Green MEPs have urged the European commission to suspend EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes's responsibilities for nuclear issues following her remarks in support of the sector on Monday. In an open letter to commission president Jose Manuel Barroso the MEPs question the impartiality of her decisions and call for a re-evaluation of the recent EU approval of French aid to a new Finnish reactor. A spokesman for Ms Kroes told ENDS the call was "ludicrous", arguing that all decisions
are taken on competition grounds.
Areva
MEPs urge suspension of Kroes's nuclear remit
Monday, October 8, 2007TVO says won't share nuclear reactor cost overruns with Areva
Friday, September 28, 2007HELSINKI (Thomson Financial, AFX News Limited) - Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) reiterated that it has no intention of sharing the costs resulting from delays in the construction of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor with the plant's supplier Areva.'We have not agreed to share costs. We've got a fixed price with a fixed delivery time. We've made our view clear to the plant's supplier,' chief executive Pertti Simola told Finnish business paper Kauppalehti.
Renewables group questions EC neutrality on nuclear power
Thursday, September 27, 2007Brussels (Platts) - 26 Sep 2007
A renewable energy group said it was "deeply worried" about the neutrality of the European Commission when it comes to nuclear power. The European Renewable Energies Federation, or EREF, was reacting September 26 to a September 25 EC decision. The EC decision was that there was no illegal state aid involved in the 570-million-euro (US$805 million) export credit guarantee from French export credit agency Coface to French nuclear vendor Areva for the Olkiluoto-3 reactor under construction in Finland.
France begins 'strategic reflection' on future of nuclear sector, presidential spokesman says
Thursday, September 13, 2007 Posted in | »EUR 3 billion price tag for construction delay on new reactor at Finland’s Olkiluoto NPP
Wednesday, September 12, 2007ST. PETERSBURG - According to the Elfii consortium of large Finnish electricity users, a construction delay in an experimental new reactor design at Olkiluoto NPP will cost Nordic electricity users EUR 3 billion, the Finnish business daily Kauppalehti reported. Birthe Weijola, 12/09-2007 Elfi director Antti Koskelainen is quoted saying that the cost of the delay is comparable to the investment cost for the whole reactor.
French nuclear vendor Areva says UK nuclear relaunch 'essential'
Tuesday, September 11, 2007French nuclear vendor Areva says UK nuclear relaunch 'essential'
London (Platts)--6 Sep 2007
French nuclear vendor Areva NP says that the revival of a nuclear power program in the UK is "absolutely essential."
CEO Luc Oursel, speaking at a conference in London Thursday, said that the UK would be the first in Europe to relaunch on a large scale a nuclear power effort. Therefore, he said, it has to be successful.
Success in the UK could lead other European countries planning to exit nuclear power to reconsider their plans.
Finnish plant demonstrates nuclear power industry's perennial problems
Tuesday, September 11, 2007By Alan Katz, Bloomberg News, September 6, 2007
Martin Landtman hunched forward in his shirtsleeves as a June storm on Finland's Baltic coast drenched the construction site of the world's most powerful nuclear reactor. As project manager for TVO, the joint venture buying the plant, Landtman has weathered far worse annoyances than rain.
Flawed welds for the reactor's steel liner, unusable coolant pipes and suspect concrete in the foundation already have pushed back the delivery date of the Olkiluoto-3 unit by at least two years.
Hundreds march in Niger against French nuclear firm
Saturday, September 8, 200708/09/2007 : Reuters Africa
Hundreds march in Niger against French nuclear firm
Hundreds march in Niger against French nuclear firm
Sat 8 Sep 2007, 13:00 GMT
NIAMEY, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people in Niger marched on Saturday to demand the departure of French nuclear giant Areva, which they accuse of backing a rebellion in the uranium-rich north of the former French colony.
The Tuareg-led Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ) has killed at least 45 government soldiers and taken dozens hostage since launching a campaign in February to demand more development for the region around t
Areva's ownership structure debated in France
Monday, September 3, 2007Paris (Platts)--31Aug2007
Areva's ownership structure is being debated in France, following a
statement August 30 by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that France's nuclear
enterprises must be "given the resources to develop."
On August 31, Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon said that "Areva's development
needs major resources, [and] a change in capital [equity structure] appears
the best solution." She added, during a conference call with journalists and
analysts, that Areva's future is up to the government, its majority
shareholder.
Areva 2006 profits slide on Finland provisions
Thursday, March 22, 2007Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:30pm EDT
PARIS, March 22 (Reuters) - Areva, the world's biggest maker of nuclear reactors, posted a 38 percent drop in 2006 net profit on Thursday, hurt by a divestment and provisions linked to delays in a power plant project in Finland.
