France taking a moral posture on its nuclear sales pitch
French PM: EPR Reactor Is World’s Safest In Its Class – WSJ.com, By Adam Mitchell Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES PARIS (Dow Jones) 10 March 2010, –France’s flagship EPR-type nuclear reactor is the world’s safest in its class and the French nuclear-safety arrangements are the most complete in the world, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Tuesday.Fillon’s speech to a nuclear conference contrasts with recent allegations by an anti-nuclear group, Sortir du Nucleaire, which cast aspersions on the EPR-type reactor’s safety….
The prime minister also said that France ….. has a “responsibility” to promote civil nuclear technology around the world.
UPDATE: French PM: EPR Reactor Is World’s Safest In Its Class – WSJ.com
AREVA warns on nuclear industry safety shortcuts
No “two-track” nuclear industry, warns Areva | Business News, 9 March 2010, The CEO of nuclear reactor builder Areva has warned against cutting corners on nuclear reactor projects at an international nuclear conferenceBy Chris Farnell
The conference took place at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).Speaking to the conference, Areva Chief Executive, Anne Lauvergeon, said: “We cannot see a two-track nuclear industry develop, with a low-cost one for some and high standards for others.”….
United States Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel Poneman, who also attended the OECD conference, said there could be no compromise on safety at nuclear plants.
“We still must focus on security. A nuclear accident anywhere is a nuclear accident everywhere,” he said.
No “two-track” nuclear industry, warns Areva | Business News | Energy Digital
Sarkozy getting desperate to sell off France’s costly nukes?
costs of nuclear plants have been “systematically underestimated” by governments worldwide for decades.
Nuclear energy gets new French-driven boost, (philstar.com) March 09, 2010 PARIS (AP) – Poor countries need nuclear power, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday, urging rich lenders to help pay for a global nuclear expansion in the interests of fighting climate change and feeding the growing world hunger for energy……
His tantalizing vision of nuclear reactors dotting the horizon won over international energy officials from India to Brussels and French executives eager to market their expertise abroad, all present at a Paris conference yesterday.
Some experts, however, say Sarkozy’s push is opening the door to risks that deadly nuclear technology gets into the wrong hands, and warn consumers to pay attention to the staggering price tag of potential nuclear energy growth — up to $3.9 trillion worldwide by 2050…….
Mycle Schneider, an independent researcher on France’s nuclear industry, warned that costs of nuclear plants have been “systematically underestimated” by governments worldwide for decades.
He warned that the nuclear push was premature, since many small countries where France is marketing technology don’t even have large enough electricity grids to support a nuclear reactor.
AREVA’s deceptive nuclear spin
AREVA tells only half the story, NUCLEAR REACTION, 24 Feb 2010, “….it’s business as usual at AREVA’s mines in Niger despite the military coup that took place in the country last week.The industry also needs to show us all that it can deal with the highly radiaoctive waste that nuclear reactors produce in a safe, clean fashion. AREVA in particularly are singularly failing in that regard. Again, is the implication that we shouldn’t worry or care about wat happens at end of the nuclear chain? Continue reading
Nuclear waste reprocessing problems
Digging up the dirt on uranium – The National Newspaper Tamsin Carlisle, February 20. 2010 “……Reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods to extract more of their energy potential is another option but is expensive and intensely controversial. Continue reading
France deliberately exposed soldiers to nuclear radiation
French soldiers used as ‘nuclear guinea pigs’ The Age MICHEL MOUTOT February 17, 2010 – France used soldiers as guinea pigs in nuclear tests in the 1960s, deliberately exposing them to radiation from atomic blasts to test the effects, according to a report revealed on Tuesday.
The secret military report, obtained by AFP, said that between 1960 and 1966 France sent troops onto Algerian desert test sites “to study the physiological and psychological effects caused on humans by an atomic weapon.” Continue reading
Is AREVA losing faith in the ‘nuclear renaissance’ ?
Areva Switching From Nuclear Power To Solar ? The Oil Drum by Big Gav February 14, 2010
French energy company Areva (best known for its nuclear power business) has purchased solar thermal power company Ausra – yet another example of a promising Australian technology company ending up with foreign ownership.
One possible positive interpretation of the news is that Areva are losing faith in the oft-predicted but unrealised “nuclear renaissance” and now see the real future growth opportunities in large scale solar power, with nuclear power (at best) a legacy business……………. Continue reading
AREVA’s deceptive message about ‘clean’ nuclear energy
Here we go again with nuclear energy being called ‘clean’. If AREVA PR people think nuclear is clean we’d hate to see their houses. Imagine the shocking state of their kitchens if nuclear is their idea of cleanliness. Remind us never to go for dinner at an AREVA spin doctor’s house.
