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Appeal filed against commissioning of the tank of the Flamanville nuclear plant.

Le Monde 30th Nov 2017, [Machine translation] Nuclear: appeal filed against the agreement given to
the commissioning of the tank of the Flamanville plant. Several NGOs
believe that the Nuclear Safety Authority should have vetoed the use of the
tank of the future EPR, which has anomalies.

The state of the tank of the European pressurized reactor (EPR) Flamanville (Channel) continues to
generate strong reservations and concerns. On Thursday, November 30th,
several NGOs, including Réseau sortie du nucléaire and Greenpeace, who
denounce anomalies in the construction of this tank, said they filed an
appeal before the State Council asking for the cancellation of the
agreement recently given by the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN).

“This tankwas not manufactured according to the rules of the art, there were bad
workmanship (…). ASN should have vetoed the possible use of this tank,
“said Charlotte Mijeon, Spokeswoman of the Network out of the nuclear.
http://www.lemonde.fr/energies/article/2017/11/30/nucleaire-recours-depose-contre-le-feu-vert-donne-a-la-mise-en-service-de-la-cuve-de-la-centrale-de-flamanville_5222877_1653054.html

December 2, 2017 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

Disturbing faults, safety dysfunction in France’s Paluel nuclear power plant in Normandy.

Bastamag 1st Dec 2017 [Machine translation] A new accident reveals serious dysfunctions in terms
of nuclear safety in France. In March 2016, during a replacement operation,
a 465-ton steam generator fell in the heart of the Paluel nuclear power
plant in Normandy. A serious and unprecedented accident, which miraculously
does not cause serious injury or radioactive contamination. Since then,
experts have investigated the causes of the accident.

Consulted by Bastamag, their report, the conclusions of which will be summarized to
employees this 1st of December, reveals major dysfunctions in the
preparation and supervision of the site, largely related to the massive use
of subcontracting. Disturbing faults, while the renovation projects of the
power stations will multiply. https://www.bastamag.net/Un-accident-inedit-revele-de-graves-dysfonctionnements-en-matiere-de-surete

December 2, 2017 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

Another corruption investigation of French nuclear company AREVA

Times 29th Nov 2017, The headquarters of the French state-owned company that designed Britain’s
new nuclear reactors was raided by police yesterday. About 50 officers
searched the offices of Areva, the nuclear engineering group, as part of a
preliminary inquiry into corruption allegations. The inquiry was launched
by the French national financial prosecution service into Areva’s purchase
in 2011 of uranium from Niger worth $319.8 million.

The uranium was sold later to Russian traders who made an $82 million profit and then to a
Lebanese company that made $17.6 million, according to French media
reports. A spokesman for Areva said that the deals had been lawful and were
part of negotiations with an unspecified customer to build a nuclear
reactor.

In the end the reactor was never built. A spokesman for Niger’s
government told Le Monde that it had made about $800,000 from the
transactions and had used the money to buy cars for presidential
bodyguards.

Areva, which designed the two reactors being built at Hinkley
Point by EDF, the state-owned French energy provider, is already under
investigation in connection with Niger. An inquiry was opened in 2014 into
allegations that it overpaid Uramin, a Canadian mining group, whose main
uranium mines were in Niger.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/french-police-raid-nuclear-developers-office-in-paris-8sk7vlptq

December 1, 2017 Posted by | France, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

France joins the rush to market nuclear power to Saudi Arabia

Reuters 29th Nov 2017, French state-controlled utility EDF intends to take part in a tender to
build two nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia, two sources familiar with the
situation told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia, which wants to reduce domestic oil
consumption, is considering building 17.6 gigawatts of nuclear-fuelled
power generation capacity by 2032 and has sent a request for information to
international suppliers to build two reactors

