More delays for the multi-billion-euro ITER nuclear fusion project in France
The multi-billion-euro ITER nuclear fusion project in France faces yet
more delays because transport sanctions imposed in response to the invasion
of Ukraine could stop key parts from Russia reaching Europe, according to a
senior official in Europe’s contribution to the initiative. Leonardo
Biagioni, deputy chief financial officer at Fusion for Energy, which
manages Europe’s contribution to ITER, said that sanctions would “most
likely” delay the project. Speaking this morning at the EuroScience Open
Forum (ESOF) in Leiden, he said that transport sanctions against Russia,
including restrictions on Russian registered vessels docking in European
ports, risk making it hard to move parts manufactured by Russia to ITER’s
site in the south of France.
Science Business 14th July 2022
https://sciencebusiness.net/news/iter-faces-further-delays-if-key-parts-stuck-russia
Climate change hitting France’s nuclear power – the technology that’s supposed to solve climate change !
Electricity prices across Europe are expected to rise as the heatwave sweeping Europe has crippled nuclear power output in France. State-owned electricity provider EDF must reduce or halt nuclear output when river temperatures reach certain thresholds under French legislation.
This is to ensure that the water used to cool the plants won’t harm the environment when it is pumped back out. Climbing temperatures in the Garonne River mean that production will likely be slowed at the Golfech nuclear plant in the South of the country from Thursday, Electricite de France SA said.
Independent 12th July 2022
Macron’s nationalisation of nuclear energy corporation EDF will be a disaster for France
Macron’s energy power grab will be a disaster for France.
Nationalisation of the nuclear energy giant is an ill-thought-out, populist
response from a president overwhelmed by a political crisis. European
leaders have yet to come up with any convincing answers to the global
energy crisis. ………..
France’s energy system is in
complete disarray and Emmanuel Macron’s solution is arguably the worst of
the lot, in a decidedly crowded field – an ill-thought out, knee-jerk
populist response from a president battling a massive political crisis at
home. Faced with long delays and huge budget overruns on new nuclear plants
at home and abroad, corrosion problems at many of its existing reactors,
and the same spiralling cost of living crunch that has gripped most of
Europe, Macron has decided that now is the time to renationalise heavily
indebted electricity titan EDF.
. You can see the attractions, limited though
they are. As the country’s biggest utility by a sizeable margin, EDF has
become the face of France’s energy crisis. Taking EDF into state hands
removes it from the glare of the stock market, making it easier, in theory,
to tackle its huge financial and operational problems head on with the
approval of private shareholders no longer required.
Nevertheless, for all the political hype, it is a move that I am willing to bet will almost
certainly backfire – and in spectacular fashion, too. Whatever the
problem, nationalisation is rarely, if ever, the solution. History has
taught us that. It is even harder to believe that nationalisation will
improve EDF’s widespread operational issues.
One of the main reasons why
its finances are in such a sorry state is that scores of corroding reactors
have forced it to shut down many of its existing nuclear plants, strangling
output. It is also suffering from huge cost overruns and missed deadlines
on new projects. EDF is beset by a host of problems, almost none of which
are likely to be solved by vanishing into the bowels of the notoriously
inefficient, heavily technocratic, work-shy French state. Telegraph 13th July 2022
EDF the first company to take advantage of the European Union’s taxonomy classification of nuclear power as ”green”
EDF has become the first issuer to harness last week’s hard-fought
inclusion of nuclear power in the European Union’s taxonomy of
sustainable activities and will use a new green financing framework to
support nearly €8bn of annual nuclear spending.
IFR 12th July 2022
https://www.ifre.com/story/3439095/edf-galvanises-nuclear-green-bonds-d6zm8jhtf5
France’s Competition Authority accuses 6 nuclear decommissioning companies of being an illegal cartel
France’s Competition Authority has accused six companies in the nuclear
decommissioning market of illegally exchanging information and rigging
public procurement procedures.
GCR 12th July 2022
https://globalcompetitionreview.com/article/france-alleges-nuclear-decommissioning-cartel
France and the big nuclear energy mistake
The French government wants to expand nuclear production in France and it also wants EDF to spend big money on the rehabilitation of numerous nuclear power generating stations. It has put pressure on EDF to embrace those policies and we suspect that it could force the issue as the majority shareholder.
