Areva

Greenpeace boards reactor equipment ship

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

COPENHAGEN — Six Greenpeace activists Monday boarded a ship carrying French-made steam turbines bound for a new nuclear power station in Finland, the environmental group said.

The protestors climbed on board the Happy Ranger as it made its way through the Fehmarn Belt strait between Denmark and Germany and unfurled banners including one which read "Nuclear madness, made in France".

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Problems Plague Launch of 'Safer' Next-Generation Reactors

Thursday, October 15, 2009

The executives of electric utilities worldwide are dreaming of a renaissance in nuclear power. But problems with a new, state-of-the-art reactor in Finland suggest that this is unlikely to happen. The industry's alternative strategy is to modernize older plants to drastically extend reactor lifetimes.

The managers at Finnish electric utility TVO expressed one last wish before ordering what would be the world's largest nuclear power plant from Siemens and the French nuclear power conglomerate Areva. They wanted the reactor to be painted oxblood red and white, the traditional colors of the picturesque summer homes on Finland's western coast.

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French radioactive waste to double by 2030

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

PARIS (Reuters) - France's highly radioactive waste will more than double by 2030 mainly as spent fuel derived from nuclear reactors mounts up, the French national radioactive waste management agency (Andra) said on Tuesday.

Andra draws up every three years an inventory of sites polluted with radioactivity and details quantities per waste category as well as volume forecasts.

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In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble

Friday, May 29, 2009

OLKILUOTO, Finland — As the Obama administration tries to steer America toward cleaner sources of energy, it would do well to consider the cautionary tale of this new-generation nuclear reactor site.

The massive power plant under construction on muddy terrain on this Finnish island was supposed to be the showpiece of a nuclear renaissance. The most powerful reactor ever built, its modular design was supposed to make it faster and cheaper to build. And it was supposed to be safer, too.

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Areva and TVO Downplay Renewed Reactor Concerns

Friday, May 8, 2009

Power company TVO denies that Finland's Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority (STUK) has threatened to stop construction of a nuclear reactor at its plant in Olkiluoto. Nonetheless both TVO and French contractor Areva say they take the criticism seriously.

TVO and Areva admit that plans for an automation safety system have been delayed, but say that STUK has not suggested it would order a stop to construction for this or any other reason.

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‘Madame Non’ in fight to keep Areva post

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Anne Lauvergeon is used to fighting tough battles, but this time the chief executive of Areva, whose combative style has in the past earned her the soubriquet “Madame Non”, is in danger of facing her final round.

The French government is nearing a decision on the future of Areva, its state-owned nuclear champion, and with it the fate of one of France’s most internationally recognised business figures.

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Rebound of nuclear plants raising worries over waste

Friday, January 30, 2009

BRUSSELS — BRUSSELS: As France presses ahead with building more next-generation nuclear reactors, new evidence emerged Friday to suggest that industry and governments may be unprepared to handle the increasingly toxic waste that will result.

Highlighting the importance of the technology in France, both as its main source of electricity and as a major export industry, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced late Thursday that Électricité de France, Europe's biggest power producer, was awarded the contract to develop a second atomic reactor using next-generation technology.

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Areva to speed up uranium enrichment plans

Friday, December 12, 2008

PARIS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Areva plans to speed up its investment in uranium enrichment, Les Echos reported on Thursday, citing senior executives at the French nuclear group. The group has decided to bring forward by three years a plan to build a second uranium enrichment facility at its Tricastin site in France, the paper said, noting other nuclear projects have been thrown into doubt because of the financial crisis.

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EDF open to partners for future nuclear reactors

Friday, December 12, 2008

FLAMANVILLE, France, Dec 11 (Reuters) - France's main electricity provider EDF, under pressure from cost overruns on a key project, said it was open to work with partners over building new EPR nuclear reactors.

EDF Chairman and Chief Executive Pierre Gadonneix told reporters on Thursday that EDF aimed to have control over the various nuclear energy projects in which it was involved.

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Nuclear Power: Curse or Opportunity?

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Balkan states are gambling on the nuclear option as the best way to reduce the energy shortage but whether the risks pay off remains to be seen.

The three guards stand at the gate in the 40°C afternoon heat, ignoring the bustle around them. Grim-looking barbed wire coils round the top of the tall fence, as if designed to stop convicts escaping from prison.

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