With answers to the request due by the end 2017 or early 2018, a formal tender could be launched by
mid-2018, but more likely toward the end of 2018 or early 2019, industry
specialists say.   https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-nuclear-edf/update-1-frances-edf-plans-to-bid-in-saudi-arabia-nuclear-tender-sources-idUSL8N1NZ1YN

December 1, 2017 Posted by | France, marketing, Saudi Arabia | 2 Comments

France’s President Macron vows to replace every dollar Donald Trump withdraws from climate change efforts

Emmanuel Macron vows to replace every dollar Donald Trump withdraws from climate change efforts
French President says France will step in to maintain funding for major international panel The Independent Ben Kentish @BenKentish 16 Nov 17 

Emmanuel Macron has vowed to replace every dollar that is withdrawn from the UN’s climate change programme by Donald Trump.

The French President told a UN climate summit in Bonn, Germany, that France would step in to cover the cost of US contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that Mr Trump has said he will withdraw.

“I can guarantee that, starting in 2018, the IPCC will have all the money it needs and will continue to support our decision-making,” he said. “It will not miss a single euro.”

“We need scientific information that is constantly nourished to ensure clear decision making. The IPCC is one of the major components of this work.

“However, it is threatened today by the decision of the US not to guarantee funding for it. Therefore, I propose that the EU replaces the USA, and France will meet that challenge.”

The US currently contributes around €2 million (£1.8 million) a year to the IPCC.

However, Mr Trump has pledged to pull the US out of the 2015 Paris Agreement and other international climate change initiatives. He also plans to promote coal and other fossil fuel industries.

In his speech, Mr Macron also called for an EU tariff on goods imported from countries or companies that do not share its climate goals, and pledged to work to raise the cost of carbon within the EU to €30 a tonne.

The French President is hosting a conference in Paris next month on the issue of climate finance…..http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/emmanuel-macron-donald-trump-climate-change-funding-france-us-paris-agreement-president-a8058436.html

November 17, 2017 Posted by | climate change, France | Leave a comment

French government considers changing focus of EDF from nuclear to renewables

FT 14th Nov 2017, France is considering changing the governance of state-owned utility EDF to
shift its focus from nuclear to renewable energy as Emmanuel Macron’s
government seeks to cut the country’s reliance on atomic power — the
backbone of its energy policy for five decades. Nicolas Hulot, energy and
environment minister, told the Financial Times the country’s largest
electricity producer needed to embrace a transition towards environmentally
friendly energy rather than “resist” it. The process may require
revisiting the structure of the company, in addition to a plan to close up
to 35 of the 58 nuclear reactors it operates across France within the next
15 years.
https://www.ft.com/content/132f512a-c89f-11e7-ab18-7a9fb7d6163e

November 15, 2017 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

Lobbyists scramble to market nuclear submarines to India

India Wants Second Nuclear Submarine From Russia. Lies By Lobbyists Erupt
Russian news portal Kommersant reported that the Indian Navy allowed a US technical crew into top secret compartments of India’s existing Russian-built nuclear submarine, the INS Chakra NDTV  All India  by Vishnu Som : November 10, 2017 NEW DELHI: 

HIGHLIGHTS

  1. Russian website says US officials entered nuclear submarine in Vizag
  2. India has leased that submarine, is in talks for another
  3. Indian sources deny Russian website report
  India’s attempt to buy a nuclear attack submarine from Russia appears to have triggered a misinformation campaign by defence lobbyists.
Yesterday, Russian news portal Kommersant reported that the Indian Navy had permitted a US technical crew into top secret compartments of India’s existing Russian-built nuclear submarine, the INS Chakra, in clear violation of the terms of the contract between India and Russia. India leased this submarine in 2012 for approximately US$700 million and is in talks to acquire another.

According to Kommersant, which referred to this as “an unprecedented scandal,” the incident “threatens to seriously complicate the negotiations both on the lease of the second nuclear submarine, and on other projects in the field of military-technical cooperation.”

