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France planning the move away from nuclear power

French Nuclear Reliance to Drop Without Reactor Halts, EDF Says Bloomberg, By Tara Patel – Oct 4, 2012  Forecasts for rising power use will curb Electricite de France’s ability to satisfy domestic demand even without the closure of more nuclear reactors, Chief Executive Officer Henri Proglio said. That would see the country’s reliance on nuclear power dropping to 50 percent of power production by about 2025 from more than 75 percent now, he said.

That would meet President Francois Hollande’s campaign pledge to reduce France’s dependence on nuclear generation. Progio’s comments come ahead of a national debate on energy which the government has said will lay the groundwork for legislation that could determine EDF’s spending plans on its reactors for decades. Continue reading →

October 5, 2012 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

France to develop tidal wave energy

Wind energy production in Europe, for example, just reached the 100 gigawatt mark, the equivalent of 39 nuclear power plants

French dive into tidal energy as nuclear plants bid adieu Smart Planet, By Bryan Pirolli | September 28, 2012,PARIS – French conglomerate Alstom is finalizing the purchase of Tidal Generation Ltd from Rolls Royce in the UK. Alstom , one of the largest energy-producing groups in the world, purchased the small company in an effort to expand its every-growing array of renewable energy.

The sale of TGL to Alstom comes just as the new French president, Francois Hollande, announced his commitment to renewable energy and decreasing France’s dependence on nuclear power.

Tidal Generation Ltd  (TGL), formed in 2005, specializes in designing turbines for generating electricity from ocean tides. Continue reading →

September 29, 2012 Posted by | France, renewable | Leave a comment

Poorly paid, dangerous, work of nuclear sub-contracted workers

Desirability of nuclear power is the real question, THE HINDU, 28 Sept 12
MADHUMITA DUTTA“……In France, over 20,000-30,000 workers dubbed as “nuclear nomads” are subcontracted annually in the 58 nuclear reactors operated by Électricité de France S.A. (EDF) located in 20 sites which contribute 78 per cent of the electricity produced in the country.

EDF subcontracts over 1,000 companies, who employ the “nuclear nomads,” sometimes of foreign origin, to do the dangerous maintenance, repair and clean-up work in these plants, exposing them to ionising radiations. In her book “Nuclear Servitude: Subcontracting and Health in the French Civil Nuclear Industry,” French social scientist Annie Thébaud-Mony has highlighted this division of labour and “risk” by subcontracting dangerous work in the French nuclear power industry.

In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, over 18,000 workers were hired to clean-up the power plant, who were all subcontracted to do dangerous radioactive clean-up work. These men, hailed as “national heroes” by many, were actually local residents rendered unemployed by the disaster or were daily wagers from city slums.

Since the 1970s, Japan has had a dubious track record of subcontracting maintenance
work of reactors to outside companies which hire workers on a short-term basis who remain employed till they reach their radiation exposure limit (Nuclear Nomads: A look at the Sub-contracted Heroes by Gabrielle Hecht in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January 9, 2012)…. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/desirability-of-nuclear-power-is-the-real-question/article3939373.ece

September 28, 2012 Posted by | employment, France, Japan, Reference | 1 Comment

Prestige, but not real usefulness, from UK and France’s costly nuclear deterrents

France and Britain Weigh the Price of Nuclear Deterrence International Herald Tribune By HARVEY MORRIS , 27 sept 12 LONDON — There were reports on Thursday  of stirrings within the British military about the need to scale back the country’s nuclear deterrent in order to spend the money on confronting more conventional threats. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 Posted by | France, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Radiation medicine scandal in France

French trial opens on cancer radiation scandal, France 24, 25 SEPTEMBER 2012  Radiophysicist Joshua Anah along with two doctors, is accused of involuntary homicide, not helping people in danger and destroying evidence arising from radiation overdoses given to nearly 450 cancer patients in a French hospital.

AFP – Two doctors and a radio physicist were due to go on trial Monday on manslaughter charges arising from radiation overdoses given to nearly 450 cancer patients in a French hospital. At least seven people died as a result of overdoses administered to patients at the Jean Monnet hospital in Epinal in northeastern France between 2001 and 2006.

At least 24 people treated between May 2004 and August 2005 received 20 percent more radiation than they should have due to a calibration error.

Another dysfunction led to 424 people being overdosed by between eight and 10 percent in the period spanning 2001 and 2006. Many of the victims were being treated for prostrate cancer.

Scores of victims are due to testify from Monday until October 31, some of them by video-link because they are too ill to attend court. The two doctors, Jean-Francois Sztermer, 64, Michel Aubertel, 62, and radio physicist Joshua Anah, 54, are accused of involuntary homicide, not helping people in danger and destroying evidence.

