THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR NEWS AGENCY

World Nuclear Review - week ending 26th November 2004

European Declaration Says N-Power Is 'Central' To Energy Planning

The heads of a number of Europe's major energy companies have signed a declaration calling on EU policy-makers to ensure that nuclear-generated electricity remains "at the heart" of Europe's energy supply system for the foreseeable future.

The declaration was announced in Brussels, Belgium, during the inaugural session of the biennial European Nuclear Assembly (ENA) - organised by Foratom, the trade association for the nuclear energy industry in Europe. The document says: "Facing up to the challenge of climate change will call for the mobilisation of all low-carbon and zero-carbon technologies in the decades ahead."

More than 20 chief executives from about 12 European countries signed the declaration to stress that EU policy-makers should create the right conditions for Europe to meet its economic and environmental objectives by keeping nuclear as one of the "central options" in their energy planning.

In addition, the declaration urges policy-makers to:

- Encourage energy policies in the EU member states that keep all options open;

- Recognise the important contribution made by the nuclear industry to the provision of secure and clean energy;

- Promote a flexible, viable and competitive energy mix, energy efficiency and new investments in low-carbon energy sources, such as nuclear and renewables;

- Create a 'level playing field' allowing different energy sources, including nuclear, to develop and compete under liberalised market conditions.

Source: ENA

Full story: NucNet News No. 210, 25th November

Yucca Mountain Application Delayed As Congress Approves Funding

The US Congress has approved 577 million dollars (USD) in funding in fiscal year 2005 for the Department of Energy's (DOE) proposed deep repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

The funding was confirmed almost at the same time the DOE announced it would no longer be able to meet its original application deadline of 31st December 2004 to submit the licence application for the repository.

Margaret Chu, director for the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management at the DOE, told a 22nd November quarterly management meeting between the DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the DOE would not meet the deadline, David McIntyre of the NRC press office told NucNet. She did not give a new target date for licence submission, but said she did not expect the delay to be too long.

One of the stumbling blocks to the DOE meeting the deadline was a federal court's rejection of the licensing standard. The standard had been developed by the Environmental Protection Agency and adopted by the NRC.

The USD 577 million allocation for Yucca Mountain matches what the programme received in fiscal year 2004, but falls short of the DOE's USD 880 million request.

The funding was part of the Energy and Water Appropriations, included in an Omnibus Appropriations Bill approved by Congress on Saturday 21st November. The package also included USD 513 million for "nuclear energy initiatives", including USD 50 million for the DOE's Nuclear Power 2010 programme.

Source: NEI/NucNet US correspondent Thecla Fabian

Full report: NucNet News No. 208, 24th November

French EDF Commission Recommends Increased Investment In Nuclear

A French government commission charged with assessing the financial needs of state utility ElectricitÈ de France (EDF) is recommending an annual investment of approximately 1 billion euros (EUR) to renew the country's nuclear park.

The Roulet Commission's report to minister for economy, finance and industry Nicolas Sarkozy includes the recommendation that an annual investment of between EUR 1 billion and EUR 1.2 billion - more than double the annual average invested by EDF during the last three years - should be made between 2005 and 2012.

The commission - chaired by former France TÈlÈcom chairman Marcel Roulet - said EDF already plans to decrease its costs by EUR 2.5 billion by 2007 because of costs related to a higher payroll and EDF's transformation into a corporation.

The commission described EDF as lagging behind other major European utilities in profitability and suffering from a "negative scissors effect" - with the price of electricity sales having fallen by an average of 1.5% in the period 1992-2002 while the company's costs rose 1.5% per year. Consequently, the commission is also recommending a 1% increase in tariffs, which could translate into an approximately EUR 1.5 billion for EDF.

Source: EDF / French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry / French Council of Ministers / French Nuclear Society (SFEN) / Various

Full report: NucNet News in Brief No 58, 24th November

Support For Nuclear Power Still Growing In Finland

Almost half the Finnish population supports using nuclear power and the gap between those for and against nuclear in Finland has "never been wider", according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by TNS Gallup Oy on behalf of the Finnish Energy Industries Federation (Finergy), shows that 46% of Finns support using nuclear energy while 25% have a "negative opinion" of it and 29% are neutral.

"The gap between supporters and opposition has never been wider during the 22-year history of this series of opinion polls," said Finergy in a statement. "Support for nuclear has grown by 12 percentage points in 10 years and opposition has decreased by 10 percentage points."

According to the poll, support for nuclear was particularly high among men (63%), farmers (55%), the highly educated (54%), office workers (50%) and the over fifties (50%).

The poll also showed that Finns generally regard nuclear power as a good way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and tackle the threat of climate change. Asked if they accepted nuclear power as a way to combat climate change, 43% said they did while 28% said they didn't.

Source: Finergy

Full Report: NucNet News in Brief No. 59, 25th November

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