(Reuters) - Two key German ministers took different positions on Monday on the length of time that nuclear power plants should be extended after Chancellor Angela Merkel reduced expectations for a long extension.
Companies
German ministers clash on nuclear report
Tuesday, August 31, 2010Merkel Wants Separate Payments For Nuclear Extension
Sunday, August 29, 2010LINGEN, Germany - (Dow Jones)- German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday said she is in favor of the country's nuclear power plant operators making further financial contributions in return for longer reactor operating lives, which would come on top of a tax on nuclear fuel her government has proposed to help reduce the public budget deficit.
Nuclear debate heats up in Germany over new tax and plant lifespans
Sunday, August 15, 2010Germany's nuclear power plants operators have threatened to pull out of nuclear power generation in protest of a proposed tax. The general debate over the future of German nuclear power has heated up again.
Controversial negotiations are underway in Germany between the government and energy providers as companies threaten to shut down their nuclear power plants over a proposed tax on fuel rods and Germany's debate over its nuclear energy future reignites.
Poland delays nuclear plant schedule
Friday, August 13, 2010Poland will commission its first nuclear power plant in 2022, two years after the original schedule, Hanna Trojanowska, the government's nuclear energy adviser, said Thursday.
"In effect, in the verified schedule 2022 appears as the date for the start-up of the first unit," Trojanowska told the state news agency PAP.
Reversal: Czechs to build new nuclear reactors
Monday, July 26, 2010Prague - The Greens did not manage to pass the 5 percent threshold in the late May legislative elections, which means there is virtually no opposition in the Lower Chamber of the Czech Parliament against plans on nuclear energy build-ups in the Czech Republic.
This means that the center-right coalition can easily implement its nuclear energy program, which includes building new reactors in the Temelín nuclear plant and modernizing the Dukovany nuclear plant.
EDF may allocate half of RTE to nuclear costs fund
Wednesday, July 21, 2010PARIS, July 21 (Reuters) - French power company EDF said it might allocate half of its Reseau de Transport d'Electricite (RTE) power grid to a portfolio of assets set up to fund the dismantling of nuclear reactors.
Under a 2006 law on financing nuclear expenses, EDF must build up a portfolio of dedicated assets to meet the future costs of decommissioning nuclear power plants and storing radioactive waste.
USA and France Help Poland Go Nuclear
Monday, July 19, 2010WARSAW (IDN) - Backed by the U.S. and France, Poland is set to tread the nuclear path and hopes to start generating atomic power by 2021. Presently, coal accounts for over 93 percent of the eastern European country's electricity, demand for which is expected to double by 2025.
A four-stage plan announced by Hanna Trojanowska, the government's Plenipotentiary for Nuclear Energy, envisages appropriate legislation by the end of 2010; site, technology and construction arrangements between 2011 and 2013; technical plans and site works in 2014 and 2015; and construction from 2016 to 2020.
Energy Solutions rethinks on waste imports
Monday, July 19, 2010Energy Solutions is adopting a new international business strategy whereby, rather than importing foreign radioactive waste for processing and disposal at its US facility, it will help overseas customers dispose of such waste in their own country.
The company - which has faced strong opposition to its plan to import waste from decommissioned nuclear facilities in Italy for processing and recycling at its facility in Clive, Utah - said that under the new strategy, no internationally generated radioactive waste would be disposed of at the site.
UK must invest in nuclear to meet carbon target-KPMG
Monday, July 19, 2010LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Britain must reform electricity markets if it is to secure the private investment needed to meet its carbon emissions targets, according to a study by KPMG.
The report, which will be published on Monday, said the British government's approach to investment in low-carbon generation was inconsistent and clearer planning was needed to show how emissions targets will be met.
Bulgaria Caps Belene Nuclear Plant's Cost at $8.8 Billion, Borissov Says
Sunday, July 11, 2010Bulgaria aims to limit the cost of the Belene nuclear plant being built by Russia’s ZAO Atomstroyexport to 7 billion euros ($8.8 billion), Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said.
Borissov met today with Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov in Sofia to discuss joint energy projects including construction of the 2,000-megawatt power plant on the Danube river, natural-gas supply and the South Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Western Europe via Bulgaria.