Three health executives are also in the dock on charges of not helping people in danger…..http://www.france24.com/en/20120925-french-trial-opens-cancer-radiation-scandal

September 25, 2012 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

France’s largest solar energy array built in just 6 months

France’s Biggest Rooftop Solar Array Using Hanwha Solar Panels by Energy Matters, 23 Sept 12 Hanwha Group has announced it delivered 7.7 MW of  solar modules for the largest rooftop installation in France.

A  Rion-des-Landes building designed for the cultivation of ginseng is now sporting 36,900 PV panels in total. The rooftop is massive, covering 9 hectares. The solar array is expected to generate 10,000,000 kilowatt hours annually, enough to supply the needs of 4,000 households.

Constructed  by Solvéo Energie, the project was finished in just 6 months.
“The cooperation with Hanwha Solar made the realization of this huge project possible,” said Jean-Marc Matéos, President of Solvéo Energie. “The professionalism and responsiveness of service that Hanwha Solar displayed during the process have significantly contributed to the successful construction.”

As well as commercial solar power installations; Hanwha SolarOne panels are also used in residential installs. Offering guaranteed power output, Hanwha SolarOne modules perform particularly well in low-light conditions..  http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3391

September 24, 2012 Posted by | France, renewable | Leave a comment

Closing Fessenheim nuclear plant will create jobs for French workers

Speaking on French television, Labor Minister Michel Sapin said the closure of Fessenheim would actually create jobs as it would take years of specialized work to dismantle the plant.

EDF denies seeking $2.6 billion for Fessenheim closure  (Reuters) Reporting by Vicky Buffery; editing by Anthony Barker, Hans-Juergen Peters, Gary Crosse 16 Sept 12,  – French power group EDF denied it had requested compensation from the government over its decision to close the state-controlled energy company’s Fessenheim nuclear power
plant. Continue reading →

September 17, 2012 Posted by | employment, France | Leave a comment

France to cut nuclear power, promote renewable energy

On nuclear power, Hollande said he wanted to close France’s oldest plant, Fessenheim, at the end of 2016, bringing the closure date forward by several months.

Hollande also confirmed his campaign pledge to cut the share of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix to 50 percent by 2025 from 75 percent at present.

France seeks more ambitious EU carbon cuts By Julien Ponthus and Muriel Boselli PARIS Sep 14, 2012  (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande on Friday called for deeper cuts in European Union carbon dioxide emissions as he sought to put the environment back at the top of the international
agenda…….

….NUCLEAR .The two-day environmental conference in Paris marked the launch of a review of the world’s most nuclear-dependent country’s energy policy, with a focus on the small and struggling renewable sector. Continue reading →

September 15, 2012 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

Explosion at oldest French nuclear plant http://www.beyondnuclear.org/france-whats-new/2012/9/11/explosion-at-oldest-french-nuclear-plant.html The oldest operating French nuclear power plant, at Fessenheim near the German border, suffered a chemical explosion on September 5 that sent 8 workers to the hospital, two of them with steam burns.

This was just the latest set-back for the French nuclear sector which is struggling to maintain a presence overseas but saw its Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) all but canceled at the Calvert Cliffs, MD site on August 30. Fessenheim sits on the banks of a river and on an active fault line and has been the object of consistent and large opposition
to its continued operation . At first alarm, it was believed a fire had broken out as 50 firefighters were dispatched to the site, operated by EDF. Later, it was described as a
chemical explosion that released “non-radioactive” steam.

The newly-elected French president, François Hollande, said he would shut the Fessenheim plant during his five-year term which most observers believe means at the end of it, in 2017. Furthermore, his energy minister, Dauphine Batho, has been quoted recently describing nuclear energy as “necessary” and the “energy of the future” causing a flurry
of critical and often derisory articles and commentaries in the French media.

September 15, 2012 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

More costs, more delays, for French nuclear plants, Flamanville, Olkiluoto

EDF forecasts further delays and increased costs at new French nuclear
plant http://www.hazardexonthenet.net/article/53114/EDF-forecasts-further-delays-and-increased-costs-at-new-French-nuclear-plant.aspx?AreaID=2 12 September 2012
Electricité de France (EDF) said in July that the new nuclear power station being built at the Flamanville site on the Normandy coast is now expected to open in 2016 and cost €6bn ($7.34bn), instead of the original starting date of 2012 and cost of €3.3bn. Continue reading →

September 14, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

France turning towards renewable energy

France seen turning to renewables in policy shake-up By Muriel Boselli PARIS Sep 13, 2012   (Reuters) – France’s government begins a review of the world’s mostnuclear-dependent country’s energy policy on Friday, strongly in support of its small and ailing renewables sector. Continue reading →

September 14, 2012 Posted by | France, renewable | Leave a comment

French losing faith in nuclear industry following latest incident

confidence is taking a further hit because on 5 September Electricite de France, denied reports of a fire at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant (NPP) in eastern France

Not quite what France’s BFM television reported,…that local authorities said the incident was “the beginning of a fire.”

 the “incident” at Fessenheim NPP in fact raises troubling issues about aging French NPPs.

