By Sami Torma
HELSINKI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Finland is pressing ahead with construction of its fifth nuclear reactor but the plant has faced long delays and seems unlikely to herald a quick revival of Europe's atomic industry.
Construction of the reactor -- one of only two major atomic projects underway in largely nuclear-sceptical Western Europe -- was originally scheduled to start in 2009 but construction delays and rising costs have now pushed that back to 2011.
British Energy has said that it would extend the lives of Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B nuclear power stations by five years to 2016.
The two sites, which are currently running at around 60% capacity due to boiler issues, began generating power in 1976.
Further studies will be conducted by 2013 regarding the potential for additional life extensions beyond 2016, the company added.
London (Platts)--6 Dec 2007
British Energy is investigating the cause of a hydrogen leak at Torness-1 in Scotland, BE said December 6.
BE spokeswoman Sue Fletcher said the advanced gas-cooled reactor was manually tripped December 1 following indications of the leak, which is on the conventional plant main turbo-generator. She could not say how long the reactor would be offline, she said, as BE is still devising a repair and restart plan. "We are also determining whether we will take the opportunity to carry out additional maintenance work while the unit is off," Fletcher said.
France imported "massive" levels of power to make up for a shortfall in nuclear power production in the country during October and the start of November, according to a report Monday.
The report in French daily Les Echos quotes Dominique Maillard, chairman of the French grid manager RTE, as saying state power company EDF is being forced to import "record levels" of power.
MADRID: European energy executives urged governments yesterday to work on the attitudes of their citizens so they can reopen the door to nuclear as a carbon-free source of power for the continent over coming decades.
Nearly a third of Britain's nuclear power reactors have been out of action due to breakdowns and maintenance. Of the UK's 19 reactors, a total of seven have been shut down.
British Energy, which operates the affected sites, said a "conservative decision" had been taken to close units after safety checks uncovered faults.
Shares in British Energy closed down 8% after problems uncovered by a routine inspection forced it to take four nuclear reactors out of service.
24 Sep (NucNet): New nuclear build in the UK does not need to be subsidised provided fossil fuel alternatives carry the cost of the carbon emissions associated with their use and that standard designs are adopted, British Energy (BE) has said.
In its submission on 20 September 2007 to the government’s consultation on possible new build in the UK, BE said private companies should be given the option of investing in new nuclear units and no restrictions should be placed on the amount of new capacity that could be built.
The company also said there is no need for restrictions on the siting
PRAGUE. JUNE 25. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - French state-owned electricity giant Electricite de France (EDF) is interested in building a new nuclear plant in Slovakia, a company vice president said Monday.
"We would like to participate in developing the electricity sector in Slovakia," EDF's international unit vice president of Marc Boudier said, as cited by Slovak news agency SITA. "We want to use our know-how and tools to develop new production capacities and so [help] ensure Slovakia's self-sufficiency."
Number 10 has finally pressed the button. By the end of today, the government should have offloaded a large chunk of its holding in British Energy, the UK's big nuclear generator. This stands to increase the company's free-float by about three-quarters, hence the 6 per cent drop in British Energy's share price yesterday. But the shares could easily have fallen further - were it not for the clever timing of the sale.