The Chakra, an Akula-2 class submarine, widely considered among the world’s most sophisticated, has been leased by India for 10 years but all ownership rights reside with Russia.

Today, another Russian news portal, NEWS.ru, has debunked the account of the Kommersant and states that French lobbyists have an ulterior role in spreading misinformation to further their own chances of selling a nuclear-powered attack submarine to India. NEWS.ru quotes a source stating “there is complete confidence that the throw-in is organised by the lobbyists of France, and it’s pretty high quality.” According to this source, “In addition to the contract for the construction of non-nuclear boats such the Scorpene [now being inducted by the Indian Navy,] the French have a great desire to enter the Indian nuclear fleet.”

France, the article states, is also aggressively trying to participate in India’s programme to construct a second home-grown aircraft carrier. The first indigenous carrier, INS Vikrant is being built in Kochi using technology from a host of countries including Russia……..

This isn’t the first time that there have been reports of the involvement of international lobbyists in influencing key Indian defence deals. Last year, The Australian newspaper revealed the leak of classified data on the Indian Navy’s French-designed Scorpene class submarine, the first of which will be commissioned into the navy by the end of this year.

At the time, the French newspaper Le Monde, quoting multiple sources had said that the leak of this data was driven by competition between the French designer of the Scorpene Class submarine and a  German firm as they compete  to win international orders. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/not-true-that-us-officers-allowed-on-russian-submarine-in-vizag-sources-1773761

November 11, 2017 Posted by | France, India, marketing, Russia | Leave a comment

France still aims to reduce nuclear power, but postponing target for this

France postpones target to drop share of nuclear energy in power mix https://uk.reuters.com/article/france-nuclearpower/update-2-france-postpones-target-to-drop-share-of-nuclear-energy-in-power-mix-idUKL5N1ND5N2, 7 Nov 17

* France drops 2025 target for reducing share of nuclear

* Hulot says new target to be drawn up in coming year

 * Aim remains to reduce share of nuclear to 50 pct

* Greenpeace says Hulot giving in to nuclear lobby (Adds Hulot comments, background)

By Geert De Clercq and Michel Rose PARIS, Nov 7 (Reuters) – President Emmanuel Macron’s government on Tuesday postponed a long-held target to reduce the share of nuclear energy in France’s electricity generation.

Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot said it was not realistic to cut nuclear energy’s share in the power mix to 50 percent by 2025 from 75 percent now and said doing so in a hurry would increase France’s CO2 emissions, endanger the security of power supply and put jobs at risk.

He did not set a new deadline, but said that over the next year the government would draw up a “pluri-annual energy programme” to reach the 50 percent target “as soon as possible”.

“It will be difficult to maintain the target of reducing the share of nuclear to 50 percent by 2025,” Hulot told reporters following a cabinet meeting.

Hulot said that while the timing is delayed for now, in a year’s time the government would have a clear programme based on rational criteria to decide which reactors to close and when.

In 2015, the previous government of Socialist Francois Hollande had voted an energy transition law which set a target of reducing the share of nuclear in the power mix to 50 percent by 2025 from the current 75 percent. But Hollande had taken no concrete steps towards closing any reactors.

Centrist Macron, elected in May, had promised to respect this target and Hulot, France’s best-known environmentalist, said in July France might have to close up to 17 of its 58 reactors by 2025 to achieve the target.

Widely seen as the guardian of the Macron government’s green credentials, the popular Hulot – a former television documentary maker turned environmentalist – had in recent months repeatedly said France needed to close several nuclear plants.

But he received little public support from Macron, a strong supporter of nuclear, or Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, a former employee of state-owned reactor builder Areva.

Two weeks before the government was formed in mid-May, a source close to Macron told Reuters he was considering delaying the target for reducing France’s reliance on nuclear.

State-owned utility EDF, the world’s biggest operator of nuclear plants, has long said it made no sense to shut down functioning reactors and instead wanted to extend the lifespan of its nuclear fleet from 40 to at least 50 years.

