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France wants to keep NATO’s tactical nuclear weapons in Europe

France is biggest obstacle to ridding Europe of tactical nuclear weapons – report |guardian.co.uk, Julian Borger,  30 march 11, IKV Pax Christi, a Dutch nuclear abolitionist group, is putting out a report today on its findings from talking to Nato member states about what they think about the estimated 180 remaining US tactical nuclear weapons on European soil.

The key findings of the report show that there is sufficient political will within NATO to end the deployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. Fourteen, or half of all NATO member states actively support the end of TNW deployment while ten other countries say they would not block a consensus decision to removed the weapons. Only three NATO members (France, Hungary and Lithuania) say they oppose an end to the TNW deployment, and only France has is willing to invest political capital to keep the weapons on the territory of Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Turkey…..

France is biggest obstacle to ridding Europe of tactical nuclear weapons – report | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

March 31, 2011 Posted by | France, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Anxiety in France about its nuclear reactors

French atomic security unready for repeat disasters: agency Expatica France, 30 march 11, French nuclear security has not yet taken into account the kind of accumulation of natural catastrophes that led to Japan’s atomic disaster, the head of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) said Wednesday.”How do we deal with an accumulation of assaults? This is something that we have not yet taken into account,” ASN head Andre-Claude Lacoste said when asked about lessons to be learnt from the unfolding nuclear accident at Fukushima……

“We cannot live on quiet certainties, in fact who can after what’s just happened?” he said, adding that the ASN’s position remained that “no one can ever say that there will never be a nuclear accident in France.”

The French government last week told the ASN to carry out a security audit at France’s 58 active atomic reactors. France is proportionally the world’s largest user of nuclear power…..French atomic security unready for repeat disasters: agency < French news | Expatica France

 

March 31, 2011 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

South Africa gives desperate France a chance to save its nuclear business

“South Africa is an indispensable lifeline,” Yves Marignac, a French energy consultant who campaigns for renewable solutions, told FRANCE 24. “It seems to be the only country seriously willing to put out a tender [for the construction of nuclear reactors] next year, so the only one that can salvage the little credibility that France as an exporter still has.”

France creeps closer to South Africa’s nuclear jackpot, France24 by Sophie PILGRIM 3 March 11, Long-time energy partners France and South Africa signed a series of bilateral agreements Wednesday on President Jacob Zuma’s final day of his state visit to Paris. The deals, which involve energy giants Areva and EDF, come just before South Africa is set to expand its nuclear programme. Continue reading →

March 4, 2011 Posted by | France, marketing | Leave a comment

France’s Sarkozy aggressively marketing nuclear power

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been especially aggressive in leveraging the French lead in civilian nuclear technology to try to secure diplomatic, commercial and military advantages in the Middle East, in addition to parts of Africa and Asia.
Nuclear Babies and Bathwater , The Diplomat, by Manpreeth Sethi, 3 March 2011, “……..It’s no secret that with the current global nuclear renaissance, France hopes to seize a significant share of the world nuclear market—including from major Asian nuclear energy rivals such as South Korea Continue reading →

March 4, 2011 Posted by | France, marketing | Leave a comment

France’s plan for nuclear reactors out of sight, undersea

Anti-nuclear groups such as “Sortir du Nucleaire” (“Phasing Out of the Nuclear Age”) have described the project as “absurd”.

“Radioactivity would spread even more quickly in the water than in the air, with even fewer means to control leaks,” said Sortir du Nucleaire coordinator Anne-Laure Meladeck in Lyon……

French scientists eye underwater nuclear plants By Marie Maitre PARIS, March 2 (Reuters) – French scientists are looking at the possibility of submerging small nuclear power plants deep underwater to supply low-cost energy to isolated countries or islands that cannot afford a major inland atomic plant. Continue reading →

March 3, 2011 Posted by | France, technology | Leave a comment

France devising new nuclear marketing system

The new plan calls for France to create partnerships with China, accelerate the development of the 1100MW medium-sized Atmea-1 reactor, which is currently being developed by Areva in partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The council is seeking participation from EDF and GDF Suez in this project.

France launches new nuclear strategy Industrial Fuels and Power, February 23rd, 2011 The French Nuclear Policy Council has drawn up a new strategy to boost the industry’s competitiveness on the international stage. Continue reading →

February 24, 2011 Posted by | France, marketing | Leave a comment

French wheeling and dealing to save nuclear export industry

The government also envisages the construction of a new type of reactor in France and will force state-controlled nuclear engineering firm Areva SA (CEI.FR, ARVCY) to confine its uranium-mining operations in a separate legal unit…….the French government, which owns more than 93% of Areva, has been looking to raise the cash needed to realize the company’s investment needs………….

