Companies

Global nuclear decommissioning cost seen underestimated, may spiral

Monday, January 19, 2015

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - German utility E.ON's breakup has led to worries that funds set aside for decommissioning reactors will not suffice, but globally the cost of unwinding nuclear is uncertain as estimates range widely.

As ageing first-generation reactors close, the true cost of decommissioning will be crucial for the future of the nuclear industry, already ailing following the 2011 Fukushima disaster and competition from cheap shale gas, falling oil prices and a flood of renewable energy from wind and solar.

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Signatures on engineer assessment of Turkey’s first nuclear plant forged: Report

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The signatures of two nuclear engineers who prepared the environmental impact assessment report (ÇED) for Turkey’s prospective nuclear plant in Akkuyu were forged, ahead of the final approval of the mandatory document to allow the facility’s construction, daily BirGün reported Jan. 12.

The plant is scheduled to be built in the southeastern Mediterranean district of Akkuyu.

According to the report, an expert analysis carried out upon the demand of the Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), which closely monitors legal procedures, has revealed that signatures were forged twice at different stages of the process.

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Finnish utility plans job cuts following nuclear reactor delay

Thursday, January 8, 2015

HELSINKI Jan 8 (Reuters) - Finnish nuclear power consortium Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) on Thursday said it is looking to cut up to 110 jobs, or 13 percent of its staff, due to lower power prices and soaring costs from its delayed Olkiluoto 3 reactor project.

The start of the reactor, planned to be Finland's fifth and biggest nuclear unit, has been delayed until late 2018, almost a decade later than originally planned.

"Electricity market price has dropped and there are no signs of improvement in the coming foreseeable future. In addition, costs related to nuclear power production have increased and the delay of Olkiluoto 3 project has caused remarkable additional costs," TVO chief executive Jarmo Tanhua said in a statement.

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UK accused of hypocrisy over plans to limit enforcement of EU climate goals

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

British lobbying to reduce monitoring of EU countries’ action on climate change has sparked outrage among MEPs and environmentalists.

EU states agreed last October to cut their carbon emissions 40% by 2030, but a UK plan co-authored with the Czech Republic proposes that countries’ emissions cuts should only be overseen with a ‘light touch’ regime with a diminished role for Brussels.

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Areva rethinks strategy after ditching targets

Thursday, November 20, 2014

PARIS (Reuters) - Areva must consider radical restructuring options after it abandoned financial targets in the face of continuing delays, writedowns and losses from its nuclear operations, analysts said, after the firm's shares plunged on Wednesday.

The state-owned group issued a third profit warning in four months, said it would review its funding options and dropped its 2015-16 financial targets, blaming delays to its Finnish Olkiluoto reactor, the slow restart of Japan's reactors and a lackluster nuclear market.

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Areva-Siemens raises claim to $4.4 billion over Finnish reactor delays

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

(Reuters) - The French-German consortium Areva-Siemens, the supplier of Finland's much-delayed Olkiluoto-3 nuclear reactor, has increased its claim against Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), TVO said late on Friday.

TVO and Areva have traded accusations about who is to blame for delays and extra costs, and the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) arbitration court is processing a dispute on cost overruns between the two sides.

Areva-Siemens in September said the start date of the reactor, which is planned to be Finland's fifth and biggest nuclear unit, will be pushed back to late 2018 - almost a decade later than originally planned.

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Chinese Company to Build Romania Nuclear Reactors

Monday, October 20, 2014

Nuclearelectrica, the company that runs Romania’s sole nuclear power plant, located in Cernavoda, has chosen China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) as its investor for the development of two new nuclear reactors.

The project is worth of some 6.5 billion euro, according to company sources.

The Chinese company was the only bidder in the tender procedure organised by Nuclearelectrica.

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France ousts pro-nuclear head of power group EDF

Thursday, October 16, 2014

President Francois Hollande ousted the pro-nuclear boss of France's main power utility EDF on Wednesday, replacing him with the head of defence electronics firm Thales a day after a new pro-renewables policy became law.

Outgoing Chairman and Chief Executive Henri Proglio had been seeking to renew a mandate that expires next month.

But his pro-nuclear views and status as a 2009 appointee of conservative former president Nicolas Sarkozy sat uncomfortably with the policy of Hollande's Socialist administration, which pushed through a new law on Wednesday that caps nuclear production at the current level.

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Urenco's owners set year-end deadline for indicative bids- sources

Saturday, October 11, 2014

(Reuters) - Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have asked prospective buyers for their jointly-owned nuclear fuel enrichment firm Urenco to submit indicative bids by year-end, sources familiar with the process said.

The governments, which each own a third of Urenco, have agreed to test the market's appetite for the world's second-largest nuclear fuel vendor before deciding whether to kick-start a privatisation process that could fetch up to 10 billion euros ($13 billion), said the sources.

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Hungary cuts off natural gas shipments to Ukraine

Monday, September 29, 2014

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary unexpectedly cut off natural gas shipments to Ukraine on Thursday, days after getting assurances from Russian supplier Gazprom that it would get enough deliveries to fill up its own gas storage facilities.

Hungary had been sending an estimated 3 million cubic meters of natural gas a day to Ukraine, which has not received any from Russia since June. But FGSZ, Hungary's gas transmission firm, said it suspended the flow to Ukraine indefinitely to ensure pipeline capacity for incoming deliveries as it builds its own reserves.

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