EDF shares were up 1.2 percent after Hulot’s announcement, outperforming a flat French bourse.

EDF stock had plunged as much as 7 percent on the day Hulot was appointed environment minister on the expectation that he would push for less nuclear and more renewables. nL8N1IJ43S]

Hulot, who had made a failed bid to become the green candidate in the 2012 presidential election, had been courted by both Hollande and his conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy to become environment minister.

Hulot told French daily Le Monde last month that he had given himself a year to see whether he could reform French energy and agricultural policies.

Greenpeace said Hulot had already shown weakness in fighting fossil fuel and was now jeopardising France’s energy transition.

“He should be a bulwark against the oil and nuclear lobbies,” the NGO said in a statement. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq and Michel Rose; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Edmund Blair)

November 8, 2017 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

French President agrees with Russia’s Putin on need to preserve the Iran nuclear deal

Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron team up to prevent NUCLEAR FALL-OUT
FEARS of a nuclear fall-out between Iran and the US has led to Vladimir Putin forming an unlikely alliance with France’s Emmanuel Macron. By DAN FALVEY Mr Putin teamed up with the French President to try and ease escalating tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear capabilities. It comes as Donald Trump accused Iran of not upholding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear agreement, with the UK, US, Russia, France, China, and Germany in 2015 which aims to limit the country’s nuclear arsenal.

However, fears that the deal could collapse have increased in recent months after the US President threatened not to sign off on the agreement claiming that Iran had broken parts of the pact. Mr Putin and his French counterpart spoke on the phone yesterday to reaffirm their support for the implementation of the deal.

A press statement released by the Kremlin said the Russian leader and Mr Macron agreed on the importance that the deal went ahead.

It said: “The leaders spoke in favour of a thorough implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to resolve the situation around the Iranian nuclear program.” The Kremlin statement went on to say that it was “crucial” any attempts by one country to change the deal were ignored…….http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/874895/Vladimir-Putin-Emmanuel-Macron-Russia-France-War-Nuclear-Fallout-Iran-Donald-Trump

November 4, 2017 Posted by | France, Iran, politics international, Russia | Leave a comment

Series of incidents, with safety significance, at French nuclear power plant

Sortir du Nucleaire 31st Oct 2017, France: Gravelines: Cooling problems and temperature rise, 4 incidents in
less than 3 weeks The plant operator has just declared 2 new incidents
significant for safety. These events, which took place on October 20 and
21, 2017, bring to 4 the number of level 1 events declared since the
beginning of the month and enrich a series that is worrying.
http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/France-Gravelines-Problemes-de-refroidissement-et-montee-en-temperature-4-incidents-en-moins-de-3-semaines

November 4, 2017 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

AREVA’s new entity NewCo struggles with unprofitable uranium mine in Niger

Romandie 31st Oct 2017,[Machine translation] NewCo, Areva’s entity resulting from the
restructuring of the nuclear group refocused on the fuel cycle, has had to
depreciate some of its assets, particularly the uranium mine Imouraren in
Niger, according to a statement released Tuesday.

NewCo published Tuesday its accounts for a shortened eight-month period (from January 1 to August
31, 2017), a decision taken as part of the restructuring of the group and
the exit of this entity from the tax consolidation perimeter so far
constituted around Areva SA. Although the published financial results
cannot be compared to the previous year of 12 months, the group
nevertheless indicated that it had spent 256 million euros in new
impairments between 30 June and 31 August.

Among them, 210 million euros concern mining assets, including 178 million euros for the only Imouraren
mine in Niger. The exploitation of this gigantic mine has been in abeyance
for several years, for want of a favorable conjuncture in civilian nuclear
power. Areva had already depreciated this asset twice, in 2015 and 2016, by
respectively 194 and 316 million euros. The new impairment losses are
linked to “both the unfavorable change in the euro-dollar exchange rate and
the unfavorable change in market price expectations” (of uranium), the
group said.

