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AREVA’s nuclear sales losses partly offset by renewable energy profits

Areva Reports Fall In 2011 Revenue On Nuclear Concerns  –Areva reported full year revenue hit by the effects of Fukushima on the nuclear industry –   WSJ By Nadya Masidlover   26 Jan 12,  PARIS (Dow Jones)–French state-controlled nuclear engineering firm Areva SA   Thursday reported 2011 consolidated revenue down 2.6%, as nuclear operations were hit by growing concern on atomic energy following the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011.

The company said that revenue fell to EUR8.87 billion from EUR9.1 billion a year earlier, below analysts’ expectations of EUR8.99 billion.

Areva posted a full-year revenue down 1.2% on a like-for-like basis however revenue in the fourth quarter was stable at EUR2.92 billion, falling 0.5% on a like-for-like basis…. The company said that a decrease in nuclear operations revenue was partly offset by growth in renewable energies business which rose 98.2% to EUR297 million.

January 27, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France, renewable | Leave a comment

EDF’s nuclear plans for Britain are fraught with problems

No easy ride for EDF’s plans for new nuclear, Greenpeace by Richardg – 25 January 2012  Despite the growing shift of support away from nuclear energy in Europe, EDF is stubbornly pushing forward plans to build a new nuclear reactor in the UK, without sufficient consideration for all the relevant risks…..  the French state-owned company EDF Energy is trying to build a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

EDF applied for planning permission in late October, less than three weeks after Britain’s nuclear watchdog – the Office of Nuclear Regulation – published a long list of improvementsneeded to protect Britain’s nuclear reactors. Given the scale of the recommendatons in the list, it is not possible for EDF to have incorporated all those improvements into its proposals in just three weeks. Lessons are still being learned following Fukushima (such as ‘don’t delete the minutes of the disaster response meetings’). EDF’s rush to apply for planning permission betrays their cavalier attitude and suggests they can’t have fully considered the implications of the Fukushima disaster.

We are seriously concerned that the flood defences, the emergency response plans and other vital safety features (such as a secure supply of off-site electricity during an emergency) aren’t fit for purpose. There’s a distinctly slap-dash feel to the application: as though EDF were more concerned with keeping the wheels on their nuclear gravy train than with making sure their plans stood up to scrutiny.

We’re not the only ones with concerns about the proposals. EDF’s planning application is also facing fierce opposition from local campaign groups, nuclear experts and Members of Parliament. Local councils have made their own representations, pointing out problems withtraffic levels, waste storage and the impact on tourism.

With 1,200 people registering to comment on their ill-thought out proposals, EDF shouldn’t expect an easy ride. We’ll keep you posted. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/no-easy-ride-edfs-plans-new-nuclear-20120125

January 27, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear company AREVA sales fell in 2011

Areva sales slip as mining cushions Fukushima blow Jan 26 (Reuters) – French nuclear group Areva posted a 2.6 percent fall in 2011 sales as strength in its mining unit helped cushion declines in its core reactor businesses as it restructured following the nuclear disaster in Japan.

Revenues at the world’s biggest maker of nuclear reactors, which in December disclosed a massive write-down tied to three of its African mines, reached 8.87 billion euros ($11.67 billion), with the reactors and services unit showing a 3.6 percent drop…. Since the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima power plant in March, order cancellations have been 464 million euros.

Reactors and services, which designs and builds nuclear reactors and is Areva’s biggest division, saw revenues slide to 3.26 billion euros as fewer engineering studies were undertaken in the United States.

Areva has been grappling with construction delays at two of its new-generation EPR reactors, while the Fukushima crisis has sparked a global debate about the future of nuclear power and led some governments to review their energy mix.

On top of that, Areva, the world’s biggest uranium mining producer, is bogged down by the $2.5 billion acquisition of Canada’s UraMin in 2007 and allegations of spying on the long-serving Lauvergeon.

Despite the dark cloud of Uramin, Areva’s mining unit had the most robust sales growth of any unit aside from its much smaller renewable energy business, which nearly doubled

January 27, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

France’s General Assembly likely to block the return of Pacific atolls to indigenous people

FRANCE EXPECTED TO BLOCK RETURN OF NUCLEAR ATOLLS , Pacific Islands Report Test veterans concerned about condition of sites WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Jan.20, 2012) – French Polynesia’s nuclear test veterans organisation says it expects France’s centre-right majority in the National Assembly to block a bill seeking the return of the nuclear weapons tests sites to French Polynesia.

The leftist majority in the French senate approved the bill by Richard Tuheiava who wants Paris to return Moruroa and Fangataufa in 2014 in line with an undertaking that France would only keep the atolls for the duration of the tests.

However, the French government claims confidential defence issues remain.

The head of Moruroa e tatou veterans group, Roland Oldham, says this prevents an independent assessment of the atolls which are feared to collapse with the release of radioactive plutonium.

“For Moruroa e tatou it is very important. In fact right now Moruroa and Fangataufa are forbidden places for the public; it is a military place. And because it is a military place we don’t have much information about the situation of Moruroa.”

[PIR editor’s note: Veterans groups are also concerned that France does not allow independent inspectors to visit the atolls.]

Roland Oldham says he expects the ruling UMP to block the bill once it gets to the French National Assembly. Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.comhttp://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2012/January/01-23-15.htm

January 24, 2012 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

France in bind over the soaring cost of nuclear safety

Given voter concern over the dangers of nuclear energy, the French government can
do little but enforce new nuclear safety regulations and other governments across the world will also need to follow suit…...

Europe’s reliance on nuclear energy a costly obstacle to green power The National Tony Glover, 14 Jan 12,  Summary Eco-money France’s €10bn bill is a stark warning to those countries now debating whether to opt for traditional or sustainable sources of power.

A decision by France to spend billions of euros making its vast network of ageing reactors safe is once again making environmentalists question the future of nuclear energy.

“This is more evidence that nuclear energy is commercially, as well as environmentally, unviable in the long term. Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

Higher incidence of child leukaemia near nuclear plants

French nuclear plants double child leukemia – study  TVNZ January 12, 2012 Source: Reuters  The incidence of leukaemia is twice as high in children living close to French nuclear power plants as in those living elsewhere in the country, a study by French health and nuclear safety experts has found.

But the study, to be published soon in the International Journal of Cancer, fell short of establishing a causal link between the higher incidence of leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, and living near nuclear power plants.. Continue reading →

January 12, 2012 Posted by | France, health | Leave a comment

France turning against nuclear energy, as its costs soar

to fulfill its safety recommendations will cost over $13 billion, no small sum considering French operators were already planning to spend $52 billion over the next three decades to consolidate or upgrade existing infrastructure. As always when adversity hits business in the pocketbook, the final cost will be passed all the way down to the French consumer’s monthly electricity bill—

 62% of French respondents supporting a gradual phasing out of nuclear power—over 20 to 30 years—and 15% calling for a rapid halt. 

The Fukushima Effect: France Starts to Turn Against Its Much Vaunted Nuclear Industry TIME, By BRUCE CRUMLEY | January 4, 2012 “……..The recent French introspection about the merits of nuclear power is posing some serious questions about the nation’s energy independence, industrial future, and role as one of the world’s biggest business proponents of civil nuclear technology.

The newest development in France’s post-Fukushima mulling came Tuesday, when the country’s independent watchdog agency delivered a government-commissioned audit of the nation’s 58 nuclear power plants, calling for significant safety upgrades. Continue reading →

January 5, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Nuclear company AREVA failing in nuclear and uranium sales

Tough times for French nuclear giant Areva, Daily Press, Virginia, 27 Dec 11 These are difficult days for French nuclear giant Areva. The company announced earlier this month it would shed 1,500 jobs in Germany and suspend a controversial nuclear enrichment plant project in Idaho. It is trying to offset losses this year that could exceed $2 billion, the Associated Press reported.

Areva partnered with Newport News Shipbuilding to build a $363 million plant that would manufacture nuclear power plant components. Located off Huntington Avenue in Newport News, the plant is stalled indefinitely due to a lack of new nuclear projects in the U.S.

Another pertinent detail about Areva: the company said its earnings could be hurt by the drop in new reactors being built worldwide — fallout from the nuclear disaster in Japan. The company said this will also depress the price of uranium….. http://www.dailypress.com/news/science/dead-rise-blog/dp-tough-times-for-french-nuclear-giant-areva-20111227,0,2218239.story?track=rss

December 28, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France | 1 Comment

AREVA in trouble, and who will buy their nuclear reactors?

French nuclear energy Under pressure France wants to export nuclear reactors. Who will buy them? The Economist Dec 17th 2011 | PARIS On December 12th Areva, France’s
state-owned nuclear champion, said it would take a €2.4 billion ($3.1 billion) charge against profits. This will give the firm its first ever operating loss, of perhaps €1.6 billion for 2011.

That hurts. Areva is the world’s only one-stop nuclear shop, selling everything from uranium to fuel recycling. Continue reading →

December 16, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Shrinking nuclear and uranium markets add to AREVA’s woes

The company has lost contracts worth hundreds of millions of euros….The company says its earnings will be
hit by a reduction in the number of new reactors being built, which will also depress the price of uranium…

.. the market is now shrinking. Areva said it expects to make an operating loss of between 1.4 and 1.6 billion euros (1.9 and 2.1 billion dollars) in 2011 mainly due to the depreciation of African mining assets…..

 all activities in Namibia are to be suspended….

Fukushima hits French nuclear giant hard, Monsters and Critics, By Ralf E Krueger Dec 13, 2011“……….Areva’s new chief executive Luc Oursel  announced the suspension of a planned nuclear enrichment plant project in Idaho in the United States, as well as several projects in Africa. Areva has also suspended plans to expand capacity at its reprocessing plant in La Hague, northern France. Continue reading →

December 14, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France, Uranium | Leave a comment

Security breaches, costs, politics – France’s nuclear industry in trouble

activists remained inside the Cruas site for 14 hours before being caught

Electricite de France (EDF) shares have slumped (EDF) 37 percent since the Fukushima disaster, on concern about the amount of investment needed to keep French reactors running safely in the coming years. 

At the same time, the opposition Socialist and Green parties are campaigning to close 24 reactors by 2025 to cut dependence on atomic power.

France’s Biggest Nuclear Breach Raises Alarm as Support for Reactors Wanes Bloomberg By Tara Patel – Dec 13, 2011 Just after 6 a.m. on Dec. 5,under cover of darkness, nine Greenpeace  activists cut through a fence at the Nogent-sur-Seine atomic plant 95 kilometers (59 miles) southeast of Paris and headed for a domed reactor building.
They scaled the roof and unfurled a “Safe Nuclear Doesn’t Exist” banner before attracting the attention of security guards. Two remained at large for four hours.

On the same day, two more campaigners breached the perimeter of the Cruas-Meysse plant on the Rhone, escaping detection for more than 14 hours while posting videos of their sit-in on the Internet. Continue reading →

December 14, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France, safety | Leave a comment

France’s nuclear corporation AREVA facing big losses

Areva was already facing problems before that incident. Its Olkiluoto nuclear project in Finland was delayed and uranium mines it bought in 2007 were performing below expectations.

The Socialist presidential candidate has promised to shut almost half os France’s nuclear reactors if he is elected. Last week demonstrators protested outside Areva’s headquarters in Paris ahead of this week’s meeting.

France nuclear giant to announce big loss – minister France’s state-owned nuclear reactor maker Areva is set to announce large losses, the French industry minister says.BBC News 11 December 2011 In an interview with a radio station, Eric Besson said: “I can confirm that Areva will announce losses. In all likelihood they will be big.”  Continue reading →

December 12, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

The good ole nuclear industry remains optimistic

Security breaches, radiation leaks, disasters; Nothing worries the nuclear industry, Greenpeace,  by Justin McKeating – December 5, 2011  One of the many odd qualities of the nuclear industry is its seemingly boundless optimism: “everything’s going to be just fine, folks.”
Apparently, there’s no need to worry about terrorists attacking nuclear reactors. Which is why Greenpeace campaigners could peacefully walk into three French nuclear power plants  – Nogent-sur-Seine, Chinon and Blayais – this morning without being challenged by any
security measures whatsoever should be absolutely no cause for alarm, according to the authorities.

Our team that entered the Nogent-sur-Seine power plant, just 95 kilometres from Paris, were even able to scale the dome of one of the reactors and paint a pretty picture on it.
EDF, the operator of these three plants, happily announced that Greenpeace’s visit to Nogent-sur-Seine “had no impact on the safety of the plant, or the safety of employees at the site.” Of course not: Greenpeace aren’t terrorists.

Would EDF be so positive if terrorists had come calling today? With the nuclear industry able to see the good in everything, we can say: yes, probably. Everything’s going to be
just fine, folks.
Another example of boundless optimism in the nuclear industry is the recent stress tests conducted by European Union countries on their nuclear reactors in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.
Supposedly designed to identify safety concerns at the reactors, most operators felt there was no need to test the vulnerability of reactors to being struck by a large aircraft or to review evacuation plans in the event of an accident. And why would there be? It’s not as if
anybody has ever flown large aircraft into buildings or people have had to be evacuated from a nuclear disaster.
We’re seeing much the same attitude right now with the Fukushima nuclear disaster site in Japan. Continue reading →

December 6, 2011 Posted by | France, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Anti nuclear activists break into two French nuclear power plants

Greenpeace said the incidents proved the sites aren’t safe. “With this nonviolent action, Greenpeace shows that French nuclear installations are vulnerable,” Greenpeace France activist Sophia Majnoni d’Intignano said. “It’s the patent proof that existing security systems aren’t sufficient.”…..
The opposition Green party, which wants France to completely exit nuclear power, said the incident proved again that nuclear energy was inherently unsafe.

Activists Enter French Nuclear Facilities WSJ, By GÉRALDINE AMIEL And INTI LANDAURO, 5 Dec 11   PARIS—French police on Monday arrested eleven activists with environmental group Greenpeace who broke into two French nuclear-power plants in an attempt to raise questions about reactor security.

Nine people broke into the compound of the Nogent-sur-Seine nuclear plant, south of Paris, at about 6 a.m. on Monday. Two of the protesters climbed onto the roof of one the two reactors before they were apprehended by police, said the plant’s owner, state-controlled power behemoth Électricité de France SA. All nine were arrested.

Late Monday, the police arrested two men who had hidden all day at EDF’s Cruas plant, in southern France, EDF said. Continue reading →

December 6, 2011 Posted by | France, opposition to nuclear, safety | Leave a comment

A warning from credit rating agency on doubtful future for France’s nuclear industry

In our view, the pact could have significant adverse credit implications for both EDF and AREVA over the longer term.

TEXT-S&P comments on French Green-Socialist Electoral Pact, Reuters Nov 28- The French Green and Socialist parties’ announced an electoral pact to reduce France’s dependence on nuclear power on Nov. 15, 2011.

Based on its reading of the pact, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services understands that:– 24 out the 58 nuclear reactors operated by Electricite de France S.A. (EDF; AA-/Stable/A-1+) in France would close by 2025, of which two reactors in Fessenheim would be immediately shut down. The pact aims to reduce France’s dependence on nuclear power to 50% from 75% currently.

– No new nuclear projects would be initiated. Continue reading →

November 30, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France, politics | Leave a comment

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