Image of U.S. EPR™

By Katherine Berezowskyj

Last week, AREVA and Fresno Nuclear Energy Group (FNEG), LLC announced that they have signed a Letter of Intent to formalize their work together in the development of a nuclear power plant project for the Fresno, California area.

This Letter of Intent means that AREVA and Fresno Nuclear Energy Group will begin cooperation on the initial development and permitting process for one or possibly two of AREVA’s U.S. EPR™ plants, beginning with the preparation of the Early Site Permit and subsequent Combined License Application to be submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John Hutson, President of the Fresno Nuclear Energy Group commented how “AREVA shares our commitment to carbon-free, renewable energy; like us, they believe that nuclear is only part of the solution—AREVA is a world leader in designing wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable energy systems, as well.”

The objective of the Fresno Nuclear Energy Group is to provide an environmentally responsible source of electricity especially to develop the state’s critical agricultural industry and support wildlife preservations efforts that are so vital to the Central Valley of California.

And nuclear energy isn’t just an environmentally responsible energy option; a new U.S. EPR™ would create up to 11,000 direct and indirect jobs during component manufacturing (including AREVA’s Newport News heavy component facility in Virginia) and plant construction.  On top if this, construction and operation would also create more than 400 permanent jobs and spur billion of dollars in investment in the local economy.  When the U.S. EPR™ is up and running it would produce clean, reliable baseload electricity for more than 1.6 million homes.

For more information about this historic partnership for clean energy in California check out the Fresno Nuclear Energy Group, LLC, the U.S. EPR™ by AREVA, and official Press Release.

We’re taking it a little easy over here while we enjoy the holidays, but we wanted to share this cool photo of construction on AREVA’s EPR at Flamanville, France (click to enlarge):

Hope you’re having a great holiday season!

by Mary Douglas
Reprinted from AREVA Energy Business, Issue 8

Other Carbon-Free Energies

Nuclear is only one option, albeit a key one, among AREVA’s range of carbon-free energy choices. The group is developing synergistic solutions including a range of renewable energies that make sense in a balanced energy mix.

Renewable energy use is increasing worldwide. In emerging countries they supply inexpensive electricity from local resources. In Europe and North America they help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Europe has set an objective of a 20% share for renewable energies in final energy consumption by 2020, and AREVA has technologies capable of supporting that growth.

The group is currently offering its customers a portfolio of four renewable energies: wind power, bioenergy, concentrated solar power, as well as next-generation hydrogen carrier and storage solutions. Several of these have already reached technical maturity, such as wind power and bio energies. They can still be improved in terms of yield and distribution. For example, following its acquisition of 51% of Multibrid in 2007, AREVA has developed pioneering technology to become a leader in the emerging offshore wind power market.

In bioenergy, AREVA is no. 1 in turnkey solutions. The group has built over 100 operating bioenergy power units all over the world, totaling more than 2,800 MWe of installed capacity. AREVA is also reshaping the hydrogen industry by providing CO2-free Hydrogen production. These solutions enable hydrogen to be generated via electrolysis and electricity from fuel cells, with no greenhouse gas emissions.

AREVA is also developing concentrated solar power solutions, which will deliver more than 20% efficiency and grid parity.

Improving Efficiency of Nuclear Power Generation and Fuel Management

The cleanest energy is energy that is not used at all. AREVA is working to improve efficiency in both power generation and fuel supply. The aim is to maximize the availability of operating nuclear power plants to produce more energy with the same amount of fuel. It includes working to improve load factors at new reactors such as the state-of-the-art Generation III+ EPR™ reactor.

