France’s nuclear socialism – a nightmare, not a miracle
Unlike computers, solar panels, wind turbines and most other high tech projects, nuclear power plants and projects don’t go down in price over time. Instead, the costs escalate, and that’s a recipe for a disaster,
Time to End Nuclear Socialism, Says New Study, Greentech Media, 10 Sept 10, A nuclear plant will cost $7,000 to $10,000 per kilowatt, says Mark Cooper of the University of Vermont. That’s more than wind, solar, storage and other renewables—and the price tag will continue to climb. It shouldn’t be called the French Nuclear Miracle, says Mark Cooper. It’s more like a recurring nightmare. Continue reading
Germany, India, France, getting uncomfortable for the nuclear industry
Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs
The nuclear resuscitation could be falling apart faster than anticipated.
India has been the big hope for USA’s struggling nuclear salesman, Westinghouse and others. But its new Liability Bill does not give them the certainty from financial accountability – they wanted to never have to pay up, (just like Union Carbide didn’t have to pay up for the Bhopal gas disaster). They might have to pull out!
Germany – Angela Merkel’s government is on the line, as opposition grows within and without Germany, to the continuance of their old nuclear reactors. And the nuclear lobby so desperately wants to stomp on Germany’s success with renewable energy!
France – well, Areva’s and EDF’s the much touted new gee whiz nuclear reactors in Finland and France are becoming an embarrassment with their delays and soaring costs, and the UK is not too keen on their product either. And France was the poster boy for nuclear!
Spiralling costs threaten nuclear industry – France, UK, Bulgaria
New Warnings About Costs of Nuclear Power in Bulgaria and Britain – NYTimes.com August 31, 2010, By JAMES KANTER As anticipation grows about a possible renaissance for the nuclear power industry — and about its potential for curbing greenhouse gas emissions — some politicians are stepping up warnings about the high cost of such projects. Continue reading
More delays, more costs, with AREVA’s new reactor in France
EDF was asked for modifications of the control platform on the reactor, which is delayed and will cost more than expected.
French Nuclear Watchdog Says EDF Has Problems With Flamanville EPR Liner – Bloomberg, By Tara Patel – Aug 30, 2010 Electricite de France SA, Europe’s biggest power producer, experienced renewed problems with welding quality at the EPR nuclear reactor being built in Normandy, according France’s nuclear safety agency. Continue reading
Way behind schedule – UK’s planned nuclear reactors
the companies behind the designs – French consortium Areva, EDF and US firm Westinghouse – had been repeatedly submitting information which was incomplete and late………we could be faced with the farcical situation where the government is letting utilities press ahead with building work for reactors that haven’t been given safety approval.”
UK’s nuclear reactor programme falls behind schedule. Regulator and builders blame each other for construction hold-up as designs await approval Tim Webb , guardian.co.uk, , 25 August 2010 Continue reading
UK’s French built nuclear plants to cost $9 billion
EDF, RWE May Spend $9.3 Billion Per New Nuclear Plant in U.K., Hendry SaysBy Fred Pals and Kari Lundgren – Aug 26, 2010 Utilities building new nuclear power plants in the U.K. may have to spend as much as 6 billion pounds ($9.3 billion) on each plant, according to Charles Hendry, the country’s minister of state for energy…………
EDF, RWE May Spend $9.3 Billion Per New Nuclear Plant in U.K., Hendry Says – Bloomberg
France shows the way to nuclear financial meltdown
Last week, AREVA posted a massive operating loss of 485 million euros for the first half of 2010…..Electricite de France (EDF) finds itself in a similar predicament. In the first half of 2010, the company saw its profits slashed by almost half.
France leads the way in the nuclear debacle Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – August 2, 2010 If you want to know why the so-called nuclear ‘renaissance’ is never going to happen, you need only look at the news that’s been coming out of France in the last few days. Continue reading
French nuclear firm EDF’s financial woes
“The U.S. provision is bad news,”…… Results were also hurt by “poor availability” of nuclear reactors in France and the U.K……EDF has expanded in Europe, China and the U.S., driving up debt,
EDF Net Income Tumbles 47% After Outlook Dims for Nuclear Project in U.S. – Bloomberg, By Tara Patel – Jul 30, 2010 Electricite de France SA, Europe’s biggest power generator, reported a 47 percent drop in first- half profit on a charge linked to the development of a nuclear reactor in the U.S. and the outlook for low power prices there. Continue reading
Nuclear ‘renaissance’ could end in a welcome nuclear abortion
Even with government support, the Maryland project could be shelved….For investors, the collapse of both projects could come as welcome news because of the high costs, myriad of uncertainties and lengthy development schedule.