French Government Reaffirms EDF’s Lead Role In Nuclear Energy, FoxBusiness.com, By Angeline Benoit and Geraldine AmielFebruary 21, 2011| Dow Jones Newswires – The French government issued Monday new guidelines for the country’s nuclear-energy industry, reaffirming the leading role of state-controlled  Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) in the sector after a French consortium failed to win a key overseas contract in 2009. Continue reading →

February 22, 2011 Posted by | France | Leave a comment

AREVA nuclear company tight-lipped about new government guidelines

Areva: No Comment On France’s Nuclear-Energy Policy Decisions – WSJ.com, By Geraldine Amiel and Angeline Benoit, Dow Jones Newswires;22 Feb 2011, PARIS –French state-controlled nuclear engineering firm Areva SA (CEI.FR, ARVCY) Monday denied to make any comment after the French government issued guidelines for the French nuclear-energy industry, which include the company’s confining its uranium-mining operations into a separate legal unit.The guidelines issued Monday in a statement released by the office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy also say that state-controlled power group Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) should lead French consortiums to bid contracts abroad.-  Areva: No Comment On France’s Nuclear-Energy Policy Decisions – WSJ.com

February 22, 2011 Posted by | France, Uranium | Leave a comment

France vying with South Korea, to market nuclear power to South Africa

France has emerged as one of several countries, including South Korea, whose companies have been courting South Africa as it shops for multi-billion dollar nuclear power plants….In 2007 Areva submitted a proposal to power utility Eskom to build several nuclear plants in a tender process which was later scrapped due to its steep cost.

Nuclear projects on the agenda for Zuma’s French visit Cape Town, South Africa –— ESI-AFRICA.COM — 18 February 2011 – President Jacob Zuma of South Africa is to sign a €1billion agreement with the French Development Agency during a state visit to France next month, and it is understood that the deal could also touch on a pricey nuclear project. Continue reading →

February 19, 2011 Posted by | France, marketing, South Africa | Leave a comment

Electricite de France admits to safety flaws in 34 nuclear reactors

EDF says flaw in 34 reactors could affect safety  Feb 11, 2011  PARIS, (Reuters) – France’s EDF   has detected a technical flaw in 34 of its 58 nuclear reactors that could have an impact on safety, the utility said in a note on its website.
EDF’s 900 megawatt reactors, built in the 1970s, do not meet current standards of precision required for measuring water flows in their water injection systems. Water injection is used as a key safety measure to cool down a reactor’s core in case of an accident…..EDF says flaw in 34 reactors could affect safety | Agricultural Commodities | Reuters

February 12, 2011 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

AREVA trying to boost nuclear sales, will change reactor design

Areva May Revise Atmea Nuclear-Reactor Design to Work With EDF, – Bloomberg, By Francois de Beaupuy – Feb 11, 2011 , Areva, France’s state-controlled maker of nuclear plants, may amend the design of the Atmea reactor it’s developing with a Japanese partner to meet demands of Electricite de France SA and boost its export chances…Claude Jaouen, deputy head of Areva’s reactors and services unit, at a conference in Paris today sponsored by newspaper Les Echos. “EDF wants an optimized Atmea” that may be less complex to build and have different safety options, he said. Continue reading →

February 11, 2011 Posted by | France | Leave a comment

French and Italian calls for Europe to block nuclear energy

In a desperate attempt to save its nuclear industry, France wants to condemn the whole of Europe to a suicidal energy policy.

The French antinuclear network “Sortir du nucléaire ” and its Italian counterpart “Rete Nazionale Antinucleare” call on the representatives of 27 at the European summit on energy to block nuclear and to save the renewable energy industry by refusing the goal of “carbon-free” electricity proposed by France, Italy and the Czech Republic.

European summit on energy: the French government and nuclear industry’s suicidal European energy policy France, with the assistance of Italy and the Czech Republic, is lobbying the European  Council so that the European Union includes the development of nuclear energy instead of renewable energy. Their goal : to replace the quota of 20% renewable energy in Europe in 2020 with a quota of “carbon-free” electricity in the future text of conclusions from the 27 EU leaders summit on energy, 4 February

Nuclear energy hidden behind “carbon-free electricity” “Carbon-free electricity”is the latest trick from the nuclear industry to get nuclear power to pass for a clean energy “without CO2”. Continue reading →

February 11, 2011 Posted by | France, Italy, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

France touting for nuclear business in Czech Republic

French PM Lobbied Czech Counterpart On Nuclear Cooperation – WSJ.com, 10 Feb 2011, PARIS (Dow Jones)–-French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Thursday emphasized to his Czech counterpart French companies’ interest in a plan to build new nuclear reactors in the country.”Franco-Czech cooperation in the area of nuclear energy was discussed,” and Fillon “underscored the interest of French companies for the plan to build new reactors at the Temelin site” in the Czech Republic, his office said, following a bilateral meeting between the two European Union countries.The French nuclear sector includes utility Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) and nuclear engineering group Areva SA (CEI.FR),both of which are state-controlled……French PM Lobbied Czech Counterpart On Nuclear Cooperation – WSJ.com

February 11, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE, France | Leave a comment

France’s AREVA has dangerous plan for undersea nuclear plant at Cherbourg

ecological associations have wasted no time in highlighting the dangers. According to Greenpeace, nothing has been finalised on a technical level or in terms of safety.

Underwater nuclear plant on the Basque coast? – EiTB News World, Frederik Verbeke – 01/25/2011, French naval defence specialists are planning to build a number of small underwater nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

January 26, 2011 Posted by | France, safety, technology | 1 Comment

France’s farmers turn to renewable energy for economic reasons

Solar, wind and biomass energy are taking off in France in the wake of national and European energy targets. Farmers see them as a potential source of steady income amid erratic commodity prices, a way of cutting costs

Analysis: French farmers turning to renewable energy Jan 21, 2011 ESTIGNEY, France (Reuters) – An increasing number of farmers will try to claim a share of France’s renewable energy sector to help cope with farm price volatility and counter environmental criticism that has tarnished their rural image. Continue reading →

January 22, 2011 Posted by | France, renewable | Leave a comment

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