An op-ed by AREVA North America CEO Jacques Besnainou that appeared in yesterday’s Tri-City Herald (Wash.).

Jacques Besnainou, AREVA North America CEO

“Despite broad support for effective climate legislation, its passage is not certain. Yes, many stakeholders want action. But too many of them are promoting parochial interests at the expense of the greater good.

Some special interest groups focus entirely on energy efficiency. Others are wedded to renewable sources and say no others need apply. Still others are battling for a greater role for biofuels, small hydro, clean coal, nuclear energy or any of a host of others. Which one should the government choose?

My response is that it is not an either/or question. We need a broad range of clean energy alternatives and we need to get moving. While some projects already are under way, a strong climate bill would hasten the development of more clean energy projects and create thousands of additional green jobs.

Rather than advocating and defending so many individual energy “silos,” none of which will solve the problem alone, we should unite behind a holistic approach. We should rally around the broad banner of clean energy, defined as all sources that produce little or no carbon dioxide and have a minimal impact on the environment.
Two areas are particularly promising and deserve priority attention in developing a holistic solution.

The first is renewable energy, especially offshore wind, biomass and solar. Today, renewables account for 3 percent of our energy supply, but there is great potential for growth.

Wind off our coasts is perpetual, continuous and clean. No one can disrupt its supply. Similarly, the sun offers the potential for an inexhaustible source of energy.
The second is nuclear energy, which supplies 20 percent of the nation’s total electricity, but is by far the largest source of CO2-free electricity.

America’s nuclear power sector accounts for nearly 75 percent of our clean air energy, thus any expansion of our nuclear sector would avoid massive volumes of emissions.

But a sizeable number of Americans still harbor fears of nuclear power. Our challenge is to do a better job of informing the publicabout the nuclear industry’s exemplary safety record over the last 50 years.

There are those who suggest that, as we develop a cleaner, more efficient power sector, we must choose between nuclear energy and renewables. This is a false choice, and forcing people to make one would be a huge mistake.

The solution is not nuclear energy or renewables. It is not a focus on energy efficiency or new generation. Finding our way to a low-carbon future means we need more energy efficiency, renewables, nuclear energy and other clean sources if we are to succeed.”

Read the full piece from the Tri-City Herald (Wash.) here.

A version of the op-ed also appeared in Sunday’s Lynchburg (Va.) News & Advance.

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.

Patrick Bourdet, President and CEO, AREVA Med

We have discussed our efforts in nuclear medicine and the AREVA Med project a couple of times on the blog before, and now I am very pleased tell you about our new website, www.arevamed.com.

Here you will be able to discover more information on the project’s history, basic and technical merit. Through innovation, AREVA Med is determined to develop new powerful anticancer treatments. Please check back often for updates and news as we continue to our efforts in therapies to target cancer.

I hope you are as excited as the AREVA Med team is for this project and what it can bring for oncologists and patients to combat cancer.
-Patrick Bourdet
President and Chief Executive Officer, AREVA Med

AREVA Inc. will form a Community Advisory Council (CAC) to raise greater awareness of the benefits of clean energy technology, including nuclear energy and renewables, and to build a working group of representatives from influential organizations who will informally advise the company on energy and sustainability issues. At the same time, company representatives can respond to questions and concerns about these issues.

“When it is about energy, there must be no taboo subjects. All issues, including the tricky ones, must be on the table. And when it is about nuclear energy in particular, public concerns must be taken seriously and addressed honestly. If Governments must show leadership and continuity, nuclear industry must be open to public debate. And we – AREVA – are convinced that, through genuine dialog, all legitimate concerns can be overcome,” said Laurence Pernot, vice president of communications at AREVA. “That is why we have decided to create this Council…to foster a dialog. For us, it is key and the only way to build sane relationships with our stakeholders.”

The National Associations of Neighborhoods (NAN) and Labor Council for Latin American Advancement have signed on to co-chair the Council, and several of the attending organizations have indicated desire to participate in AREVA’s’ Community Advisory Board.