Constellation To Reduce Spending On Nuclear Project , WSJ.com, By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswire28 July 2010, Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) will reduce spending on a new reactor planned for a nuclear-power plant in Maryland as its bid for a federal loan guarantee for the multibillion-dollar project drags on. Continue reading
Safety problems add to costs, overruns, in AREVA’s new nuclear plants
Areva, the state-controlled French nuclear engineering company, is already battling construction delays and cost overruns at both Flamanville and Olkiluoto, in Finland, where it is building the first of its EPR plants.
Safety Fears Raised at French Reactor, NYTimes.com, By PATRICIA BRETT July 26, 2010, PARIS — Anti-nuclear activists are seeking to halt construction of France’s latest-generation nuclear power plant at Flamanville, on the Normandy coast, arguing that changes introduced to solve problems with the reactor’s fuel pellet cladding have invalidated the plant’s original building permit. Continue reading
Control rods, cladding, MOX fuel – unsafety of AREVA’s new nuclear reactors
EDF engineers had concluded by 2007 that the entire core of the reactor should be reconfigured.
Safety Fears Raised at French Reactor, NYTimes.com, By PATRICIA BRETT July 26, 2010 “……….among the leaked documents, one dated February 2007 — just before the construction of the Flamanville plant was approved — reported that technical studies by EDF had shown that the EPR’s original core design had failed to meet safety criteria for a control rod ejection accident at high power Continue reading
France admits to Tritium health risks from nuclear facilities
Tritium – Government nuclear authority admits tritium health risks could be underestimated, Beyond Nuclear, 24 July 2010, – The risks of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, could be underestimated because it could bind to DNA, recognizes the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) in a recent white paper. In light of this possibility, the ASN wants new investigation into hereditary effects from tritium exposure, better monitoring and more restriction of tritium releases from nuclear facilities. Reported in Le Monde.
USA taxpayer liable for costs of French owned new reactor
Paris-based Areva would provide the reactor technology. Electricite de France and Areva are 85 percent owned by the French government…..“To build the plant with the loan guarantee in today’s power market would be an assurance the taxpayers would get stuck with part of the loan obligation,”
(USA) Maryland nuclear reactor raises foreign ownership concerns, Washington Examiner, By: Hayley PetersonExaminer StaffJuly 12, 2010 “……….. the project at Calvert Cliffs faces many hurdles.
Nuclear energy opponents are challenging the reactor’s licensing qualifications with charges that the amount of foreign ownership violates the Atomic Energy Act — which bars nuclear projects with “foreign ownership, control or domination.” Continue reading
Nuclear resuscitation is struggling in France, Finland, England
Generation III nuclear reactors: late again, Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – June 25, 2010T he continuing and farcical story of the state of the art European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) being built by AREVA at Olkiluoto in Finland. The many, many diverse delays incompetence in the project have led to it being (at the time of writing) four years behind schedule and 2.3 billion euros over-budget. Continue reading
British govt axes nuclear industry loan – a blow to the industry
The announcement is a blow both to the company and the nuclear sector
UK Axes GBP80 Mln Sheffield Nuclear Industry Loan – WSJ.comBy Selina Williams Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones) 17 June 2010, –The U.K. government Thursday axed an GBP80 million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd. for equipment to make the large forgings for nuclear power stations as part of broader spending cuts. Continue reading
1 This Month.
Let’s keep radioactive waste away from our river!
Nuclear Power? -Never again
(Switzerland –https://www.greenpeace.ch/de/handeln/atomkraft-nie-wieder/+)
PETITION – Close Down the Monticello Nuclear Reactor on the Mississippi River!
Now until to February 10, 2026 Radioactive waste storage in France: the debate is finally open! How to participate?
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