Europe

UK 'subsidising nuclear power unlawfully'

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Green energy campaigners are attempting to block new nuclear power stations in the UK by complaining to the European Commission that government plans contravene EU competition regulations.

They say financial rules for nuclear operators include subsidies that have not been approved by the commission.

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Areva confirms private investigator was hired

Saturday, January 21, 2012

A senior director at Areva, France’s state-owned nuclear champion, has confirmed that he did hire a Swiss intelligence firm to examine its disastrous €1.8bn purchase of a uranium miner but denied that it was part of a plot against Anne Lauvergeon, the company’s former chief executive.

Ms Lauvergeon, known as “Atomic Anne” after 10 years at the helm of one of the world’s leading nuclear manufacturers, shocked the French business and political elite this week when she accused her former employers of spying on her and claimed that she had been victim to a long-running “plot” to destabilise her, directed from the “highest levels of the state”.

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Garoña awaits a new decision

Friday, January 6, 2012

Spain's new government will ask nuclear regulators for advice on the continued operation of the Garoña nuclear power plant, which was dealt an arbitrarily short operating licence by the previous administration.

Yesterday the Spanish cabinet revoked an order from 2009 that set July 2013 as the latest time that Garoña may be used for power generation. The next step is for the Nuclear Safety Council (Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear, CSN) to consider the technical possibilities for longer operation and what technical improvements it may require. The Spanish government is expected to order this work imminently.

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EDF Pegs Nuclear Upgrade Cost at $13 Billion

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

PARIS—France's nuclear-safety watchdog ordered immediate upgrades to nuclear reactors to guard against natural disasters, which Électricité de France SA said could require €10 billion, or roughly $13 billion, in additional costs.

In a review following last year's Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire concluded that no plants needed to be shut down immediately but that steps should be taken as "soon as possible" to improve safety at France's 58 reactors.

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France's Areva to announce big losses-minister

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Dec 11 (Reuters) - French nuclear reactor maker Areva will announce large losses on Tuesday when the group unveils its strategy, French Industry Minister Eric Besson said on Sunday.

"I can confirm that Areva will announce losses," Besson told Radio J. "In all likelihood, they will be big."

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Serbia to house "biggest nuclear waste site in Europe"

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

BELGRADE -- The largest nuclear waste disposal site in Europe will be located in Serbia - in Vinča, near Belgrade, it has been announced.

A public company in charge of its construction at the same time reassured that the facility was built "according to EU standards".

The site is now awaiting a permanent permission to operate.

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Fire shuts down Swedish nuclear reactor

Monday, October 24, 2011

The nuclear reactor at Oskarshamn was closed down late on Saturday night after a fire broke out at the plant.

Although the fire, which broke out in the turbine hall of Unit 2, was quickly put out by the plant’s own emergency services, the reactor and the turbine were closed down as a precautionary measure.

It is still unclear when the reactor 2 can be restarted again, with investigations ongoing.

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RWE weighs up sale for UK co-owned Urenco

Sunday, October 16, 2011

German energy giant RWE has appointed advisers for a strategic review of Urenco the nuclear power company it co-owns with the British and Dutch government.

The move could press the UK Government to formalise its own strategy on disposal of the company, which is expected to net UK taxpayers 1bn.

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RWE reviews involvement in UK nuclear programme

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The government's energy policy took another blow on Friday as major energy provider RWE reviewed whether to scale down or abandon its UK nuclear programme.

The German-owned utility, which owns the npower supply business, has started an internal probe of its plans to construct two possible atomic power stations at Wylfa in Wales and Oldbury in Gloucestershire.

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Swedish waste fees rise to reflect repository cost

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) has recommended a tripling of the fee paid by the country's nuclear power industry towards paying for management of the country's nuclear waste.

SSM has been tasked with assessing what level of fee Sweden's nuclear generators should be required to pay into the country's Nuclear Waste Fund for the next three years. Basing its assessment on information gathered from the relevant organisations - including cost estimates from the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co (SKB) - SSM has recommended to the government that the fee should be set at 3 öre per kWh of nuclear electricity produced. The current level is 1 öre per kWh. (1 öre is worth approximately $0.001.)

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