AREVA's Saint Alban plant in France

One advantage of this new generation of reactors is its fuel burn-up coefficient. Compared to the previous generation reactor, the EPR™ reduces uranium consumption by 15% for the same amount of electricity generated. In line with its commitment to sustainable development and environmental protection – by making energy more efficient – AREVA is also helping to conserve valuable resources by improving fuel management. Reusable uranium and plutonium are recovered from used fuel for recycling in nuclear reactors as MOX fuel (a mixture of the two materials) or as enriched reprocessed uranium (ERU). Using its advanced technologies, AREVA is therefore able to recycle 96% of the materials contained in used nuclear fuel which significantly reduces the volume and radiotoxicity of final waste to be disposed of. Through its recycling operation, under strict international safeguards, AREVA also supports non-proliferation objectives since used fuel is unloaded from a power plants it can be sent directly to recycling operations and MOX production, avoiding the accumulation and aging of used nuclear fuel at multiple reactor sites worldwide..

Waking to the Dangers

The world is finally awakening to the dangers of climate change, and as a global leader in solutions for CO2-free power generation AREVA is ready to offer its entire portfolio of energy solutions to solve the problems which will increasingly face its customers.

In July, leaders at G8 agreed to at least a 50% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with developed countries achieving an 80% reduction to ensure that global average temperatures do not rise by more than 2ºC above preindustrial levels.

In October, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Washington was “deeply committed” to finding a solution to climate change in the run-up to Copenhagen. “This is a fundamental trust we are about to break if we don’t act as aggressively as we can,” he told a meeting at the IEA in Paris. AREVA is well prepared to meet this challenge.

• AREVA Leads the Way in Tackling Climate Change, Part I
• Find the article on page 22 of AREVA Energy Business Magazine

by Mary Douglas
Reprinted from AREVA Energy Business, Issue 8

Climate change is a reality and some of its impacts may already be irreversible. The Catlin Arctic Survey team has found out that most of the ice in the region is first-year ice that will melt next summer. Within a decade, the North Pole will turn into an open sea every summer. Kashmir University’s geology and geophysics department says Indian Kashmir’s glaciers are melting fast because of rising temperatures, threatening the water supply of millions.

AREVA is aware of these challenges and leading the field in offering solutions for CO2-free power generation as delegates from 200 countries prepare to meet in Copenhagen in December, to hammer out a new climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol whose first phase ends in 2012.

With world electricity demand expected to double by 2030, alternatives to fossil fuels must be applied whenever possible to ensure a balanced and reliable energy mix. AREVA is helping to achieve these goals by offering customers a wide-ranging portfolio of both nuclear and “renewable energy” solutions.

International concern

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change says he will be happy if the UN climate conference in Copenhagen (COP15) can deliver on “four essentials”:

• How much industrialized countrieswill reduce emissions,
• How much major developing countries will limit the growth of their emissions,
• How the help needed by developing countries to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change will be financed, and
• How that money will be managed.

Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard, incoming COP15 president, says Copenhagen is a “window of opportunity” which should not be missed. She is optimistic that after months of political stalemate key countries are now coming forward with new targets. “In that sense,” she says, “Copenhagen has already delivered results.”

Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy

To achieve stabilisation of CO2 emissions by 2030, The International Energy Agency’s annual World Energy Outlook for 2009 divides the world into several sectors and considers policy options for each. It looks at what the power sector could achieve under “a plausible set of commitments and policies which could emerge.” The IEA suggests “much faster roll-out of renewables and nuclear including urgent investment in carbon capture and storage,” while the richest countries should “facilitate the transfer of low-carbon technologies – through international sector agreements and the purchase of carbon credits and other measures.”

This would need some $12 trillion beyond the ’business as usual’ scenario, mostly for investment in energy efficiency, modernization of transport and construction of low-carbon power generation. The cost would be offset by savings in pollution control amounting to $100 billion a year. Investment in nuclear power could be boosted by $125 billion in 2010-2020, increasing to $491 billion in the decade to 2030, says the IEA. This would be in addition to growth already planned for nuclear power and would save an extra 1.87 billion tons in emissions a year.

AREVA’s Nuclear Asset

Nuclear isn’t the only solution for clean energy generation, but there is no solution without nuclear. As world leader in nuclear power and the only company to cover all industrial activities in this field, AREVA offers solutions throughout the nuclear fuel cycle. With more than forty years’ experience, its integrated business model in nuclear power is a major asset.

