricité de France to build a new reactor in Maryland has broken up, with Constellation concluding that the economics are unfavorable because of electricity market conditions and the terms demanded by the Energy Department for a loan guarantee.
But Electricité de France wants to go forward and has bought out Constellation’s share of the joint venture, Unistar Nuclear. The problem is that American law requires that the plant have an American partner as a majority owner. Whom could the company recruit?….

Another possiblity for EDF would be to seek a change in the law, to allow foreign ownership of a nuclear reactor. (That rule dates from the cold war days.) But on Friday, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, was noncommittal when asked what he thought of this idea.

The commission’s job, he said, is to enforce the law, and “I’m not aware of any proposals in Congress” for changes…….. Anyone Want to Help Build a Reactor? – NYTimes.com

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

Nuclear power plants just not getting built in USA, despite govt loans

President Obama even proposed another $36 billion in federal loan guarantees for the industry in February of this year.

Yet last year, only one application was filed. And none at all this year…

Obstacles to Nuclear Construction in the United States, by Tony D’Altorio, Investment U Research November 2, 2010 Electricite de France or EDF ADR (PINK: ECIFY) just got dumped by Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG). And that could spell some big changes to its plans. Continue reading →

November 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Singapore delaying nuclear power indefinitely, as solar gets cheaper

you won’t see a nuclear power plant in or around Singapore for at least something in the order of 10 to 20 years or even longer than that…Another option being explored by Singapore is solar power, which has become more cost effective over the years.

Nuclear power plant in S’pore not likely for next 10-20 years expert – Channel NewsAsia, By Joanne Chan : 02 November 2010 , SINGAPORE : Singapore is unlikely to have a nuclear power plant for at least the next 10 to 20 years, said one advisor to the local energy sector. Continue reading →

November 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors, renewables, solar | 1 Comment

Nuclear industry stalled as now uneconomic

Seven reactor projects around the country have been deferred in the last few months…..Other companies have looked at the economics of building nuclear reactors and decided to wait. In September, Exelon, the largest nuclear operator in the United States, stepped back from a plan to build a twin-unit reactor plant in Texas…..

Economy puts brakes on nuclear reactor plans The Blade ~ Toledo Ohio October 31, 2010 A third reactor for this Maryland site is stalled by an impasse over funding. — Just a few years ago, the economic prognosis for new nuclear reactors looked bright. The prospect of growing electricity demand…..and government loan guarantees prompted companies to tell the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that they wanted to build 28 reactors. Continue reading →

November 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium mining is damaging to tourism industry

a few years of mining operations are not worth ruining the reputations of Kainuu and Lapland as travel destinations.

Greens Want Uranium Mining Ban YLE Uutiset | yle.fi, 31 Oct 10, The Green League’s party council is calling for a ban on uranium mining in Finland. According to the Greens, uranium mining operations have got into the country “through the back door” and they are ruining the country’s reputation as a travel destination, especially in the north. Continue reading →

November 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Finland, Uranium | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

Company’s share plunge due to ‘worthless’ nuclear power investments

its investment in UniStar Nuclear Energy was worthless, given the deteriorating nuclear energy market……….

Constellation Energy swings to 3rd-qtr loss as nuclear investments’ value plunges, Canadian Business Online, October 29, 2010, BALTIMORE (AP) – Constellation Energy Group Inc. said Friday it swung to a third-quarter loss as it absorbed more than $1 billion in charges related to the drop in value of its nuclear joint ventures Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

France’s EDF faced with ‘sluggish’ nuclear revival in USA

before it can proceed with building and operating new plants, unlikely before 2012, the French state-controlled utility will have to line up a new partner with the endurance necessary for an increasingly sluggish U.S. nuclear renaissance…..

EDF’s Expensive U.S. Divorce – WSJ.co, 27 Oct 10, By MATTHEW CURTIN Paying to get out of a marriage that isn’t working isn’t unusual. But in the U.S. nuclear industry, where foreign operators require local partners to build and operate new plants, going it alone isn’t a long-term option. Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

South Carolina residents to pay up in advance, for nuclear power station build?

customers should not be billed upfront for project expenditures that have not actually been incurred.

SCE&G seeks to recoup up to $200MM for nuclear expansion project, Penn Energy, October 26, 2010 By Dorothy Davis South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) plans to return to state regulators to request up to $200 million from customers in the form of gradual rate increases for expenses related to its nuclear expansion project in Fairfield County. Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors | Leave a comment

U.S. ambassador sheds doubt on Bulgaria’s nuclear plant

Bulgaria: US Ambassador Questions Feasibility of Belene Nuclear Plant – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency, 24 Oct 10, US Ambassador James Warlick has expressed misgivings about the feasibility of Bulgaria’s planned second nuclear plant at Belene.”There are two questions that Bulgaria must ask itself – if the Belene NPP is an economically feasible project, and, second, if it provides Bulgaria and the entire region with energy security. I am not sure that there are answers to these questions. We are talking about billions of leva here, and the decisions that will be made with respect to Belene will affect Bulgaria’s energy system for decades to come,” Warlick said on the Bulgarian National Radio Sunday……Bulgaria: US Ambassador Questions Feasibility of Belene Nuclear Plant – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency

October 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Bulgaria, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Strikes, maintenance – closures of France’s nuclear plants

France buys electricity as its nuclear plants are hit by strike Vancouver Sun, By Henry Samuel, The Daily Telegraph October 21, 2010 France was forced to start importing electricity Thursday as unions announced that strikes would spread into the next two weeks.The unions said production had been cut at four nuclear power plants because of a 10-day rolling strike, while at least 12 of France’s 58 reactors are closed for maintenance……………………France buys electricity as its nuclear plants are hit by strike