France plans to renationalize EDF, its giant utility. That doesn’t sound like a big deal because the government already owns 84% of EDF’s outstanding shares.
But here is how we read the story.
The French government wants to expand nuclear production in France and it also wants EDF to spend big money on the rehabilitation of numerous nuclear power generating stations. It has put pressure on EDF to embrace those policies and we suspect that it could force the issue as the majority shareholder.
But a board of directors, with a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and other providers of capital, would have a hard time approving a strategy that looked too risky or economically uncompetitive. EDF is, after all, not a division of the ministry of defense, but rather a somewhat privatized company with the government as its biggest and controlling shareholder. At least that is the appearance it would want to give to its shareholders. If France requires more nuclear power for geopolitical or strategic reasons,
despite its seeming cost disadvantage in the marketplace, we have no quarrel with that decision.
Our issue is with the current policy—to require some non-governmental shareholders to bear national security burdens and take financial risks that really belong uniquely to the government. The French have approached the matter with admirable clarity.
Oil Price 8th July 2022
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Europes-Big-And-Expensive-Energy-Mistake.html
European Heatwave Risks Curbing French Nuclear Power Production
- Output from Golfech plant may be reduced from Thursday
- That comes as Europe needs France’s electricity more than ever
By Lars Paulsson July 12, 2022
The hot weather hitting Europe this week is set to reduce power output from France’s fleet of nuclear reactors, risking even higher electricity prices as the continent endures its worst energy crunch in decades.
Warm temperatures in the Garonne River mean that production restrictions are likely at the Golfech nuclear plant in the south of the country from Thursday, Electricite de France SA said in a filing with grid operator RTE. Temperatures in France and the Iberia region will be well above average over the next five days and even hotter next week, according to forecaster Maxar. ….. (subscribers only) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-12/french-nuclear-output-seen-curtailed-as-river-temperatures-rise#xj4y7vzkg
France’s parliament could block Macron’s plan to nationalise EDF
French parliament could block EDF reform – analyst. French government
plans to reform utility EDF face being blocked in parliament due to
bolstered opposition from far right and left-wing parties, an analyst said
this week. “You’re going to have a lot of potential blockages with the EDF
reform,” said Phuc-Vinh Nguyen of the Jacques Delors Institute think tank.
“It is one of the major issues of the five-year term, which will have a
major impact on the revival of nuclear power, renewables and energy policy.
Without an agreement, your hands are tied.” French president Emmanuel
Macron’s ruling Renaissance party lost its absolute majority in the lower
house in parliamentary elections in June. This was due to major gains by
the Eurosceptic far right party, RN, now the leading opposition group in
the National Assembly and the left-wing Nupes party, which opposes
Macron’s plan to build new nuclear reactors.
Montel News 8th July 2022
https://www.montelnews.com/news/1334284/french-parliament-could-block-edf-reform–analyst
France’s government working out how to take full control of indebted nuclear company EDF
Banks line up for French state buyout of EDF. The French government is
working with Goldman Sachs and Société Générale as it explores taking
full control of utility EDF, with a tender offer to minority shareholders
the preferred option, according to people familiar with the matter. The
government announced this week it would take back the 16 per cent of EDF it
does not already own, saying the move would bolster the energy group’s
finances as it prepares for more investment in expensive nuclear reactors
and allow France to gain even greater control on its electricity production
as Europe is rocked by an energy crisis. The government has yet to detail
how it will take full ownership of the indebted company. A public offer to
EDF shareholders, rather than trying to push a nationalization bill through
parliament, appears to be the quickest and most feasible plan, according to
three people familiar with the matter.
FT 8th July 2022
https://www.ft.com/content/96336649-eff5-44af-850b-8996d4bde19c
EDF’s nuclear security shortfalls
EDF under scrutiny for nuclear security ‘shortfalls’. Hinkley Point C
developer placed under enhanced monitoring over threat of digital attacks.
Nuclear regulators have stepped up their monitoring of French power giant
EDF amid concerns about cyber security. The UK’s Office for Nuclear
Regulation (ONR) has put the company under “enhanced attention” after
finding “shortfalls” in its cyber security plans, The Telegraph can
reveal.
French state-owned EDF owns and runs the UK’s nuclear power
fleet. It is also building the UK’s first new nuclear power station in a
generation, Hinkley Point C in Somerset, with its minority Chinese partner
CGN.