AREVA’s activities encompass everything from uranium exploration, mining and processing, reactor design, construction and maintenance, expended fuel and waste management. With this unique organization the group is able to meet the needs of utilities for CO2-free power generation.

Representing about 15% of the global electricity mix, nuclear power reduces the world’s emissions by almost 10% each year, avoiding the release of some 2.1 billion tons of CO2. Installed nuclear generating capacity will double by 2030, and AREVA is working to offer reactors suited to the requirements of each country.

AREVA is also developing next-generation fuel assemblies for light water reactors and, as part of an international research program, is working on Generation IV nuclear reactors, which are expected to increase power plant yields considerably.

Look for Part II tomorrow!

• Find the article on page 22 of AREVA Energy Business Magazine

Germany’s Der Spiegel has a chart on their website that we think best illustrates the key role nuclear energy has to play in any climate change plan. Not only is nuclear energy baseload and reliable, but it’s also much, much less expensive:

Using AREVA’s own EPR as a baseline for the cost of nuclear energy, it’s quite clear: If we want to reduce carbon emissions responsibly, nuclear energy has to be part of the solution.

(Hat tip to Charles Barton at Nuclear Green for the link!)

by Jarret Adams

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland speaks at AREVA's Ohio Supplier Day

AREVA’s second U.S. Supplier Day in Columbus, Ohio, saw another capacity turnout with representatives from more than 100 companies from the state and region. AREVA held the event to find new partner companies to help supply and build U.S. EPR™ nuclear plants in the United States, including possibly one in southern Ohio, and other export opportunities around the world.

Several leading energy companies, including AREVA, formed an alliance in June to develop America’s first clean energy park project at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) site in Piketon, Ohio. The Southern Ohio Clean Energy Park Alliance will evaluate the DOE Portsmouth site as a potential location for a new nuclear power plant. The initial focus of the project is on AREVA’s U.S. EPR™ technology.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland kicked off the event last night with a strong endorsement of nuclear energy: “I have been pro-nuclear since before it was cool.” He added, “Frankly, if climate change is our next big challenge—and I believe it is—it is irresponsible to ignore the only source of baseload electricity that produces no carbon emissions.”

A new U.S. EPR™ project would create thousands of jobs and spur significant local investment, but such a project also would require hundreds of qualified suppliers and subcontractors. That’s the reason AREVA is holding its Supplier Days now.

“AREVA came to Ohio to look for partners to manufacture and supply the thousands of components and to build U.S. EPR™ nuclear plants that are truly ‘Made in America,’ and further realize our vision of revitalizing America’s energy infrastructure,” said Mike Rencheck, President and CEO of AREVA NP Inc. “We have been overwhelmed by the strong response to our call for partners.”

The Ohio Supplier Day is the second of our planned events; the first was held in Baltimore in November.

by Jarret Adams

AREVA’s first U.S. Supplier Day in Baltimore played to a full house as representatives from more than 100 current and potential suppliers came to learn about how they can partner with AREVA to build new EPR™ reactors in the United States and internationally. Maryland is the first stop in a series of Supplier Days to be held in states where U.S. EPR™ reactors are planned.

The Supplier Day focused on the first project planned for the U.S. EPR™ reactor is under development by UniStar Nuclear Energy LLC, a joint venture between Constellation Energy and EDF. The new nuclear plant would be located adjacent to Constellation’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in southern Maryland.

“AREVA is committed to the revival of the U.S. nuclear energy industry and is investing in new nuclear projects around the country, and now we are looking for partners who can help us manufacture U.S. EPR™ nuclear plants that are ‘Made in America,’” said Mike Rencheck, President and CEO of AREVA NP Inc. “The strong response to our call for partners confirms our conviction that the AREVA EPR™ technology offers the path of greatest certainty for new nuclear power generation and to brings jobs to U.S. communities.”

In addition to creating thousands of jobs and spurring billions of dollars of investment into the regional economy, this project would require hundreds of qualified suppliers and subcontractors. That is why is AREVA is moving forward now to find the right partners not just to build new EPR™ reactors but to help revive the U.S. nuclear industry.

