Companies

French electricity giant EDF keen to build nuclear plant in Slovakia

Monday, June 25, 2007

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."

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Energy boost

Thursday, May 31, 2007

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.

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BNP Paribas and Bulgaria's Belene

Monday, May 21, 2007

BNP Paribas (BNPP) won the first competition for financing Belene, reported ITAR-TASS on May 14. The bank said that, together with other partners, it would provide the 250 million euro loan needed to start construction.

BNPP defeated 10 other competitors in winning the tender for the funding. In April 2007, the National Electricity Company (NEC) announced the procedure on choosing a bank to give the first loan. The money is planned to be used for planning, acquisition of equipment and construction during the first year of the project.

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Anomalie classée au niveau 1 de l’échelle INES

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Pressrelease: Le 19 avril dernier, lors de l’essai d’un filtre installé sur les équipements de ventilation d’une partie des locaux nucléaires de la centrale de Tihange 2, une manoeuvre erronée a occasionné un rejet gazeux à l’atmosphère. En effet, un échantillon de test d’iode 131 a été injecté au-delà du filtre qu’il devait vérifier. L’iode s’est ainsi retrouvé à l’atmosphère via la gaine de ventilation. La quantité prédéterminée contenue dans l’échantillon correspond à moins de 1% de la limite légale autorisée sur un trimestre.

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Power market developments: waste fund call

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Nuclear Engineering International - The International Energy Agency's review of the UK energy industry has called for a nuclear waste and decommissioning fund to be set up.

The International Energy Agency's (IEA's) recently published The United Kingdom 2006 Review, the second of its Energy Policies of IEA Countries series, praised the UK energy market framework but highlighted the need for a nuclear waste policy, covering all types of waste, and called for the establishment of a liabilities fund to pay for decommissioning and waste disposal.

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EDF criticised for 'lack of rigour' in security at Fessenheim nuclear plant

Saturday, April 7, 2007

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - The French nuclear security authority, ASN, has criticised EDF for 'a lack of rigour' in the application of security procedures at its Fessenheim nuclear power plant in north-east France.

In an assessment presented to the press today, the ASN said that 'despite the action initiated (...), the operator (EDF) shows a lack of rigour in the application of procedures.'

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Areva 2006 profits slide on Finland provisions

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Thu 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.

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Debate over nuclear power continues

Saturday, March 17, 2007

The Slovak Spectator - Now that the government and Italian power producer Enel have announced plans to complete the power plant in Mochovce, non-governmental organizations are calling on the authorities to study the cheapest way to develop the countrys energy sector.

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Sweden asks UN nuclear watchdog to inspect troubled Forsmark plant

Friday, February 16, 2007

STOCKHOLM (AFX) - The Swedish government has asked the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to inspect its Forsmark nuclear power plant after a series of incidents that have raised concerns about atomic safety in the country.

The decision follows a request from Vattenfall, which owns the Forsmark nuclear plant on Sweden's east coast.

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Four of Sweden's 10 nuclear reactors have been shut down, following an electricity failure

Thursday, August 3, 2006

Four of Sweden’s 10 nuclear reactors have been shut down, following an electricity failure. The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, SKI, has been holding an emergency meeting, following the incidents at the Oskarshamn and Forsmark plants.

The firm operating Oskarshamn, in southern Sweden, stopped two of its three reactors late on Wednesday, citing safety concerns.

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