Hinkley nuclear project’s future is in doubt – French unions not happy with Hinkley plan
Hinkley Point: French unions put nuclear plant’s future in doubt By Jake Morris & Chris Cook BBC Newsnight 27 May 2016
The future of the planned new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point remains in doubt as key French unions still oppose the project, BBC Newsnight has learned.
EDF, which would build the plant, had delayed a decision on the project in Somerset until the summer while it consulted French union representatives.
The company, which is 85% French state-owned, had hoped to win support from a committee of workplace representatives.
But the committee said staff had not been reassured about the plant’s costs.
Trade union representatives hold six of the 18 seats on EDF’s board.
‘Several reservations’
Jean-Luc Magnaval, secretary of the Central Works Committee that EDF consulted with, told Newsnight that staff feared the cost of the project would cripple EDF.
He said: “We have reservations about several aspects of the project: organisation, supply chain, installation, and procurement.
“The trade unions are unlikely to give their blessing to the project in its current state.
“We are not reassured by the documents we have received. We have been given a marketing folder, not the full information we require.
“We got the documents on 9 May – we are sending EDF a request for more explanations.”…….
EDF chief executive Vincent de Rivaz also told MPs on the committee that he did not know when a final decision on the project would be made…….
While one third of the £18bn capital costs of the project are being met by Chinese investors, Hinkley Point would remain an enormous undertaking for the stressed French company……..http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36394601
EDF hoping to extend life of nuclear reactors, postpone decommisson costs
EDF sees French energy plan shaping nuclear depreciation schedule http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-edf-nuclear-idUKKCN0YA211 PARIS | BY GEERT DE CLERCQ 19 May 16.The French government’s energy investment plan due in July will be a key indicator for whether and for how long EDF will extend the depreciation period of its nuclear plants, an executive said on Thursday.
EDF hopes to get nuclear energy regulator ASN’s authorisation to extend the lifespan of its nuclear plants to 50 years from 40, and already wants to extend the depreciation period on these assets, which would boost bottom-line profit.
Early this year ASN said it expects to give generic guidelines on French nuclear plant life extensions by 2018, but said extensions could not be taken for granted and that they would be decided reactor by reactor.
The government’s long-awaited multi-year energy investment plan (PPE) – implementing the August 2015 energy transition law – will not specify reactor lifespan, but should set targets for the share of nuclear in France‘s power mix.
President Francois Hollande has vowed to reduce that share from 75 percent to 50 by 2025, but has taken no concrete steps towards that goal.
“The PPE, and notably its nuclear chapter, expected early July, will figure largely in our decision about the accounting lifespan of our nuclear reactors,” EDF nuclear chief Dominique Miniere told reporters.
In 2003, EDF extended the depreciation schedule for its reactors in its accounts to 40 years from 30 – six years before the ASN authorised the move.
CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said in April EDF plans to extend the depreciation period by the closing of first-half results.
Miniere said the PPE should signal how many of EDF’s 58 reactors can keep operating, which will determine over what period reactors and related maintenance costs can be depreciated.
He said life extension would also impact EDF’s 23 billion euros (1 billion pounds) worth of decommissioning and nuclear waste provisions.
“Delaying reactor decommissioning also means delaying provisions,” he said. Miniere said 80 percent of EDF’s 58 reactors were built between 1980 and 1990. From 2020, many need to close or get approval operate another decade.
Miniere said every reactor has annual maintenance costs of about 50 million euros, or about 3 billion euros per year for EDF’s fleet.
Extending EDF’s reactors by 10 years and incorporating safety lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster will boost that to 4-4.2 billion euros per year in the 2014-2025 period, a total of just over 50 billion, after which costs will ease to 4.2-3 billion euros per year, he said. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq, editing by David Evans)
France’s President Hollande backs Hinkley nuclear project, despite near bankruptcy of EDF
Hollande renews support for Hinkley Point nuclear reactors http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/17/hollande-renews-support-edf-hinkley-point-nuclear-reactors
French president backs project despite fears that £18bn price tag could bankrupt EDF, which is 85% state-owned François Hollande has renewed his support for the controversial nuclear project planned by the French energy company EDF at Hinkley Point in Britain.
“I am in favour that this project goes ahead,” the French president told Europe 1 radio on Tuesday.
“It’s very important to understand that we need a high-performance, highly secure nuclear industry in France, and that we cannot let others take over terrain, including on exports, that has been French up to now,” he said.
A final decision on the plan to build two new-generation nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in south-west England was due this month, but was delayed after unions at EDF demanded a review of the costs.
