Companies

Ukraine admits 'insignificant' nuclear plant leak

Monday, June 9, 2008

KIEV, June 6 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's state nuclear power utility Energoatom has admitted that a small leak occurred at water-moderated reactor in the country's northwest on May 29, but said no radioactive materials were released.

The announcement follows rumors circulated in the Ukrainian media over the past few days of rising radiation levels in the area. Energoatom released a statement on June 3 saying the country's four nuclear plants were running smoothly.

Posted in | »

Uranium output met only 60% of world requirements: OECD agency

Monday, June 9, 2008

World uranium production at the end of 2006 was 39,603 tonnes, meeting only 60% of world nuclear reactor requirements, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency said in a biannual report released Tuesday.

Posted in | »

The reality of France's aggressive nuclear power push

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

* Developing countries that have expressed interest in French nuclear power technology can't implement it anytime soon.
* A French-led global nuclear power renaissance is problematic, since the country's nonproliferation record is poor.
* French nuclear reactors aren't as safe as its promoters claim.
* Nuclear power provides only a small portion of total French energy consumption.

Posted in | »

Czech power plant reactor nearly shuts down owing to staff error

Monday, June 2, 2008

Prague - The Dukovany nuclear power plant, owned by Czech power giant CEZ, nearly shut down one of its four units Tuesday owing to an employee's mistake, the company said.

Unit's two turbines were automatically switched off from the grid after a technician mistakenly turned off one of its six cooling circuits.

Posted in | »

Costs for nuclear increase

Monday, June 2, 2008

A utility's credit quality could be negatively impacted by building a new nuclear power plant, according to a report released June 2 by Moody's Investors Service.

The report said that an electric utility might find a 25% to 30% deterioration in its financial credit metrics. The sheer size, cost and complexity of new nuclear construction projects can increase the business and operating risk of a utility, potentially exposing it to downward rating pressure over the intermediate- to longer-term horizon Moody's Vice President/Senior Credit Officer Jim Hempstead said in a statement.

Posted in | »

Power Company Could Pay for Nuclear Reactor Delays

Monday, June 2, 2008

The French nuclear power company Areva could end up paying billions of euros to compensate for delays in the Olkiluoto nuclear power project.

A report in the online financial publication Capital said that Areva could pay the power generation company Teollisuuden Voima up to 2.2 billion euros. The publication based its report on information from confidential sources. Areva refutes the claims.

Posted in | »

Olkiluoto Reactor Still Closed by Electrical Fault

Monday, June 2, 2008

The No. 1 nuclear reactor at Olkiluoto on Finland's west coast remains offline due to an electrical problem. The fault was detected on Friday when technicians were re-starting the plant after annual maintenance work.

The TVO utility is trying to find out what caused the problem, and says that it is impossible to say when the reactor can be re-started.

Posted in | »

Energy firm offers deal to start nuclear clean-up

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Energysolutions and its partner Toshiba propose taking ownership of Magnox sites and building new reactors on them

Posted in | »

Nuclear energy group spent $320K lobbying in 1Q

Saturday, May 31, 2008

WASHINGTON - The nuclear energy industry's main trade group spent $320,000 in the first quarter to lobby the federal government, according to a recent disclosure form.

Posted in | »

Italy greens say no to nuclear to push renewable energy

Friday, May 30, 2008

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy should keep its ban on nuclear power and should boost solar and wind energy instead to resolve its energy supply problems, Italian environmentalists said on Thursday as nuclear revival debate heated up.

Italy banned nuclear power in a 1987 referendum after the Chernobyl disaster. But calls for a nuclear renaissance have intensified this month under the new government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as oil prices stormed record highs.

Posted in | »