Cyber security is of heightened concern nationally amid Russia’s war
on Ukraine. Russia has been blamed for cyber attacks which disrupted
windfarms in Europe on the eve of its invasion and security officials have
called on British organisations to bolster their defences.
In a blog post
last week, Dr Marsha Quallo-Wright, deputy director for Private Sector
Critical National Infrastructure at the National Cyber Security Centre,
said “now is not the time for complacency” despite no significant cyber
attacks on UK organisations since Russia’s invasion.
The ONR has stepped
up monitoring of EDF following a string of routine inspections over the
past 12 months, during which it said it “identified shortfalls in
governance, risk and compliance and certain technical controls”. EDF said
the shortfalls related to cyber security. A spokesman added: “EDF works
in very close partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre and some
joint studies with them identified some areas for improvement, such as in
risk awareness. “We are constantly striving to improve security and work
with various bodies, including the ONR, to achieve this. The cyber threat
is a constantly evolving area and we want to stay ahead of the threat.”
Telegraph 9th July 2022
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/07/09/edf-scrutiny-nuclear-security-shortfalls/
Nationalising EDF is no cure-all for France’s nuclear industry troubles
The French state has said it will fully nationalise EDF, the debt-laden utility that runs the nation’s nuclear power plants and which the government has so far struggled to restructure. It has not said whether it
will buy out minority shareholders on the market or take control by law.
But however it is nationalised, it doesn’t guarantee a fix for EDF’s mountain of debt or its corroding reactors and it won’t reduce the cost of shielding consumers from sky-high energy prices.
Analysts say the government’s main goal may be to secure a freehand in running a business that has a roughly 80% share of the French electricity market, once it is delisted and the state no longer has to answer to any other shareholders.
About half of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors in France are now offline, in part due to corrosion issues. EDF has repeatedly cut its planned nuclear output for 2022, just as Europe scrambles to find alternative energy sources as Russian gas supplies dwindle.
As well as problems with old reactors, it is also running years late and billions of euros above budget in building a new-generation of reactors in France and Britain, raising questions about whether it has to fix fundamental design faults. Furthermore, EDF has been hobbled by a regulated tariff system, known as Arenh, forcing it to sell 100 terawatt/hours (TWh) of nuclear generation to power retailers and large
consumers at 42 euros/MWh, which is well below market levels.
Reuters 7th Aug 2022
France to Nationalize Debt-Laden EDF as Energy Crisis Mounts
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-06/french-premier-says-state-wants-to-own-100-of-edf By Francois De Beaupuy, Ania Nussbaum, and William Horobin July 7, 2022
- Premier says EDF full control needed for energy sovereignty
- France to invest in new nuclear plants to fight climate change
The French government will nationalize its financially struggling nuclear giant Electricite de France SA to help it ride out Europe’s worst energy crisis in a generation and invest in new atomic plants.
“The climate emergency requires strong, radical decisions,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said during a policy speech in parliament in Paris on Wednesday. “We need to have full control of the production and our energy future. We must ensure our sovereignty faced with the consequences of the war and the colossal challenges ahead.”
Borne didn’t provide specific details of the government’s plans, beyond saying the state will raise its stake in EDF to 100% from 84% currently. No decision has been made at this stage on the modalities of the operation, a spokesman for the finance ministry said.
EDF shares jumped on Borne’s announcement and closed 15% higher in Paris after having been down sharply prior to her comments. The utility’s debt also gained
…………………………. EDF has been grappling in recent years with various issues at its aging fleet of reactors and cost overruns when building new ones. Its problems are being exacerbated by a government-imposed cap on electricity prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is making it more expensive for the company to cover its own electricity-output shortfall.
A positive exit catalyst for minority shareholders in EDF, Europe’s largest nuclear power producer, comes with confirmation that France will acquire the 16% stake not already owned and nationalize the company.
……………….. The CGT and FO labor unions welcomed the plan for nationalization, but also expressed concern that the government could subsequently revive a plan to “dismantle” the utility.
………………. A nationalization of EDF may reassure creditors that are concerned about the utility’s net financial debt, which stood at 43 billion euros at the end of last year and is set to climb even higher despite a 3.2-billion euro capital increase in April.
Credit-rating firms, which downgraded the utility in February, warned of further potential cuts as the company is grappling with repairs at some of its atomic power stations and cost overruns at nuclear plants under construction in France and the UK.
