Areva

edf hinkley point c_630

Over budget, behind schedule, beset with “anomalies” to its reactor vessel and faulty cooling-system valves … EDF’s Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor is more than just a French headache; it’s causing serious stress in London as well. That’s because the planned Hinkley Point C reactor in the UK is supposed to use the same new-generation Areva European Pressurized Reactor… Keep reading →

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Fails Pressure Test, To Be Inspected By NRC

Still wondering why more nukes are not getting built in the West? In 2002, the Finland’s parliament approved the construction of Olkiluoto 3 expecting completion by 2009. To guard against cost over-runs, Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) signed a €3.2 billion (roughly US$4.2 billion at current exchange rate) fixed-price turnkey contract with a consortium including… Keep reading →

Scenes of Jordan

In October of this year, Jordan announced it had chosen Russia to build its first two nuclear-power reactors. Historically, Jordan has lacked access to energy resources. It depends on imports for more than 96 percent of power consumption. This means that a whopping 20 to 25 percent of Jordan’s national expenditures go to importing energy.… Keep reading →


Nuclear power has more than just an image problem.

With huge up front development costs, it is increasingly seen as dangerous and governments are responding to people’s fears by closing plants, blocking new construction and even halting reactor construction mid way. In its latest Vital Signs Online (VSO) report, Washington DC-based think tank Worldwatch Institute documented the numbers for falling nuclear power usage across the globe. Keep reading →


Only last week Washington DC-based think tank Worldwatch Institute released its Vital Signs Online (VSO) report noting that the world’s nuclear power portfolio was quickly shrinking. Now nuclear power companies worldwide are posting numbers that reflect the trend.

Today, French nuclear company AREVA said it expected to post operating losses of about 1.4 to 1.6 billion euros in its 2011 year-end financial report, including a cash flow loss, before tax, of about 1.8 billion euros. In response, the company will present on Tuesday in Paris its “Action 2016,” a strategic action plan for the coming years that is intended to turn the company’s losses into gains. Keep reading →


Though it is already tightly regulated, the nuclear industry might also need conduct rules.

In this video, Areva’s Corporate Business Ethics Advisor, Olivier Loubiere explains the French energy company’s “unprecedented” decision to “self-regulate” and adopt a code of conduct, what Loubiere calls in this video “a set of voluntary best practices.” Keep reading →