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With nuclear power failing financially, AREVA moves into solar

this acquisition of Ausra is a good sign of where the market is heading. Given that the nuclear renaissance simply isn’t materializing as expected, it’s wise for Areva and other big energy conglomerates to hedge their bets

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

February 10, 2010 Posted by | France, renewable | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

February 6, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, France | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

February 4, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, France | , , , | Leave a comment

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

January 29, 2010 Posted by | France, politics | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

January 26, 2010 Posted by | France, politics | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

January 21, 2010 Posted by | France, wastes | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

January 21, 2010 Posted by | France, politics | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sarkozy focused on promoting France’s nuclear sales

President Nicolas Sarkozy is hoping to use France’s nuclear expertise as a platform to project the country’s political and economic influence around the world

Areva and EDF spat shows nuclear tensions FT.com By Peggy Hollinger: January 19 2010 There has always been some sniping between EDF and Areva, France’s two state-owned nuclear champions…..

Yet there was a degree of hostility in the latest round of guerrilla warfare that was surprising even to the most hardened observers of the two companies. Continue reading

January 20, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, France | , , , , , | Leave a comment

France using OECD in promotion for their troubled nuclear industry

many countries are clearly unhappy to see the international organisation linked to what could clearly be interpreted as a public relations exercise on the part of the French to promote their energy and nuclear champions.

French PR vexes OECD  FD is South Korea’s weakness FDI.com  By Christian Oliver in Seoul January 19 2010 “…..Foreign investors are very clear why South Korea is punching beneath its weight. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and FDI is South Korea’s weakness  “…. Continue reading

January 20, 2010 Posted by | France, politics international | , , , , , | Leave a comment

France has always been secretive about nuclear power costs

it is hard to say how successful the French were. The French national utility, Électricité de France, has never been open about what the plants cost to build.

A Nuclear Critic Draws a Lesson from France’s Success The New York Times January 19, 2010 By MATTHEW L. WALD

A new statistical analysis of an almost-secret topic — what it costs to build nuclear reactors in France — may have some lessons for a “nuclear renaissance” in the United States. Continue reading

January 20, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, France | , , | Leave a comment

France’s nuclear industry: AREVA and EDF locked in dispute

Bitter row throws French nuclear industry into turmoil Times Online January 18, 2010 Adam Sage, Paris

The French nuclear industry is in turmoil as uranium supplies have dried up and the treatment of spent fuel has been blocked amid an increasingly bitter row between the heads of its two main state operators.

EDF, the electricity group that runs 58 reactors in France, said that Areva, the nuclear energy group, had stopped uranium deliveries on January 4 and was refusing to take away spent fuel for reprocessing.

”The transport of combustibles isn’t working at the moment,” Anne Lauvergeon, the chairwoman of Areva, said. Continue reading

January 19, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, climate change, France | , , , , , | Leave a comment

France having a “Nuclear De Naissance”, not “Renaissance”

What’s the opposite of a renaissance, do you think? Nuclear Reaction  15 Jan 2010 De naissance, perhaps. We ask because in France, the supposed cradle of the rebirth of the nuclear renaissance,  things seem to be sliding backwards rather than striding forwards.

According to the grid operator RTE, electricity generation from the country’s 58 nuclear reactors fell by 6.8% in 2009, marking a ten year low point. This shortfall meant France was a net importer of electricity for 57 days.

President Nicholas Sarkozyâ’s nuclear bandwagon is said to be leading the world. Just where it’s leading us however is more difficult to say. It seems to be travelling in the general direction away from a bright future of clean and secure energy supplies
Nuclear Reaction – A Greenpeace blog about nuclear power: More Atomic Tales: Uranium with juice at… « Your Green Ability

January 17, 2010 Posted by | France, spinbuster | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Design of AREVA’s EPR reactors not shown to be safe

Nuclear Reactors of Unproven Design Planned for California’s Central Valley Environment News Service FRESNO, California, January 6, 2010 (ENS) – At least one nuclear reactor is being planned for California’s agricultural Central Valley but it is already running into grassroots opposition and technical problems. Continue reading

January 7, 2010 Posted by | France, safety | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Some anxiety in the French nuclear industry

French nuclear sector re-thinks strategy after UAE setback Sydney Morning Herald December 30, 2009 The French nuclear power sector is to re-focus its strategy, notably in Britain and the United States, after losing out to a South Korean consortium on a $US20.4 billion ($A22.99 billion) project in the United Arab Emirates……….. Continue reading

December 30, 2009 Posted by | business and costs, France | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anxiety in France about nuclear industry’s future

French nuclear sector re-thinks strategy after UAE setback Sydney Morning Herald December 30, 2009 The French nuclear power sector is to re-focus its strategy, notably in Britain and the United States, after losing out to a South Korean consortium on a $US20.4 billion ($A22.99 billion) project in the United Arab Emirates……….. Continue reading

December 30, 2009 Posted by | business and costs, France | , , , , , , | Leave a comment