In an interview elsewhere on its blog, AREVA’s CEO ‘Atomic’ Anne Lauvergeon insists ‘nuclear power isn’t THE solution’. She says nuclear is just part of the ideal energy portfolio but the way AREVA regards wind and solar in the likes of its quiz, that’s like someone telling you they love you while punching you in the face.
With nuclear power failing financially, AREVA moves into solar
Areva gets deeper into renewables with Ausra purchase the energy collective, by Tyler Hamilton on 02/08/2010 France’s Areva SA is known mostly as a designer of light-water nuclear reactors, builder of transmission and distribution systems, and a miner of uranium, so the announcement today that it has purchased 100 per cent of concentrated solar power company Ausra Inc. came as a surprise. Continue reading
AREVA’s nuclear reactor safety features now too costly to compete with Korea’s nukes
It was speculated that those expensive features may have cost the company the UAE contract, and Areva has considered scaling back some of those additions for future designs.
Where Is Nuclear Power Really Heading?A Look at Obama’s Call for New Nuclear and the Reactors that Might Be Built by solveclimate Dave Levitan – Feb 5th, 2010
“…….The cost issues surrounding safety have already come up internationally. The United Arab Emirates awarded a high-profile contract for a new plant to a South Korean company late in 2009, after the French company Areva had been positioned as the front-runner.
The Areva EPR reactor has some advanced safety features including a “core catcher” room that could help prevent compromised nuclear fuel from escaping the reactor, as well as an enforced shell that could theoretically withstand an airplane impact. Continue reading
French bank pulls out of Bulgaria’s nuclear power plant
France’s BNP Paribas Quits Bulgaria Belene N-Plant Nuclear Reaction 4 Feb 2010 BNP Paribas SA, France’s largest bank by market value, who was hired by the previous Socialist government to help fund the construction of Belene nuclear power plant at the Danube river town, has ditched the project…. Continue reading
Doubts about AREVA and the future of France’s nuclear power empire
Areva reshuffles ops to stave off split-up PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) – French nuclear reactor maker Areva (CEPFi.PA) announced a reorganisation of its businesses on Thursday, in a move aimed to shore up its credentials as an integrated nuclear power provider that cannot be split apart.
The embattled state-owned company said it was reshuffling operations to improve synergies and customer satisfaction.
Areva has recently come under fire for losing a multi-billion euro contract to build nuclear reactors in Abu Dhabi in part because it did not tailor its offer to meet local needs.
The company has also struggled to finish a project to build next generation nuclear reactors in Finland and is embroiled in legal proceedings with its partner there over delays and cost overruns……….President Nicolas Sarkozy has commissioned Francois Roussely, the former head of EDF (EDF.PA), to produce an analysis on the future of the French nuclear industry. The report is due by the end of April. (Reporting by Nina Sovich; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)…http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE60R0QQ20100128
Greenpeace blocks nuclear waste shipment in France
Activists block nuclear shipment in France Google News (AFP) – 26 Jan 2010 CHERBOURG, France — Greenpeace activists said Monday they were blocking a train transporting nuclear waste to the French port of Cherbourg from where it was to be shipped to Russia.Four activists who had chained themselves to the railway line near the harbour were removed early Monday morning by police but more activists were blocking the line at a different location, they said. Continue reading
There’s money in nuclear waste, (never mind the danger)
A French state-controlled company, Areva, is now the world’s largest processor
of nuclear waste and is keen to secure a bigger share as countries such as China and India expand their nuclear activities rapidly.
Where there’s nuclear muck there’s a growing opportunity for brass TIMESONLINE Robin Pagnamenta: January 21, 2010
“…………Only a handful of countries have the expertise and technology for nuclear reprocessing, in which spent nuclear fuel rods from power stations are chopped up and boiled in acid to extract uranium and plutonium for reuse in a reactor. The by-product is a concentrated form of vitrified nuclear waste that is as nasty as it sounds. Continue reading
French govt intent on promoting nuclear industry
French PM Stesses Importance Of State Role In Nuclear Sector THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By A.H. Mooradian and William Horobin, Dow Jones Newswires JANUARY 20, 2010 PARIS (Dow Jones)–French Prime Minister Francois Fillon Wednesday said the French state plans to continue playing a major role in the country’s nuclear industry, after meeting with the heads of two energy firms.
Fillion met with Henri Proglio, chief executive of Electricte de France SA (EDF.FR), which is one of the world’s largest operators of nuclear power plants, and Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of Areva SA (CEI.FR), the state-owned French nuclear engineering group.
French PM Stesses Importance Of State Role In Nuclear Sector – WSJ.com
1 This Month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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