A joint project between EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corporation, it carries a projected price tag of £18bn ($26bn, €23bn) that will make it one of the world’s most expensive nuclear power plants.
Unions at EDF, which is 85% state-owned, fear it could bankrupt the company, which is already saddled with more than €37bn of debt.
Last month, the management agreed to consult the internal committee which has brought in outside experts to review the financial implications of the project.
Hollande said the review would be completed “in the coming weeks”.
There have been dissenting voices over Hinkley Point within the French government.
On Friday, France’s environment minister Ségolène Royal, who is also mother to Hollande’s children, told the Financial Times that she was worried about the “colossal sums” involved in the project and questioned whether it should go ahead
Ratings agencies Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s both lowered their forecasts for EDF last week, saying efforts to streamline the company were insufficient.
Hollande restated his vow to restructure and boost financing at EDF and rival energy giant Areva, “because they are the future”.
“The French nuclear industry has 200,000 employees. It represents our energy independence,” Hollande told Europe 1.
“EDF and Areva are public companies on which we should rely. But at the same time, we must give them new support.”
CGN, which is due to cover a third of the costs, said on Monday that it would not go ahead with the project if EDF pulls out.
Former AREVA CEO ‘Atomic Anne’ Lauvergeon under a cloud at Rio Tinto
The future of Rio Tinto director ‘Atomic Anne’ Lauvergeon is under a cloud, The Age, May 16, 2016 Peter Ker Resources reporter The future of Rio Tinto director Anne Lauvergeon is under a cloud after French prosecutors starting investigating her conduct while chief executive of energy giant Areva almost a decade ago.
French prosectors spent Friday questioning Ms Lauvergeon over whether she deliberately filed misleading accounts for Areva in 2007.
The investigations centre on Areva’s disastrous takeover of London listed company Uramin in 2007, and the disclosure of multi-billion dollar impairments several years later.
London newspaper the Financial Times reported over the weekend that French prosecutors had confirmed that Ms Lauvergeon was being investigated for “publication of inaccurate accounts” during her time at Areva.
The 56-year-old Ms Lauvergeon, who is known as “Atomic Anne” in France, has served as a non-executive director of Rio since 2014.
The weekend’s revelations come barely two months after French prosecutors launched a separate investigation into alleged insider trading by Olivier Fric, who is Ms Lauvergeon’s partner.
The prosecutors are investigating whether Mr Fric used privileged information to profit from the Uramin deal. Mr Fric’s lawyers have reportedly denied the allegations.
The controversy surrounding Ms Lauvergeon and Mr Fric was known when the Rio board endorsed Ms Lauvergeon for re-election in March……..
Ms Lauvergeon’s continuing work at Rio while the French investigations go ahead is at odds with the approach taken by ASX chief executive Elmer Funke Kupper, who has stood down while the Australian Federal Police conduct anti-bribery investigations into his time spent working for Tabcorp. http://www.theage.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/the-future-of-rio-tinto-director-atomic-anne-lauvergeon-is-under-a-cloud-20160515-govnv7.html
Sparks flew at Electricite de France’s AGM: EDF has €37 billion of debt
nuClear News No 85 May 16“…….Sparks were flying at EDF’s Annual General Meeting on 12th May as EDF employees were given a chance to air their views and grill the company’s board, which remains divided on whether to go-ahead with HPC. In the run up to the meeting EDF announced that the contingency needs of HPC could increase the cost by about £3bn to £21bn.EDF desperate for business? trying to quickly sell 6 nuclear reactors to India
EDF to propose deal for six nuclear reactors in India by year-end By Reuters | 12 May, 2016 PARIS: EDF will deliver a proposal to theIndian government by year’s end to build six nuclear reactors, an executive at the French utility said on Thursday, in what could be the world’s biggest nuclear deal.
“Hinkley Point will help us continue our activities and preserve our skills base and jobs,” he said. ……..
Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy told shareholders that EDF needs growth in international markets because European power markets are stagnant. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52240726.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Nuclear corporation EDF’s Annual General Meeting faces more financial gloom
Nuclear giant EDF Energy reports sales fall as AGM looms, BBC News, 11 May 16 French energy giant EDF says sales fell 7% in the first three months of the year in the face of stiff competition, a mild winter and lower energy prices.
The figures come ahead of Wednesday’s AGM where investors will quiz management over their plans for the Hinkley Point nuclear plant in the UK.
EDF, 85% controlled by the French state, has struggled to find the cash for its 66.5% stake in the project.
In April it pushed a final decision on the £18bn plant back to September.
Chief financial officer Thomas Piquemal resigned in April following an internal disagreement over whether to press on with the controversial project.
