Europe

Nuclear power: ministers offer reactor deal until 2050

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The government is launching a last-ditch attempt to sign up energy companies to build new nuclear power stations by proposing to sign contracts guaranteeing subsidies for up to 40 years.

The coalition agreement reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in 2010 promised that nuclear power stations would be built only if the industry got no public subsidy, but costly overruns for new reactors overseas and the exit of several major utilities from the UK programme, most recently Centrica, have driven ministers and officials to backtrack on that pledge and accept they will have to provide financial support.

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EDF aims to strike CfD deal in next three months

Thursday, February 14, 2013

EDF is aiming to complete negotiations with the UK government over new nuclear Contracts for Difference (CfDs) by the end of the first quarter of 2013, it confirmed today. The French-owned firm plans to make an investment decision on Hinkley Point C "as soon as possible" after that.

At its annual results presentation, chief executive Henri Proglio said EDF was seeking a 40-year contract for Hinkley Point C. Potential partners had come forward but nothing would be agreed until the contracts were in place and approved by Brussels.

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Sellafield to be prosecuted for sending radioactive waste to wrong disposal site

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Sellafield has pleaded guilty to sending several bags of radioactive waste to the wrong facility, according to the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

The nuclear power company admitted sending four bags of mixed general waste to the Lillyhall landfill site in Workington, Cumbria, in April 2010.

The bags, which contained waste such as plastic, tissues and clothing, should have gone to the low level waste repository, at Drigg.

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Finland's Olkiluoto 3 reactor seen delayed to 2016

Monday, February 11, 2013

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Commercial production at Finnish nuclear reactor Olkiluoto 3 is likely to be delayed until 2016, utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) warned on Monday, the latest setback in plans for the country's fifth such plant.

TVO said there had been delays in planning the plant's automation system and that it had not yet received proper schedule updates from consortium Areva-Siemens , which is building the reactor.

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EDF May End U.K. Nuclear Plan Unless Profit Guaranteed, CEO Says

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Electricite de France SA’s chief executive officer said he’s willing to join Centrica (CNA) Plc in walking away from building the U.K.’s first reactors in two decades unless the government ensures the project is profitable.

“We won’t do it” if if the price for their power isn’t high enough, CEO Henri Proglio said in an interview in Bure, eastern France. “I won’t qualify myself as confident, but rather conscious that an agreement can be reached” on prices.

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France's Areva insisting on halting Temelín tender

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Prague, Feb 4 (CTK) - French nuclear firm Areva has appealed a decision of the Czech antitrust office UOHS which in January turned down its request to suspend the tender to complete the nuclear power plant Temelin, the firm told CTK in a press release Monday.

The energy group CEZ, Temelin's operator, excluded Areva from the tender for the expansion of Temelin, which is located in south Bohemia near the Austrian border, in October.

Areva, however, is trying to return to the tender process.

Areva said it requires and insists on suspending the current stage of the Temelin tender so that it may effectively protect its rights and interests.

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Centrica pulls out of new UK nuclear projects

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

LONDON (Reuters) - Utility Centrica has pulled out of plans to build new nuclear power stations in Britain with partner EDF, paving the way for Chinese investors to enter the UK market through a partnership with the French firm.

Centrica said it had decided to waive an option of taking a 20 percent stake in four new reactors - two at Hinkley Point in Somerset and two at Sizewell in Suffolk.

Centrica's decision was largely expected, but it casts some doubt on the UK government's plan to attract investment to revive the nuclear industry.

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Enel’s Mochovce Project Faces Delay, Higher Costs, Sme Says

Friday, February 1, 2013

The construction of two new reactors at Mochovce nuclear plant by Enel SpA’s Slovak unit will cost more than planned and will be delayed by two years, Sme reported, citing Economy Minister Tomas Malatinsky.

The project is set to be completed by 2015, compared with the original deadline of 2013, while costs are expected to rise to 3.7 billion euros ($5 billion) from the originally estimated 2.8 billion euros, the newspaper quoted Malatinsky as saying.

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Continued EU support for nuclear plant closures?

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Lithuania's prime minister says ending support in 2020 could delay the full closure of its Ignalina plant.

Leaders of the European Union's member states are expected at their summit next week (7-8 February) to agree to cover roughly half the costs of decommissioning Soviet-era nuclear power plants, as part of a deal on the EU's long-term budget.

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Bulgaria set for nuclear power referendum

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Bulgarians are set to vote in a referendum on whether a new nuclear power plant should be built.

The opposition Socialist party called the vote because it wants the government to reverse its decision not to build a new plant at Belene.

The first referendum in Bulgaria's post-Communist history has polarised opinion and is seen as a precursor of general elections later this year.

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