November 3, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, France, Niger | Leave a comment

France will detail at the end of 2018 how many nuclear reactors will close

France to decide by end 2018 how many nuclear plants to shut: minister PARIS (Reuters) 29 Oct 17, – France will detail at the end of 2018 how many nuclear reactors will close to meet a target on reducing atomic energy, Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot told French daily Le Monde on Saturday.

France aims to cut the share of atomic energy in power generation to 50 percent by 2025 from 75 percent now.

Nuclear plant closures represent a touchy topic, as the sector employs thousands of people and renewable energy alternatives struggle to grow fast enough to ensure energy needs are fulfilled.

According to France’s National Council of Industry, the nuclear sector supports about 220,000 jobs, directly and indirectly.

Hulot will lay out his so-called “green deal” on energy transition in the first half of 2018, he told Le Monde in an interview.

“In order to reduce to 50 percent the share of nuclear power, we will have to close a number of reactors,” he said, adding that he would detail the exact figure under a multi-year plan to be presented at end of 2018……https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-nuclearpower/france-to-decide-by-end-2018-how-many-nuclear-plants-to-shut-minister-idUSKBN1CX0KP

October 29, 2017 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

France’s Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) dithers on decision about continued operation of old reactors

 La Tribune 27th Oct 2017,[Machine Translation] The postponement of the generic Nuclear Safety
Authority (ASN) opinion on the continued operation of certain reactors
beyond the age of 40, revealed on 24 October, could have serious
consequences for the implementation of the law. And,
beyond, on the image of nuclear power in the public opinion, and the
perception of the role of the State in terms of energy strategy.
http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/energie-environnement/nucleaire-la-trajectoire-energetique-francaise-se-complique-755755.html

October 28, 2017 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

Drop in earnings and nuclear output targets for French corporation EDF

French power group EDF lowers 2017 earnings and nuclear output targets, Reuters Staff, PARIS, Oct 27 (Reuters) – French state-controlled power group EDF lowered its 2017 targets for nuclear power output and for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), following restart delays at its Tricastin nuclear plant.

EDF said it was revising its 2017 nuclear output target down to 383-387 terrawatt-hour (TWh), compared to a previous revised target of 385-392 TWh.

It also cut its 2017 EBITDA target down to 13.4-14.0 billion euros ($15.5 billion-$16.2 billion), compared to an earlier EBITDA target range from 13.7-14.3 billion euros previously…..http://www.reuters.com/article/france-nuclearpower-edf/french-power-group-edf-lowers-2017-earnings-and-nuclear-output-targets-idUSASM000FCW

October 28, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Concern over condition of France’s aging nuclear reactors: 20 of the 58 currently shut down

Reporterre 23rd Oct 2017, [Machine Translation] To date, 20 reactors out of 58 of the French nuclear fleet are shut down. Many are expected to restart by the end of November, but their aging and general condition is worrying.

Reporterre takes stock with a map detailing the situation of each plant. Winter will be tough for
French nuclear power plants. This Monday, October 23, 20 of their reactors are stopped. Of these, at least 8 were put to rest because of a malfunction or a safety problem. On the others, many are currently undergoing maintenance that also seek to repair the anomalies that accumulate in recent years.

A situation highlighted by Reporterre in a map detailing the central location by central. Last malfunction, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) unveiled in mid-October that the cooling pumps of 29 nuclear reactors were affected by significant corrosion. In case of earthquake or flood, the
pipes could yield. This is one of the causes of the Fukushima accident. According to the ASN, the renovation of the ducts was started immediately on all the reactors, but these will require more complete repairs before being totally secure.
https://reporterre.net/CARTE-EXCLUSIVE-Les-deux-tiers-du-parc-nucleaire-francais-en-panne-ou-a-l-arret

October 25, 2017 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

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