However, EDF has outlined plans to raise €4bn, with up to €3bn provided by the French government.
Tough markets
Credit rating agencies are due to assess the group in the coming days and their verdict on its finances will determine how easy it will be for the group to raise cash.
Meanwhile, tough market conditions mean EDF is cutting costs and planning to sell €10bn in assets by 2020, including a stake in French power-grid operator RTE……http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36262029
Former Electricite de France SA Chief Financial Officer says he quit because of financial risks of Hinkley nuclear project
Ex-EDF CFO Quit Over Financial Risks From U.K. Nuclear Project, Bloomberg, Francois De Beaupuy FrancoisDeBeaup
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Piquemal says French utility needs to strengthen balance sheet
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EDF can’t afford significant downgrade in rating: Piquemal
Former Electricite de France SA Chief Financial Officer Thomas Piquemal said he quit two months ago to highlight the risks of proceeding with the 18 billion-pound ($26 billion) Hinkley Point nuclear power project without additional financing.
The timetable pushed by EDF Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy for an investment decision on the U.K. project meant there wouldn’t have been time to strengthen the utility’s balance sheet, Piquemal told a hearing at the National Assembly in Paris. That would have left the company reliant on its 85 percent shareholder, the French state, providing funding and threatened EDF with the same fate as troubled nuclear-reactor builder Areva SA, he said.
“A new nuclear project is an extra risk for a company,” Piquemal said in his first public statement since quitting. “I didn’t want to approve a decision that could leave EDF in Areva’s situation one day.”……
Financial Strain
Speculation has mounted over the future of Hinkley Point since Piquemal resigned amid concerns the project would put EDF under too much financial strain, while labor unions have called for a three-year delay until similar nuclear plants built by the company start operating in France and China…….
EDF has held off on making a final investment decision even after forming a partnership with China General Nuclear Power Corp. and securing guaranteed power prices from the U.K. government at almost three times the current market rate for 35 years.Rating companies will probably downgrade EDF because large nuclear projects such as Hinkley Point will increase its risk profile, the ex-CFO said. While EDF had no financing problems at the end of 2015, it can’t afford a “significant” downgrade that would push its hybrid debt into the “junk” category because it would complicate a potential refinancing from 2020, Piquemal said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-04/ex-edf-cfo-quit-over-financial-risks-from-u-k-nuclear-project
UK nuclear parts made at French plant in fakery probe
Telegraph Emily Gosden, energy editor 4 MAY 2016 Parts of the Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk were made at a French plant being investigated over possible fake manufacturing records, EDF Energy has confirmed.
Mr Piquemal said he had sought a three-year delay to Hinkley as he was not prepared to “bet 60 to 70pc of [EDF’S] equity on a technology that has not yet proven that it can work and which takes 10 years to build”.
He said the proposed reactor technology involved “major construction risk”.
EDF has already postponed a decision on the £18bn Hinkley project until September as it consults with unions on a plan to shore up its balance sheet, but the problems at the Le Creusot plant have raised further doubts about the project and as well as nuclear safety at existing plants………http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/04/uk-nuclear-parts-made-at-french-plant-in-fakery-probe/
‘400 irregularities’ in nuclear power plant parts – admits France’s nuclear firm AREVA
France’s nuclear giant Areva admits to ‘400 irregularities’ in nuclear power plant parts, with 50 still in operation, Telegraph, UK, Henry Samuel, Paris 3 MAY 2016
France’s ailing nuclear giant, Areva, faced a major scandal on Tuesday after the country’s nuclear watchdog confirmed there have been “irregularities” in 400 parts produced in its reactors since 1965, and that “around 50 are currently in service in France’s nuclear power plant fleet”.
France’s independent Nuclear Safety Authority, ASN, said the “irregularities” were listed in an audit it had ordered from Areva after it detected a “very serious anomaly” in a reactor vessel in the country’s Flamanville EPR nuclear plant, the same model Britain plans to use for two new plants at Hinkley Point.
The fault in the vessel destined to house the plant’s nuclear fuel and confine its radioactivity was detected last year.
“These irregularities consist in incoherencies, modifications or omissions in manufacturing dossiers,” ASN said in a statement.
The revelation came hours after Areva’s director general admitted that 400 documents assessing whether parts of nuclear plants met required standards may have been “falsified”.
The doubts over documents supposed to rubber-stamp the quality of parts destined for new-generation nuclear power reactors will be a cause for serious concern for the British government as it is poised to finalise a controversial, multi-billion pound contract to build reactors at Hinkley Point designed by Areva.