Here’s a great piece about the event from the Baltimore Sun.

The news out of the United Kingdom on Monday was that they’re going to be giving the go-ahead to start the process of building 10 new nuclear power plants in England and Wales.  According to the BBC, most of the new plants will be built on sites where there are already nuclear power plants in operation.  They’re hoping to fast-track the plants so that they’re ready to start operating by 2018.   As a world leader in nuclear energy AREVA’s EPR™ reactor technology is  already under consideration for a number of these new  plants. 

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband says that developing the plants will create 9,000 jobs and be an important part of the UK’s climate-change plans, along with an increased use of renewables and development of clean coal technology.

The UK gets it: Nuclear power has an essential role to play in the world’s CO2-free energy future.  They’ve decided that investing in the nuclear renaissance is a necessary part of combatting climate change and improving the economic situation for thousands of Britons. 
Will the USA be the next nation to announce a big investment in clean, reliable, CO2-free nuclear energy?  As the discussion about the climate change bill heats up on Capitol Hill, we’re hoping that it will.  The economic and environmental benefits of the nuclear renaissance are apparent.

• For more analysis on this move, we highly recommend Dan Yurman’s excellent write-up.

The nuclear safety authorities in Finland, France and the United Kingdom have raised common questions regarding the respective I&C (instrumentation and control) certifications for the EPR™ reactor in each country. AREVA pointed out in a statement today that the authorities have not called into question the safety of the EPR™ reactor.

This constant dialog between operators, constructors and nuclear safety authorities is an integral part of the certification and construction processes for new reactors. AREVA is currently working with the regulators in each country to make the necessary adaptations, if any, to meet local standards.

The EPR™ reactor is currently the most powerful reactor in the world and meets the highest safety standards. EPR™ reactors are currently being built in Finland, France and China and the certification process is underway in the United States. AREVA is working closely with the authorities in each country to determine how its model can respond to various local issues.

AREVA guarantees the safety of its reactor and welcomes the approach made by the safety authorities to introduce a global standardization for its I&C model.

by Jarret Adams

Antinuclear activists lately have been trotting out that old chestnut that nuclear energy is not really CO2-free and that this claim is some type of deception. Here’s the short version: nuclear power plants do not produce CO2 while they are producing electricity. For each new AREVA EPR™ reactor that we build, we can avoid 10 million tons of CO2 emissions per year compared to a coal-fired plant.

Chart courtesy NEI.

Here’s the longer version: all power sources, including nuclear energy, renewables, fossil fuels and everything else, produce CO2 at various points during their respective lifecycles. There are emissions during the construction of new facilities, manufacturing of components, obtaining and refining the fuel, transportation to and from the facility, and so on. On the basis of lifecycle emissions, there is no energy source that does not produce some CO2 emissions when one includes full lifecycle and all related activities.

Nevertheless, even when one considers the lifecycle emissions of nuclear energy and renewables, they are very comparable. Reputable studies confirm this. A 2002 University of Wisconsin study showed that nuclear energy had 17 tons of CO2 emissions per Gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity compared with 14 tons of CO2 emissions per GWh for wind. For comparison, coal had 1,041 tons of CO2 emissions per GWh.

Several other studies, including 2008 study by the International Energy Agency (OECD), and a 2006 study by the U.K. Government, offer similar conclusions: nuclear energy lifecycle emissions are similar to wind and lower than solar photovoltaic. Here also is a great article from a UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) publication that lays it out well.

This should take nothing away from renewables – AREVA supports renewables. We are currently installing our M5000 offshore wind turbines off the coast of Germany and recently announced an agreement to build 80 more. These 5 MW turbines are the world’s biggest, and we hope to build hundreds of them around the world, including here in North America.

The point is that nuclear energy and renewables are complementary and are key elements in helping us move toward a low-carbon future. Anti-nukes seem to believe that a dollar spent on nuclear energy is a dollar taken away from renewables. This is not true. We need to begin investing more in both if we are serious about addressing our energy and climate change goals.