French Nuclear “Incident” Raises Concerns By John Daly | Wed, 05 September 2012 In the 1960s, as the U.S. “Atoms for Peace” program got into full swing, promoting civilian nuclear electricity propagation, no European country bought into the concept more deeply than France.

Seduced by the concept of electricity “too cheap to measure,” France began developing a massive nuclear energy program with minimal public debate after the first oil crisis in 1974 and continued to support nuclear power even after the 1986 Soviet Chernobyl disaster.

The March 2011 debacle at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex heightened the French public’s concerns, but France abandoning nuclear power is an order of magnitude more difficult than neighbouring Germany. Continue reading →

September 6, 2012 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

Incident at France’s old Fessenheim nuclear power plant

Accident at France’s oldest nuclear plant. THE AUSTRALIAN, AFP ,September 06, 2012  A STEAM leak due to an accidental chemical reaction at France’s oldest nuclear plant led to two people being slightly burnt and renewed calls to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on atomic energy.

The accident occurred at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant in northeastern France within 1.5km of the border with Germany and about 40km from Switzerland.

“It was not a fire,” the local prefecture said, adding that oxygenated steam had escaped after hydrogen peroxide reacted with water in a reservoir.

About 50 firefighters were deployed, an official from the service said……

France is the world’s most nuclear-dependent country, operates 58 reactors and has been a leading international proponent of atomic energy.

But in a deal with the Greens before this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections, President Francois Hollande’s Socialist party promised to reduce reliance on nuclear energy from more than 75 percent to 50 per cent by shutting 24 reactors by 2025.

France’s reliance on nuclear power has been increasingly called into question since the Fukushima disaster in Japan, which prompted Germany to announce plans to shut all of its reactors by the end of 2022…..

 

France’s ecology ministry said there was no safety threat. Ecology Minister Delphine Batho termed it a “workplace accident” and promised that “a complete report on this incident will be made public.”

On stream since 1977, Fessenheim has two water reactors. It is built along a huge canal and draws water for cooling from the Rhine river.

Due to its location, it is considered vulnerable to seismic activity and flooding and is provisionally scheduled to close in 2017.

After the scare, former Green presidential candidate Noel Mamere said: “This incident proves that we must close Fessenheim as soon as possible,” adding that it would be better to spend “billions of euros” on developing renewable energy.  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/accident-at-frances-oldest-nuclear-plant/story-e6frg6so-1226466141232

September 6, 2012 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

EDF Delays Start Of Three Nuclear Plants: Current Halts Bloomberg, By Rachel Morison – Aug 14, 2012 Electricite de France SA, delayed the start of its Chooz B-2, Cruas-1 and Paluel-3 nuclear power plants, according to data on the website of
grid operator Reseau de Transport d’Electricite.
EDF gave start dates for its Chinon B-1, Fessenheim-2 and
Gravelines-1, RTE data show. The start date for Cruas-4 was removed
from RTE’s website.
The world’s biggest nuclear power plant operator has 37 reactors
online, representing 64 percent of available nuclear capacity, RTE
data show. That’s the lowest since June 20. EDF’s 58 atomic plants
generate about 78 percent of France’s
power….http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-14/edf-delays-start-of-three-nuclear-plants-current-halts-table-.html

August 15, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Veil of secrecy over France’s unaffordable nuclear power decommissioning

“What is not tolerable is that the funds are managed by the operators” 

Over the past six years there has been a veritable veil pulled over this subject.”

French Nuclear Dismantling Funds May Fall Short, Report Says http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-24/french-nuclear-dismantling-funds-may-fall-short-report-says.html By Tara Patel – Jul 24, 2012 Electricite de France SA and Areva SA (AREVA), along with other French nuclear operators, may not be setting aside enough funds to pay for future dismantling of reactors and treatment and storage of atomic waste, according to a parliamentary report. Continue reading →

July 25, 2012 Posted by | decommission reactor, France, Reference | Leave a comment

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