Europe

Austria to launch lawsuit over Hinkley Point C nuclear subsidies

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Austria is to launch a legal challenge against the European Union’s (EU) decision to allow billions of pounds of subsidies for Hinkley Point C, casting fresh doubt over the UK’s first planned nuclear reactors in 20 years.

In October, the EU approved the controversial £17.6bn subsidy deal for the power station, which is expected to provide 7% of the UK’s electricity by 2023. David Cameron had previously hailed the subsidy deal between the French state-owned EDF and the UK government as “a very big day for our country”.

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Global nuclear decommissioning cost seen underestimated, may spiral

Monday, January 19, 2015

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - German utility E.ON's breakup has led to worries that funds set aside for decommissioning reactors will not suffice, but globally the cost of unwinding nuclear is uncertain as estimates range widely.

As ageing first-generation reactors close, the true cost of decommissioning will be crucial for the future of the nuclear industry, already ailing following the 2011 Fukushima disaster and competition from cheap shale gas, falling oil prices and a flood of renewable energy from wind and solar.

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Signatures on engineer assessment of Turkey’s first nuclear plant forged: Report

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The signatures of two nuclear engineers who prepared the environmental impact assessment report (ÇED) for Turkey’s prospective nuclear plant in Akkuyu were forged, ahead of the final approval of the mandatory document to allow the facility’s construction, daily BirGün reported Jan. 12.

The plant is scheduled to be built in the southeastern Mediterranean district of Akkuyu.

According to the report, an expert analysis carried out upon the demand of the Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), which closely monitors legal procedures, has revealed that signatures were forged twice at different stages of the process.

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Finnish utility plans job cuts following nuclear reactor delay

Thursday, January 8, 2015

HELSINKI Jan 8 (Reuters) - Finnish nuclear power consortium Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) on Thursday said it is looking to cut up to 110 jobs, or 13 percent of its staff, due to lower power prices and soaring costs from its delayed Olkiluoto 3 reactor project.

The start of the reactor, planned to be Finland's fifth and biggest nuclear unit, has been delayed until late 2018, almost a decade later than originally planned.

"Electricity market price has dropped and there are no signs of improvement in the coming foreseeable future. In addition, costs related to nuclear power production have increased and the delay of Olkiluoto 3 project has caused remarkable additional costs," TVO chief executive Jarmo Tanhua said in a statement.

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UK accused of hypocrisy over plans to limit enforcement of EU climate goals

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

British lobbying to reduce monitoring of EU countries’ action on climate change has sparked outrage among MEPs and environmentalists.

EU states agreed last October to cut their carbon emissions 40% by 2030, but a UK plan co-authored with the Czech Republic proposes that countries’ emissions cuts should only be overseen with a ‘light touch’ regime with a diminished role for Brussels.

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Austrians resist EU funding for UK's Hinkley Point nuclear project

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Austrian premier Werner Faymann will today (18 December) protest at the British inclusion of landmark nuclear energy projects – including Hinckley Point – within its list of infrastructure eligible for funding under the proposed €315bn Juncker investment plan.

The UK has listed several nuclear-related projects within the Juncker plan, a list of 2,000 projects drawn from across all member states, which will be considered for funding under the investment plan.

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Germany wants to ringfence nuclear plant closure money-paper

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

BERLIN, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Germany plans to set up a fund to ringfence 17 billion ($21.2 billion) euros nuclear power firms have set aside to cover the long-term costs of decommissioning plants, Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported on Wednesday.

There has been concern in Germany that taxpayers could foot part of the bill to shut the plants because the money put aside by the firms to cover decommissioning costs could be lost in the event of a bankruptcy, or used for something else.

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Russia to extend US$270m export credit to Armenia for extending nuclear power operation

Thursday, December 4, 2014

(Armenian News, Yerevan, 19 November 2014) Armenia has approved a proposal for the extension of an Armenian-Russian intergovernmental agreement on cooperation extending the operation of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian nuclear-power plant (NPP). Armenia’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Yervan Zakharyan noted that, under the agreement, Russia is to extend a $270m export credit to Armenia.

Armenia said Sept. 13 it would extend the life of its ageing nuclear power plant, despite safety concerns over the Soviet-era facility in an active seismic zone.

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Areva rethinks strategy after ditching targets

Thursday, November 20, 2014

PARIS (Reuters) - Areva must consider radical restructuring options after it abandoned financial targets in the face of continuing delays, writedowns and losses from its nuclear operations, analysts said, after the firm's shares plunged on Wednesday.

The state-owned group issued a third profit warning in four months, said it would review its funding options and dropped its 2015-16 financial targets, blaming delays to its Finnish Olkiluoto reactor, the slow restart of Japan's reactors and a lackluster nuclear market.

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Areva-Siemens raises claim to $4.4 billion over Finnish reactor delays

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

(Reuters) - The French-German consortium Areva-Siemens, the supplier of Finland's much-delayed Olkiluoto-3 nuclear reactor, has increased its claim against Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), TVO said late on Friday.

TVO and Areva have traded accusations about who is to blame for delays and extra costs, and the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) arbitration court is processing a dispute on cost overruns between the two sides.

Areva-Siemens in September said the start date of the reactor, which is planned to be Finland's fifth and biggest nuclear unit, will be pushed back to late 2018 - almost a decade later than originally planned.

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