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

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.

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.

By Katherine Berezowskyj

As part of the audience yesterday during the opening plenary of the American Nuclear Society’s annual conference, I heard speeches from some of the industry’s most prominent leaders, government officials, and distinguished politicians. They spoke of the critical need for new nuclear builds over the next few decades, but never has this message had so much at stake. Facing a global crisis on multiple fronts, they have all come forward to say that while nuclear is not the answer, it must be part of the solution.

America needs nuclear because it will be a domestic energy source that is clean and reliable, and one that can provide thousands of jobs. But these leaders already understand this message and are working right now to develop new projects and legislation for a cleaner, secure energy future. It is now up to Americans really look at our needs, the problems we face and make a decision.

“I do believe that climate change is an issue and we need to deal with carbon in the air…I think the most effective way to do it is to double nuclear production and to do heavy (research and development) on alternative energy.”

– Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, who had just announced with Democratic Senator Webb a plan to issue legislation doubling nuclear power in the US within 20 years and funding research into renewables and recycling of nuclear waste.

Closing the session along with Virginia Senator Jim Webb, Senator Lemar Alexander (Tennessee) had a poignant analogy: if we were going to war, we would not mothball our nuclear navy and start investing in sailboats. (video).

Greenpeace militants yesterday boarded a ship transporting steam generators to the Olkiluoto 3 EPR reactor in Finland.

The organization’s action, taken in the run-up to December’s climate summit in Copenhagen, is a protest against nuclear energy, which it claims would harm efforts to combat climate change.

Once again, Greenpeace has attacked the wrong target – while no one claims nuclear power is THE solution, it is widely accepted as being ONE of the solutions that can help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

To quote a well-known saying, “Our house is burning and we are looking the other way.” If we apply this metaphor, then Greenpeace’s attempts to stand in the way of nuclear power is like preventing a trusted fire service from getting to the blaze.

In the United States, for example, nuclear energy is by far the largest source of CO2-free electricity production and plays a significant role in preventing additional greenhouse gas emissions.  Its role in preventing emissions is even greater in France, because the country receives roughly 80% of its electricity from nuclear energy.

AREVA is saddened that Greenpeace refuses to engage in a calmer debate on energy issues. According to AREVA spokesperson Jacques-Emmanuel Saulnier, “This buccaneering behavior is the thanks AREVA gets for opening up to this association, which for instance was welcomed just last week to its mining sites in Niger. If Greenpeace wants to find out more about steam generators, it doesn’t need to show off like this – the doors of the Chalon Saint-Marcel plant are wide open for it to come and see how these reactor components are made.”

Here are the messages from twitter users at the ANS 2009 conference using the #ans09 hashtag.

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.

The nuclear energy industry has not always been the most popular kid on the block—thanks in part to some gross misinformation that gets passed around. However, a recent piece by Corey Taule in the Idaho Falls Post Register factually addressed some inaccurate claims made by the Snake River Alliance about AREVA’s planned Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility. Taule argues that Alliance claims like “Uranium Enrichment—It’s About the Bomb!” and “Tell Your Neighbors—Uranium Enrichment is ‘an open road to a nuclear weapon,” will not be persuasive because, as Taule points out, “Eastern Idaho is pro-nuclear and educated about the issue.”

He points out that “America’s nuclear plants need enriched uranium to produce power. The concentration of U-235, the fissionable isotope in uranium, need to be increased from .07 percent to between 3 percent and 5 percent for use as a nuclear fuel. That’s where AREVA’s centrifuge process comes in,” and that Eagle Rock will not have the capacity to generate “weapons-grade fuel [that] generally comes in at about 85 percent.”

Answering the Alliance’s claims about depleted uranium disposal, he refers to the fact that “AREVA has said repeatedly it will not store depleted uranium on site. We live here. This is our backyard…So where will it go? Depleted uranium has commercial applications as tank armor and counterweights. As to the leftover, federal law requires the government accept depleted uranium with no commercial value.”

The Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility will have an estimated multi-billon dollar economic impact and create hundreds of jobs. It also will meet 25 percent of the nation’s critical enrichment needs, especially considering “that if the U.S. is serious about reducing carbon emissions, nuclear must become a greater part of the nation’s power portfolio. That means building more nuclear power plants. Some estimate that even after AREVA’s Eagle Rock facility comes online, America will still import 25 percent of its enriched uranium from Russia.”

The whole piece from Sunday October 25, “Watching the Watchdog,” is worth a read.

For more information about the planned Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility, the potential economic impact, U.S. enrichment needs, and AREVA’s commitments to sustainable development, safety and the environment, check here.

The AP news report notices what we’ve been blogging about here often, that “nuclear energy becomes piviotal in the climate debate…” The article notes that there are:

“…104 power reactors in 31 states provide a fifth of the nation’s electricity while producing essentially carbon free power and no greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s something the nuclear industry has been pushing in advertising and in lobbying on Capitol Hill for nearly a decade. But only recently has it begun to resonate, not only among industry supporters, but some skeptics as well.

‘If you want to address climate change and produce electricity, nuclear has got to be a significant part of the equation,’ Marvin Fertel, president of Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry trade group, said in an interview.

Not unexpected from a top industry lobbyist. But the same is being heard from Republicans and Democrats in Congress, from a growing number of environmentalists, and from the White House where nuclear power otherwise has received tepid support.”

The article describes the upcoming energy bill well:

“The Senate this week will kick off three committee hearings on legislation to cap greenhouse gases from power plants and large industrial facilities, with an intent of cutting them about 80 percent by 2050. The House has already passed a bill. It’s chances in the Senate could hinge in part on whether demands by a handful of GOP senators for measures to help build new reactors are included in the bill…

Sponsors of the climate bill are far short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster, but hope compromises could be forged to bring uncommitted centrist Democrats and some Republicans on board.”

We’d suggest that in addition to being good politics, including incentives to nuclear energy in this climate bill has the added benefit of being simply good policy.