Areva launched an audit late 2015 into anomalies at the Le Creusot Forge site, which specialises in highly complex moulded parts for new-generation nuclear reactors. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/03/frances-nuclear-giant-areva-admits-to-400-irregularities-in-nucl/
Hinkley nuclear project for UK and France political reasons: let’s stop pretending otherwise
The real point of this story is that nuclear power is not commercially viable but has become a state-sponsored technology. There is nothing wrong with state supported technology. But we could save a lot of time and money by not pretending that it is something else.
Lets Stop Pretending Nuclear Power Is Commercially Viable http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Lets-Stop-Pretending-Nuclear-Power-Is-Commercially-Viable.html By Leonard Hyman & William Tilles
Sat, 30 April 2016, First its new president, Jean-Bernard Levy, said French state utility EDF would delay a decision on its joint French-Chinese nuclear project in the UK, Hinkley Point. That was over a year ago. Then the CFO of EDF, Thomas Piquemal, quit reportedly because he opposed the project on fi-nancial grounds. That was a short time ago. Then after a leaked memos, the French gov-ernment just announced that EDF would be raising more money and the Hinkley decision would now come in September.
Now for the finances. These British nuclear units will cost roughly £18 billion ($27 billion). EDF has already sold a 35 percent share to the Chinese state nuclear company. However EDF still has to find more outside investors and get its ownership of the plant below 50 percent or it will have to consolidate Hinkley Point on its books and show all of the project’s debt on its own balance sheet.
If we were gamblers we would not wager that EDF will take the obvious first step towards restor-ing its financial health and cancels the Hinkley project. Of course, if David Cameron loses the Brexit vote (a referendum to take the UK out of the European Union) and is ejected from Number Ten Downing Street, a new Prime Minister might take a more skeptical view of Hinkley Point.
The real point of this story is that nuclear power is not commercially viable but has become a state-sponsored technology. There is nothing wrong with state supported technology. But we could save a lot of time and money by not pretending that it is something else.
French and Russian nuclear utilities to work together, on decommissiong, and more
French and Russian nuclear utilities extend collaboration, World Nuclear News, 26 April 2016
French utility EDF has signed an agreement to extend its cooperation with Rosenergoatom, the operator of Russia’s civil nuclear power plants. The companies will cooperate in reactor operations, decommissioning and waste management…..
Through the agreement, EDF and Rosenergoatom intend to develop cooperation in areas such as the maintenance, modernization and operating period extension of nuclear power plants, as well as decommissioning and radioactive waste management http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-French-and-Russian-nuclear-utilities-extend-collaboration-2604164.html
Further delay for UK Hinkley nuclear project, as EDF decides to consult unions
Fresh setback for Hinkley Point as EDF consults French unions, Telegraph UK Alan Tovey 22 APRIL 2016 Plans by EDF to build the new Hinkley Point nuclear power station have been further delayed after the French energy company said it would consult with unions before announcing its final investment decision.
After a board meeting on Friday, the company said it had agreed a “significant” recapitalisation that would make it “possible for EDF to proceed with its strategic investment programme – including Hinkley Point C”.
However, the directors added they would go through a formal consultation process with unions over the decision. Although it will not be binding on the board, this statutory process would take 60 days, pushing it close to the June 23 referendum on whether or not Britain will remain in the UK.
Sources close to the French government – which is EDF’s majority shareholder with an 85pc stake – said administrative delays could easily push this consultation past the date of the Brexit vote.
Consulting the unions over the decision presents fresh hurdles to the muchdelayed plan to build the Hinkley Point power station, the first in a fleet of new nuclear power stations for the UK.
Ten years ago, EDF was predicting Hinkley would be supplying power by 2017.
Unions are sceptical about whether EDF can afford the investment – which the French firm is financing two thirds of, with the rest coming from Chinese investors – and have made public their opposition to the scheme.
Some senior staff at EDF are also against the power company’s involvement in such a huge project…….http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/24/fresh-setback-for-hinkley-point-as-edf-consults-french-unions/
European law mean sit is illegal for France’s govt to fund EDF’s Hinkley nuclear project
France funding Hinkley C ‘would be illegal’ under EU competition rules say Greenpeace and Ecotricity http://www.cheddarvalleygazette.co.uk/France-funding-Hinkley-C-illegal-EU-competition/story-29158662-detail/story.html By Cheddar Valley Gazette April 24, 2016 The European Commission is ‘almost certain’ to block the French Government spending billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to make sure the Hinkley C nuclear power station project is completed.
That was the view of a coalition of West environmentalists today, who said if the French president Francois Hollande was to plunge £3 billion into Hinkley C, it would breach European state aid rules.