Drought and hot weather this summer are adding to France’s nuclear power generation problems at the worst possible moment.
Drought and hot weather this summer are adding to France’s nuclear power
generation problems at the worst possible moment. As Europe grapples with
low Russian gas supply and the threat of no Russian supply at all,
non-Russian energy sources are more important than ever.
French power giant
Electricite de France (EDF) warned on Tuesday that it may have to reduce
nuclear power generation as the water levels of rivers are low and water
temperatures high. France has been experiencing outages at its nuclear
reactors in recent months, slashing power generation from nuclear power
plants. France’s nuclear power generation accounts for around 70 percent
of its electricity mix and when its reactors are fully operational it is a
net exporter of electricity to other European countries.
Prolonged
maintenance at several nuclear reactors this year, however, means that
France—and the rest of Europe—have less nuclear-generated power supply
now.
Oil Price 5th July 2022
France’s EDF says hot summer could hit nuclear output, shares fall
PARIS, July 5 (Reuters) – France’s EDF (EDF.PA) might be forced to cut nuclear output further because of expected prolonged hot temperatures over the summer months, an executive told a briefing on Tuesday, prompting a sharp fall in the company’s shares.
EDF’s shares ended down 7.5% on the Paris stock market, underperforming the Stoxx Europe 600 Utilities (.SX6P) index, which lost 2.03%.
“We have a peculiar year due to the drought that has started early, especially in southeastern France. But there is generally a little bit less water available this year,” Catherine Laugier, Environment Director at EDF, told a news conference.
France is already grappling with reduced electricity generation because of unexpected maintenance at its aging nuclear reactors.
EDF faces the prospect of having to reduce output because of insufficient river water, which is often used for cooling nuclear reactors before being returned to the river at a higher temperature.
Regulations are in place to limit reactor production during times of exceptional heat and low water levels to prevent the process from damaging local wildlife.
“We’ve had some production cuts between end May and early June. That was indeed pretty early (…) And there are some global evaluations suggesting (…) this might be a very long summer and the levels could be impacted in September,” Laugier said.
Since the start of the year, EDF has lost 20.6% of its value, well below a 12.9% sector-wide decline……………. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/frances-edf-says-hot-summer-could-hit-nuclear-output-shares-fall-2022-07-05/
Macron says he doesn’t want to ‘annihilate’ Russia
While the French president has backed anti-Russia sanctions, he has refrained from the extreme rhetoric of his US and UK counterparts/
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned “Anglo Saxon” leaders for openly wishing annihilation upon Russia in clips from a recent documentary. Macron has already been criticized by some of Ukraine’s most fervent supporters for staying in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While he has condemned Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and supported EU sanctions on Moscow, the French president has spoken to Putin by phone on several occasions since February. These calls have apparently not brought Ukraine any closer to peace, but have earned Macron scorn from Kiev’s supporters, including Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who castigated his French counterpart for talking to a man he compared to “Hitler.”
However, in a documentary recently broadcast on French television, Macron gave some insight into his approach to diplomacy.
Filmed on a train back from Kiev last month, Macron explained that talking to Putin is necessary to prevent the conflict in Ukraine from becoming a wider war. Describing “Anglo Saxon” leaders as pushing the message that “we must annihilate Russia, weaken it permanently,” Macron said that his goal is instead to “help Ukraine to win,” and “not to fight against Russia, let alone annihilate it.”
Whatever the practical similarities between Macron’s approach and that of his US and UK counterparts, all of whom have provided Kiev with weapons and ammunition, there exists a clear difference in rhetoric between France and the “Anglo Saxon” world.
While US President Joe Biden has accused Russia of committing “genocide” in Ukraine, Macron has cautioned the West against bandying around such loaded terms. Likewise, he has dismissed requests from Kiev that he declare Russia a “sponsor of terrorism.”
And while US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin has described the conflict in Ukraine as an opportunity to leave Russia “weakened” and Biden has let slip that he wishes for regime change in Moscow, Macron has stated that the West “must not humiliate Russia,” in order to make a peace deal possible some day.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has compared Putin to a “crocodile” and repeatedly dismissed the idea of peace talks with Moscow. Meanwhile, the newly-appointed chief of Britain’s armed forces has declared that the UK’s military must prepare for the possibility of “defeating Russia in battle.”……………. https://www.rt.com/news/558308-macron-russia-anglo-saxon/
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