business and costs « nuclear-news

Nuclear power for Malaysia not looking likely

“Maybe if the people will agree to it, if there’s a location for it, there’s an acceptable area for it, it should be considered,”

Too many ‘ifs’ in floater to put up a nuclear plant, Business Insight Malaya | National, BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR, 20 July 2010, ENERGY Secretary Jose Rene Almendras yesterday said the government is looking at putting up a nuclear power plant to address the long-term power needs of the country. Continue reading →

July 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

AREVA’s Olkiluoto nuclear reactor a total financial disater

“It’s a total disaster for Areva,” Schneider says. Areva will have to sell another 12 reactors to cover the cost overruns thus far or else French taxpayers will,”

Nuclear Energy Steals Billions from Other Technologies « Stephen Leahy, International Environmental Journalist, w2w0 July 2010, “…..The other reason is the French.France gets about 77 percent of its power from 58 reactors and is often cited as the model for other countries. “France is a special case. The entire industry is 85 percent owned by the government,” says Mycle Schneider, a Paris-based energy and nuclear policy analyst.

The industry gets direct and indirect subsidies, government loans and loan guarantees “on practically anything they want”, Schneider told IPS. Continue reading →

July 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | 3 Comments

Weak uranium market

DJ MARKET TALK: Uranium Weakness Drags Paladin Dow Jones Commodities Service 19 July 2010, RBS downgrades Paladin Energy (PDN.AU) to Sell from Hold, target price moved to A$3.20 vs previous A$3.52 and yesterday’s A$3.61 close after June quarter production report. ….. “We would need to see some life in the spot uranium market to change our investment view on PDN, as the stock is likely to go sideways or down while the uranium market remains weak.” (david.fickling@dowjones.com)

DJ MARKET TALK Uranium Weakness Drags Paladin Cut To SellRBS | Cmemarkets.com – Business News, Financial News, Stock Market Analysis, Technology & Global Headline News

July 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | antinuclear, nuclear, uranium | Leave a comment

Despite public opposition, Turkish govt opts for uneconomic nuclear reactors

the economics of the deal are pitiful. Tetas, the Turkish grid company, is committed to a 15-year deal to buy electricity from the reactors at a price of US$124 per megawatt hour. That, unbelievably, is more than double the market prices for electricity across the EU right now. So much for nuclear power being affordable and competitive.

Turkish Parliament votes for nuclear madness | Greenpeace International, 17 July 2010, Well, they did it. Despite 170,000 people expressing their opposition, the Turkish Parliament yesterday voted in favour of the agreement between Turkey and Russia to build four nuclear reactors at Akkuyu on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Continue reading →

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Turkey | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

2 nuclear reactors still out of service

2 Dominion Power reactors offline, The Washington Post, By Lori Aratani July 15, 2010; Dominion Virginia Power has halted the restarting of a reactor at its Surry power plant and taken out of service a reactor at its North Anna power plant.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says North Anna’s Unit 1 was shut down shortly after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday because of leaks in a steam line.Dominion Virginia Power spokesman Richard Zuercher says the restart of Unit 2 at the Surry plant was halted after a voltage regulator “did not perform as expected.”Surry’s Unit 2 was shut down Sunday night because of a water pipe leak.

Post Now – 2 Dominion Power reactors offline

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear | Leave a comment

Uranium mining not economic in the long run

Stakeholders need to consider the not-so-obvious long-term costs, as well as the much-touted short-term benefits of permitting uranium development throughout Virginia…….As deposits of economic interest are identified, the people near those deposits will find themselves stakeholders in public policy decisions regarding uranium mining. Who are these stakeholders-to-be?

Who bears the economic and environmental risks of uranium mining? ALTAVISTA JOURNAL, By Katie Whitehead, July 14, 2010Virginia Uranium Inc. (VUI) and its public relations firm have framed uranium mining in Virginia as an opportunity for billions in benefits Continue reading →

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

USA taxpayer liable for costs of French owned new reactor

Paris-based Areva would provide the reactor technology. Electricite de France and Areva are 85 percent owned by the French government…..“To build the plant with the loan guarantee in today’s power market would be an assurance the taxpayers would get stuck with part of the loan obligation,”

(USA) Maryland nuclear reactor raises foreign ownership concerns, Washington Examiner, By: Hayley PetersonExaminer StaffJuly 12, 2010 “……….. the project at Calvert Cliffs faces many hurdles.