The European Union forbids states using taxpayers’ money to invest in projects which favour one company over another – and a new report revealed this morning by a leading London law firm says that would clearly be illegal under EU competition rules.
EDF, the firm planning to build a third nuclear power station in west Somerset, is majority-owned by the French Government anyway, but Greenpeace, Stroud-based renewable energy firm Ecotricity and the Green Party’s South West MEP, Molly Scott Cato, have all said they would challenge that decision, and ask the European Commission to block any state investment by France.
EDF is putting in half the £18 billion Hinkley C project cost, two Chinese nuclear energy firms are investing a third, but attempts by EDF to find that shortfall – one-sixth, or around £3 billion – have failed amid fears the project would be uneconomic.
The firm has gone to French Government ministers to ask for state backing, and that is ‘expected’ to be ratified and the project get the go-ahead in the next couple of weeks.
But the environmentalists who have long campaigned against Hinkley C said this morning that would breach EU competition rules, arguing the French Government should not be allowed to use taxpayers’ money to compete against energy providers in this country who receive no such help.
Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder, said his firm would consider legal action to stop Hinkley C. “It’s time for everyone to realise that we’ve reached the end of the road for Hinkley Point – it’s not going to happen,” he said.
“Illegal state aid is one thing, and we’ll work with Greenpeace to challenge that if it happens, but it’s not just financial issues, there are technical problems with Hinkley Point too – EDF are yet to build one of these reactors and their first two attempts are, between them, 16 years late and billions over budget.
“Our government needs to change its stance on green energy, which powered a quarter of the country last year and could do so much more if the sector received even a fraction of the economic and political support given the nuclear industry,” he added.
Greenpeace have yesterday wrote to energy minister Amber Rudd and chancellor George Osborne warning the ministers not to proceed with the project unless and until the French state support has been notified to and approved by the EU Commission.
“The only way Hinkley can be kept alive is on the life support machine of state aid,” said Greenpeace boss John Sauven. “EDF, if it is to stay in business, needs a new vision which is not looking backwards. And the UK Government needs to stop penalising the UK renewable energy industry in favour of propping up an ailing state owned nuclear industry in France.
“Globally, the nuclear market is shrinking year by year overtaken by the huge surge in renewable energy. The UK should be a haven for renewable energy investment given the massive potential for wind, solar and tidal to cost effectively meet our energy needs,” he added.
The legal opinion is given by Jon Turner QC, Ben Rayment and Julian Gregory, three eminent competition and EU law barristers from Monckton Chambers.
It sets out how the French government’s reported refinancing plans for EDF are likely to be illegal under EU law unless and until they are approved by the European Commission.
The European Commission’s investigation of state aid takes around a year, and it is doubtful that approval would be given.
“The numbers for the Hinkley deal have never stacked up and it is clear that the commercial case for this white elephant is dead,” said Green MEP for the south west, Molly Scott Cato.
“We have now a political battle where the stakes for both the UK and France are just too high to admit failure. But we cannot let this override EU rules on state aid or fair competition.”
“With EDF close to bankruptcy and serious questions over the legality of state aid for the project the French government and the French President are showing themselves to be totally irresponsible. The Board of EDF must put the interests of its shareholders and employees first and avoid committing economic suicide by rejecting a final investment decision,” she added.
EDF has consistently denied claims it was benefiting from illegal state aid, and robustly defended the legal action from Austria that the British Government’s agreement to pay EDF double the current electricity price for the energy Hinkley C will produce.
France’s tax-payers €3bn to save debt-ridden nuclear corporation EDF
State pays €3bn to bail out EDF http://www.connexionfrance.com/france-edf-electricity-areva-nuclear-investment-bail-out-view-article.html April 24, 2016THE GOVERNMENT has agreed to bail out struggling electricity company EDF to the tune of €3billion, months after it agreed a similar capital injection for nuclear energy giant Areva.
On Friday, EDF announced a €4billion capital investment programme, and the state – which owns an 85% stake in the company – has agreed to pay 75% of the cost.
The electricity giant has been fighting to bring its massive debts under control in the face of weak European electricity prices. It has also invested in several major projects, including a new British nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point.
The government said it would accept EDF shares as its dividend in 2016 and 2017, rather than cash. “The State reaffirms its confidence in the management of the company and all its employees for the success of EDF as part of a quality social dialogue,” argued the Ministries of Economy and Finance in a joint statement.
In return, EDF said it would aim to reduce its costs by €1billion in 2019 compared to 2015, and shave €2billion off its investment plans over the next three years. It had originally planned to make €700million in savings over three years. The group also plans to raise €10 billion by selling off gas, coal and oil interests.
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Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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