As part of the work of the Council, the members will receive periodic briefings from AREVA to learn about more about upcoming technologies, business plans and company announcements, More so, we see this as an opportunity seek insight from some of the best minds and often overlooked communities on these important issues so critical to the energy debate.

The new initiative was announced a recent briefing and dinner in Washington, D.C., attended by energy, minority, consumer, environmental groups and think tanks to learn more about AREVA’s solutions for clean energy production, including nuclear energy and renewables, and its sustainability efforts. Attendees learned about AREVA technology, including our EPR reactor, used nuclear fuel recycling, and our renewable business in biopower (ADAGE), solar and offshore wind.

We were excited to have so many diverse groups in attendance, including the National Urban League, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the US Conference of Mayors, League of United Latin American Citizens, Earth Echo International, MANA: A National Latina Organization, the Democratic Governors Association, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Center for Asian American Women, National Latino Coalition on Climate Change, the Progressive Policy Institute, the National Association of Neighborhoods, Cuban American National Council, the National Puerto Rican Coalition, National Council of Asian American Business, the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute, Greenlining Institute, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association.

A few representatives from the organizations, such as Ricardo Byrd of the National Association of Neighborhoods and Hazel Edney from National Newspaper Publishers Association had toured several AREVA facilities in France and told the group about their visit and personal experiences. Specifically, they both commented how they both returned from the visit to these facilities with a better understanding of new nuclear technology and how they hope to dispel many common and outdated misconceptions of nuclear energy.

To learn more about AREVA, future briefings or AREVA Inc.’s Community Advisory Council please contact: Susan Hess, Director of External Relations at 301-841-1693 or susan.hess@areva.com.

The Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia has a poll up on their website asking if AREVA Newport News is good for the Newport News area – and we’re pleased to report that at the moment, 66% of respondents say “yes.” We (obviously) couldn’t agree more! Not only will the AREVA Newport News facility bring hundreds of jobs to the Newport News area, but it’ll also bring heavy components manufacturing back to the U.S. – reducing our dependence on foreign suppliers. Though this poll isn’t scientific, it’s still a good indicator that people in the Newport News area agree with us, and are excited about our partnership and the benefit to the local economy.

Architectural rendition of AREVA Newport News

So history tells us that movements began with the people, not with government and then, when they became powerful enough, government responds…So there’s a lesson in this for our cause….

Government clearly has a major role, there are no two ways about that. But I also believe in the power of the iconoclast and the entrepreneur and the individualist. I believe in the power of the scientists, the capitalists and the activists. I believe in the power of the cities and the states and the provinces to be laboratories for new ideas, which the national governments then can go and study and adopt….

So ladies and gentlemen, the world’s governments alone cannot make progress, the kind of progress that is needed on global climate change. They alone cannot do it. They need everyone coming together, everyone working together. They need the cities, they need the states, they need the provinces and the regions. They need the corporations, the activists, the scientists and the universities. They need the individuals whose vision and determination create movements. They need everybody out there.

So ladies and gentlemen, let us regain our momentum, let us regain our purpose, let us regain our hope by liberating the transformative power beneath the national level. That can be the great contribution of Copenhagen — that could be the great contribution of Copenhagen.

                    - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

By Katherine Berezowskyj

This week The Economist, like many other news sources, got into the spirit of Copenhagen. The timely section “Getting Warmer: A special report on climate change and the carbon economy,” covered a series of issues that being debated at the summit right now.

In particular, the article, “Good Policy, and Bad; some mitigation policies are effective, some are efficient, and some are neither,” discusses the mechanisms that are available for emissions reduction and how effectively can incentivize clean technologies.

“Greenhouse-gas emission targets can be implemented through three sorts of policy instruments—regulation, carbon-pricing and subsidies. Governments generally like regulation (because it appears to be cost-free), economists like carbon prices (because they are efficient) and businesses like subsidies (because they get the handouts).”

As part of their analysis on some of the blunders made through subsidy incentives, they included this positive note on nuclear energy:

“Europe’s energy subsidies, unlike America’s, do not include nuclear, largely because of German opposition (which may change, following Angela Merkel’s recent election victory). Nuclear power is more expensive than coal and gas, but probably cheaper than most renewables—though nobody is sure, since political opposition has ensured that few plants have been built in the West in recent years. Nuclear power does, however, have the virtue of scale. For renewables a gigawatt of power is a massive amount; for nuclear power it is the basic unit.”

By Tom DePonty

Rendering of proposed Gadsden plant

Residents, area leaders, and local business people from Greater Gadsden County packed the City Commission Building in Gretna, Florida on Wednesday to learn about ADAGE’s new partnership with the community to build its second biopower facility in Florida.

ADAGE President Reed Wills joined City of Gretna Mayor Anthony Baker, Gadsden County Commission Chairman Eugene Lamb, State Representative Alan Williams, and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director David Gardner to deliver this exciting news.

Photo Caption: From Left: Reed Wills, President, ADAGE; Anthony Baker, Mayor, City of Gretna; Eugene Lamb, Chairman, Gadsden County Commission; David Gardner, Executive Director, Gadsden County Chamber of Commerce; and Representative Alan Williams

“We are excited to partner with the community here in Gadsden County as ADAGE continues to work to build a biopower industry in Florida that will deliver clean energy and new economic development to the state,” said Reed Wills. “ADAGE looks forward to working with the City of Gretna to deliver new job opportunities to Florida in 2010.”

“The people of Gretna share ADAGE’s vision for creating new economic development opportunities through 21st century clean energy technology,” said Gretna Mayor Anthony J. Baker.

ADAGE has secured the rights to a site in Gretna and plans to submit the applications for the state environmental permits before the end of the year. ADAGE hopes to begin construction before the end of 2010.

Senator Pete DomeniciBy Katherine Berezowskyj

By Katherine Berezowskyj

Today at the National Press Club, Sen. Pete Domenici called on U.S. leadership to really engage and begin work on the question of used nuclear fuel. Domenici declared that “the United States lags in the development and deployment of new nuclear technologies.” In particular, he asserted that:

“America is stalled in thinking about used nuclear fuel. Other countries have developed, or are in advanced stages of developing, strategies to address waste and non-proliferation concerns. Countries like France and Japan have been applying recycling technology to reduce waste volume by 75 percent or more. They have been tackling this challenge for years. We are stuck in policies that are more than 30 years old.”

Domenici called for a waste management strategy to concentrate on the “deployment of a strong domestic capability [that] is necessary to provide the foundation for the United States to participate in any meaningful way in the global management of used nuclear fuel.”

Building recycling infrastructure is important for non-proliferation initiatives like the 123 Agreement with the United Arab Emirates. To develop its own nuclear energy program, the U.A.E. has agreed to not pursue uranium enrichment or to recycle the used fuel. According to Domenici, “this is a model that, with modifications, may work in future agreements with other nations. However, this model requires adequate international infrastructure to responsibly manage used fuel through arrangements for take-back, treatment, recycling, and storage of spent fuel. America’s present domestic policy is out of step with our demonstrated technology and scientific abilities.”

Domenici is challenging the United States to jumpstart our domestic resurgence and provide credible international leadership-”The global resurgence of nuclear power is a reality. We need to recognize that and provide leadership in the areas of non-proliferation and waste treatment.”

You can find the full text of his speech here on the Bipartisan Policy Center site.

Here are some great images of the heavy components as they are unloaded at the OL3 site.

Olkiluoto 3: Yesterday in Finland AREVA delivered four steam generators and pressurizer for the OL3 reactor currently under construction. These heavy reactor components that were crafted with precision at AREVA’s Saint-Marcel plant are an excellent display of AREVA’s engineering and manufacturing expertise. These pieces are also the first components ever manufactured for the generation III+ EPR™ reactor.

For more information on the successful delivery that continues the progress at OL3, check out the press release.

Heavy equipment en route to the Olkiluoto 3 site.