French Shun Nuclear Energy, Choose Conservation

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The overwhelming majority of people in France agree there is a need to conserve energy and favour renewable sources, according to a poll by CSA. 96 per cent of respondents think conserving energy should be a priority, and 94 per cent think the European country should focus on developing solar and wind power.

The overwhelming majority of people in France agree there is a need to conserve energy and favour renewable sources, according to a poll by CSA. 96 per cent of respondents think conserving energy should be a priority, and 94 per cent think the European country should focus on developing solar and wind power.

Only 35 per cent of respondents think developing nuclear power should be a priority for France, and 61 per cent think this should not be the focus of the country’s energy policy.

France generates 79 per cent of its electricity from nuclear reactors—the highest percentage of any country in the world. There are currently 59 nuclear power plants in France.

On Oct. 25, French president Nicolas Sarkozy presented his "ecological new deal", a national plan to combat pollution which includes 12 specific measures. The proposals include abolishing incandescent light bulbs by 2010, replacing all single-panel windows with thicker two-paned windows, and banning old home appliances "as soon as an alternative exists at a reasonable price."

Sarkozy said he wants to make France a leader in renewable energy but also ratified his support for nuclear power, saying, "The truth is that it is illusory in France to want to meet the climate challenge, our primary challenge, without nuclear energy. Today, we have no other choice, without renouncing growth." The legislature will have to either approve or reject the "ecological new deal" in a vote next year.

Polling Data
On the topic of energy, do you think (the following) should be a priority?

Yes No Not sure

Conserving energy
96% 4% --

Developing renewable energy
94% 5% 1%

Developing nuclear energy
35% 61% 4%

Source: CSA Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,003 French adults, conducted on Oct. 10, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

French nuclear group Areva to build 'evolutionary' reactor in U.S. in 2010

By Laetitia Bachelot-Fontaine
Nov 7, 2007

PARIS (Dow Jones) French nuclear group Areva (CEI.FR) will build its first evolutionary power reactor, or EPR, in the U.S. in 2010, Chief Executive Anne Lauvergeon said Wednesday on French radio station BFM.

"There are 103 EPRs in the U.S. but none have been built by a European company. We hope to start our first EPR in the U.S. in 2010," Lauvergeon said.

She added that Areva already had six pre-orders in the US and that the group was currently in negotiations with several electricity power producers.

"Areva's ambitions in the U.S. are very big," Lauvergeon said, adding that "things are also going really quickly in Asia."

Lauvergeon confirmed she will take part in French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to China at the end of November.

Areva is expected to announce a EUR5 billion contract with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co. for the sale of two reactors.

The French government is currently reviewing the future of French nuclear power operations, including those of Areva.

The scenario favored by French state-owned nuclear research organization CEA is a merger between the nuclear firm and French engineering company Alstom SA (1022047.FR)

At present, the French state owns 87% of Areva, while Germany's Siemens AG has a 34% stake in the firm's nuclear reactor unit Areva-NP.

Contact: 201-938-5400

(Photo below: Areva head Lauvergeon)

French Prez Says "No New Nukes!" ~ Maybe...

From:
Gardian UK

[[ ... The elephant in the room throughout the talks was France's reliance on nuclear power, which generates 80% of its electricity. The government said the nuclear issue was not up for discussion.

The Green party accused the government of a "blackout" and Le Monde said nuclear energy was the "ghost in the wardrobe" during the consultations. But the president (Nicolas Sarkozy) said yesterday he did not want to build more nuclear sites in France.

Nicolas Hulot, France's hugely influential and popular TV environmentalist, welcomed the proposals, saying: "Frankly we've entered the ecological era". ]]

read entire article...

From:
AP

[[ Sarkozy said he wanted to make France a leader in renewable energy, but stuck to his support for nuclear energy. France is more reliant on nuclear power than any other country.

"The truth is that it is illusory in France to want to meet the climate challenge, our primary challenge, without nuclear energy. Today, we have no other choice, without renouncing growth," Sarkozy said.

"If the president thinks we need to develop renewable energy, we hear the message: It means that we have to stop the nuclear reactors," said Greenpeace France campaign director Yannick Jadot. ]]

Read entire article...

From:
Herald Tribune

[[ (Sarkozy) said that each euro spent on nuclear research would be matched by a euro spent on research into clean technologies and preventing damage to the environment. ]]

Read entire article...

From:
Telegraph UK

[[ Mr Gore said the French forum - dubbed the "Grenelle of the environment" after a Paris district - had given "a tremendous boost" to efforts to fight climate change. ]]

Read entire article...

FUSE USA Topic of NYPost Editorial

THE ANTI-NUCLEAR MENACE

October 2, 2007 -- In facing its energy challenges, is New York heading in the complete opposite direction as the rest of the country - and, indeed, parts of the world?

Last month, an anti-nuclear group, Friends United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE) filed papers opposing the relicensing of one of the Indian Point nuclear reactors. A three-judge panel must now consider FUSE's claims that the federal government hasn't exercised enough regulatory oversight on the Westchester plant.

The same month, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission received applications to build and operate new reactors in Texas. The applications from NRG Energy Inc. were the first submitted in 31 years.

Nuclear-plant construction came to a screeching halt in the wake of the Three Mile Island incident in 1978 - even though America has never experienced a fatality, or even serious injury, attributable to nuclear power.

NRG submitted what are the first of what is expected to be a flood of applications in coming months for as many as 29 new reactors in 20 sites across the country, mainly in the South.

Such ventures don't happen in a vacuum: A company won't go forward with an application if investors aren't on board. As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, U.S. power companies are now prepared to invest as much as $90 billion in nuclear power.

Even some environmentalists are having second thoughts about their longtime adamant opposition to nuke plants.

They understand that nuclear power is "clean": Unlike coal or oil, it doesn't create the greenhouse gases that many see as contributing to global warming.

Meanwhile, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy calls nuclear power "the energy of the future" and has urged Germany to rescind its plan to phase out nuclear plants. France relies on nuclear power for 78 percent of its energy.

But, as the FUSE filing shows, New York - notwithstanding its own soaring energy needs - seems poised to retreat from the working, safe, nuclear reactors it has running, just as other states consider building new ones.

If New York is to be so foolish, it shouldn't be surprised if businesses move to places better able to fill their energy needs down the road.

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