Nuclear energy opponents are challenging the reactor’s licensing qualifications with charges that the amount of foreign ownership violates the Atomic Energy Act — which bars nuclear projects with “foreign ownership, control or domination.” Continue reading →

July 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

World’s planned biggest uranium mine getting too costly

The recent softening prices for Olympic Dam’s key minerals, especially uranium, and a significant increase in the required capital is also understood to be weighing on BHP,

BHP’s Olympic Dam expansion under pressure, Business Spectator 12 Jul 2010 BHP Billiton Ltd’s $US20 billion Olympic Dam expansion in Australia may be delayed by a protracted environmental assessment and cost, Continue reading →

July 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, business and costs | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

AREVA’s financial problems with new nuclear reactors

Finnish delays headache for French nuclear firm PARIS (AFP) 28 June 2010, – Standard & Poor’s said on Monday it had lowered its rating on French nuclear group Areva by two notches because of delays to the construction of a reactor in Finland.The agency downgraded Areva to BBB+/A-2 from A/A-1, citing the company’s announcement of an additional provision of 400 million euros (493 million dollars) for the Finnish European Pressurised Reactor project…… Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | AREVA, AUSTRALIA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

AREVA’s untested nuclear reactors not likely to go ahead in Canada

.…they do not believe the Areva-New Brunswick project will see the light of day.New Brunswick is too small for such an expensive nuclear reactor and does not need the power to meet its own power usage, they argued. “The designs Areva is proposing are untested prototypes so I doubt the private sector would ever assume the risks,”….(CAnada) N.B. overhaul attracts skeptics, Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post · , Jul. 8, 2010 Paris-based Areva SA, the world’s biggest builder of nuclear reactors, said it will study the feasibility of building a second nuclear generating station in New Brunswick and of creating a new “clean energy” park on the same site. Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Canada | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Concern over Russian ownership brings fall in uranium share price

“alarmed industry observers worried that the Vancouver-based company might end up serving the Kremlin’s strategic interests.”
The spot price of uranium reacted to this news by falling in price.

Financing uranium mining raises concern, Star Tribune, Hildred Shelton, July 7, 2010 The hearing on uranium mining conducted in Chatham on June 22 by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission Subcommittee has received extensive comment………………..that brings up a current development in financing uranium mining which is causing international commentary…that “world of capital.” Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium market stays down, USA govt sells old weapons fuel

Scope for medium term gains in uranium prices, July 02, 2010, by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb) “……..spot uranium prices continue to trade at low ebb, …”Prices continue to be dampened by a low level of ‘uncovered utility requirements in the West, concern over further production gains in Kazakhstan and the barter of U.S. Department of Energy UF6 inventory to pay for an environmental cleanup at a closed Ohio uranium enrichment plant,” Mohr advised.The announcement of a DOE barter sale to USEC Inc., a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants, was blamed for the beginning of a uranium price decline a year ago. The sale will end in the third quarter of this year. However, Mohr said U.S. Energy Secretary Chu intends to sell additional federal uranium inventory under another program.

Proactive Investors (AU) – Scope for medium term gains in uranium prices

July 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, uranium | Leave a comment

AREVA new nuclear plant an expensive pipe-dream

Province doesn’t need another reactor, telegraphjournal.com , DAVID BEAUDIN, New Brunswick, Canada, 29 June 2010, “……..the provincial government is actively negotiating with Areva to construct Lepreau II.Considering the financial, technical and power generating debacle resulting from the attempted refurbishment of the Lepreau nuclear plant, one sincerely hoped that the government would, at least be “once bitten, twice shy.” New Brunswick has no need for the power to be produced by a second nuclear plant. It’s for export, part of the political “energy hub” pipedream. Continue reading →

July 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Canada | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Germany’s nuclear power industry not happy with uranium fuel tax

German Minister:Fuel-Rod Tax Tied To Nuclear Extension – WSJ.com By Jan Hromadko BERLIN (Dow Jones), 1 July 2010, –The German government’s proposed tax on nuclear energy will be linked to a planned extension of reactor operating lives, deputy economic minister Jochen Homann said Wednesday. Continue reading →

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

Investors pessimistic about uranium shares

Stalled price tanks stocks | The Energy Collective 29 June Uranium price likely to remain flat for next few years – falling prices”…..A review of 12 Canadian uranium mining stocks – three producers and nine juniors – show a dismaying trend since December 2009.
Every quarter FCW compiles tracking information on stock prices across a selected list of producers and juniors. The trends for these companies as of June 11, 2010, is an unmistakable dive from prior values. Of the 12 stocks on our list , seven have seen their prices drop by more than 20% and three have seen their stock prices drop by more than 10%……..

“The lack of movement of uranium price is the reason investors are not active. There is no incentive to invest if there is no movement in the underlying commodity.”

July 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Canada | antinuclear, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment