With nuclear power plans, France gets control of UK energy policy
UK nuclear plans ‘put energy in French hands’, BBC News, 13 March 12, By Richard Black, BBC News Government plans for nuclear power risk handing control of the UK’s climate and energy policies to France, according to four senior environmentalists,
Energy giant EDF and reactor builder Areva, big players in the UK’s plans, are largely French government-owned. Continue reading
More woes for AREVA- the nuclear company faces legal problems
Areva could face competition inquiry if it wins UK nuclear power contract, Rival argues French state-owner company would have monopoly if chosen to build Wylfa reactor on Anglesey Dan Milmo, guardian.co.uk, 4 March 2012 Areva, the French state-owned nuclear power group, faces the threat of a competition investigation by the European commission if it wins a hotly-contested contract to build UK reactors.
Detailed legal documents drafted by a competitor and seen by the Guardian state that Areva will secure a market monopoly which should trigger a sector inquiry if the company wins the contest to build a reactor at the Wylfa site on Anglesey. Horizon, the British nuclear joint venture owned by the German power groups E.ON and RWE, is also planning a reactor for Oldbury in Gloucestershire…. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/04/areva-competition-inquiry-nuclear-reactors?newsfeed=true
One stop nuclear shop AREVA suffering, as nuclear industry declines
Areva, which has been designed as a one-stop nuclear shop, has been affected by massive impairments on its uranium assets and a slowdown of the nuclear industry following Japan’s Fukushima disaster
Areva Accelerates Disposals By GERALDINE AMIEL, WSJ, March 2, 2012, PARIS—French state-controlled nuclear energy company Areva SA announced two asset disposals as part of a plan to boost competitiveness and better position it to face a slowing civil atomic industry, one year after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear catastrophe. Continue reading
New nukes for UK – a desperate effort to save France’s nuclear industry?
the world is experiencing a ‘glut’ of gas according to the IEA
it is now looking increasingly likely that there will be no new nuclear power stations in Britain
The decision on whether or not new nuclear is actually built in Britain will be taken in Paris, not London. And very possibly by a new French President less in thrall to the nuclear industry.
No More Nukes?, (UK) February 17, 2012 by tomburke It is just David Cameron’s bad luck to have chosen to back a nuclear future for Britain at a moment when it is becoming increasingly unlikely that it will happen. And it is entirely appropriate that he should find himself doing so in Paris since that is where the fate of DECC’s nuclear policy will be determined.
The idea of replacing Britain’s aging AGRs with Areva’s EPR was always inspired by a French government seeking to close an emerging decades long gap in domestic nuclear orders. The justification for British homeowners and businesses being forced to pay for a French industrial policy was a supposed electricity generation gap.
Without French nuclear power stations, Britons would be freezing in the dark by 2015 according to energy ministers. This was always nonsense but has been made totally ridiculous by several recent developments. Continue reading
Spies and dodgy deals at France’s nuclear power giant AREVA
Anne Lauvergeon, former boss of AREVA, claims that the spying scandal is part of a long-running plot against her, orchestrated by a small group of people who oversee France’s nuclear-energy industry
Nuclear energy in France Fallout A tale of spies, uranium and bad management, The Economist Feb 18th 2012 | PARIS FANS of the cock-up theory of events got a boost
this week when Areva, a French nuclear-energy one-stop shop, said there had been no fraud in its disastrous purchase of UraMin, a Canadian start-up firm with mining assets in Namibia, the Central African Republic and South Africa, in 2007 for $2.5 billion. The acquisition had simply been badly managed, it said, leading Areva to overpay. Last December the company took a €1.46 billion ($2 billion) charge against the acquisition, resulting in a huge operating loss for 2011.
Areva had suspected a plot. It ordered an external study of the UraMin deal in 2010, which suggested dodgy goings-on. Then in 2011 it hired a Swiss private-detective agency, Alp Services, to investigate the circumstances of the transaction. Anne Lauvergeon, Areva’s boss at the time and France’s most prominent businesswoman, was not informed of the probe.
Last month she announced that her husband had been spied on by Alp Services, and on February 8th began a legal complaint against unidentified people… Continue reading
Huge expense to extend life of France’s nuclear reactors, but cheaper than new ones
France to extend life of nuclear reactors beyond 40 years, M & C, Feb 12, 2012, Paris – French President Nicolas Sarkozy has decided to extend the life of the country’s 58 nuclear reactors beyond 40 years, Industry Minister Eric Besson said Sunday. France’s nuclear reactors were built with a 40-year life span in mind, but the nuclear safety authority can decide, on a case-by-case basis, to extend the life of a reactor.
‘The decision has been taken,’ Besson said, while acknowledging that the ASN had the final say….
.. EDF says to extend the life of a reactor would cost between 680 million euros (896 million dollars) and 860 million euros, a fraction of the cost of building a new reactor.
France gets three-quarters of its electricity from nuclear plants. A number of European countries, including Germany, pulled the plug on nuclear power in the wake of last year’s nuclear disaster in Japan but Sarkozy remains a staunch champion of atomic energy..
…. The role of nuclear power in the energy mix is a subject of debate in this year’s
presidential campaign. Sarkozy’s main challenger, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, has
pledged to reduce the share of nuclear in the energy mix to 50 per cent by 2025….
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/news/article_1690615.php/France-to-extend-life-of-nuclear-reactors-beyond-40-years
France in financial problem, with all its energy eggs in the nuclear basket
presidential contender Holland now says that he would only close the nation’s oldest such nuclear plant in his first five years in office……
Critics say that the billions it will cost to make such [necessary safety] upgrades is money that could otherwise be spent developing the country’s green energy program.
French Nuclear Debate Ignites Amidst Presidential Race, Forbes, 2/08/2012 Japan’s nuclear tragedy is igniting a debate in France , which generates more than three-quarters of its electricity from nuclear energy. And while that nation’s presidential candidates are squaring off on the issue, an independent audit agency there may have settled the dispute for them. Continue reading
Level 2 nuclear incidents in France
France declares level 2 nuclear event at Cattenom Feb 6, 2012
* Reactors not shut down after the fault was found
* EDF given 10 days on Jan. 24 to make repairs
* There were four level two events in 2011
PARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) – France’s nuclear safety authority (ASN) said on Monday it had identified a problem with water pipes at one of EDF’s nuclear plants and rated it a level two event out of a maximum seven on the international nuclear event scale (INES).
Level two ratings occur relatively rarely, but the watchdog said there was no impact on plant workers or the environment from the event. In 2011, the ASN gave four incidents a level two rating. Japan’s Fukushima disaster was rated a level seven event.
Pipes used to pump water into fuel rod cooling pools at reactors 2 and 3 at EDF’s Cattenom nuclear plant were not equipped with a mechanism to prevent them from accidentally pumping water out of the basins.
In case water levels fall in rod cooling pools, the exposed fuel would heat up and release dangerous radioactive material. “Due to the potential consequences, this event was placed on a level 2 of the INES scale,” the watchdog said in a statement….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/06/france-nuclear-ines-idUSL5E8D63C120120206
Nuclear reactors and childhood leukaemia
French researchers have confirmed that childhood leukaemia rates are shockingly elevated among children living near nuclear power reactors.Independent Australiahttp://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/health/study-shows-childhood-leukemia-spikes-around-french-nuclear-reactors/ John LaForge from Truthout reports. The ‘International Journal of Cancer’ has published in January a scientific study establishing a clear correlation between the frequency of acute childhood leukaemia and proximity to nuclear power stations. Continue reading
France, no new nuclear reactors, and can’t afford to shut down existing ones
France must extend nuclear reactor lifespans-audit Jan 31, 2012 Some 22 nuclear reactors will reach 40 years old by 2022
* EDF wants to extend reactors lifespan to 60 years
* Heavy investments needed in short, medium term
PARIS, Jan 31 (Reuters) – France has no option but to extend the lifespan of existing nuclear plants, because any investments in new nuclear capacity or an increase in its reliance on other forms of energy would be too costly and come too late, the French Court of Audit said.
The French independent government body, which is charged with conducting financial and legislative audits, said in a report that a lack of investment decisions to build new reactors meant there were few choices left. Continue reading
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.
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
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
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
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
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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