Edf Incident Nuclear Power Plant

Nicolas Sarkozy pledges €1bn investment in nuclear power

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy , has bucked the anti-nuclear trend following Japan's Fukushima disaster by pledging €1bn of investment in atomic power.

Despite growing worldwide concern about the safety of nuclear plants, Sarkozy said the moratorium on new nuclear reactors adopted by certain countries since the Japanese nuclear crisis in March "makes no sense".

"There is no alternative to nuclear energy today," he told journalists on Monday.

"We are going to devote €1bn to the nuclear programme of the future, particularly fourth-generation technology," Sarkozy said.

Sarkozy also promised "substantial resources" to strengthen research into nuclear safety and a further €1.3bn (£1.2bn) investment in renewable energy.

The announcement confirming France's commitment to atomic power came as neighbouring Germany drew up plans to shut all its nuclear stations by 2022.

It also came 24 hours after thousands of anti-nuclear protesters formed a human chain outside France's oldest nuclear power station to demand its closure.

The plant at Fessenheim in Alsace, on France's border with Germany, has become the focus of a fierce debate over nuclear safety.

At the weekend, demonstrators from France, Germany and Switzerland surrounded the plant calling for its number one reactor, in operation since 1977, to be taken out of service, claiming it was vulnerable to flooding and earthquakes. The plant is operated by French power group EDF.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced in May that Germany would phase out its 17 nuclear reactors by 2022 at a cost of €40bn. She said Germany would concentrate on renewable energy sources.

"We want to end the use of nuclear energy and reach the age of renewable energy as fast as possible," Merkel said.

Switzerland has also decided not to replace its five existing nuclear reactors, which supply around 40% of its energy, when they reach the end of their working life. The last of the nuclear stations is expected to end production by 2034, leaving time for Switzerland to develop alternative power sources.

Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, sought to restart his country's nuclear programme, abandoned in the 1980s. But 94% of Italian voters rejected the idea in a referendum earlier this month.

France has 58 nuclear reactors, which supply 74% of its electricity, and is the world's largest net exporter of electricity from nuclear sources.

UK | EDF says no leakage at French nuclear plants « Fukushima News ...

UK | REUTERS |  22 June 2011 

* Cites minor incident in April involving no external leaks

* EDF shares down as much as 2.3 pct on strong volume

* Leaks, radioactive discharges reported by website

* Separate plant being reconnected after minor fault

(Adds quotes, minor fault in separate plant)

By Sybille de La Hamaide

PARIS, June 22 (Reuters) – EDF denied on Wednesday there had been radioactive leaks at any of its French nuclear plants, after market talk of a possible incident hit its share price.

France  relies on nuclear power for much more of its energy than any other European country, giving it some of the area’s lowest power rates.

But Japan’s Fukushima crisis has raised anxieties about whether French authorities are doing enough to avoid a similar accident.

A spokeswoman for the state-controlled electricity company said a minor incident in April inside the No.3 reactor of its Paluel plant had caused an internal breach in waterproofing, but that no external leakage had occurred.

“There is no leak,” the spokeswoman said, referring to the problem in April.

“There was a slight seepage in one of the fuel assemblies of the Paluel reactor 3. The situation was stabilised without any impact on the site’s safety or the environment.”

Adding to nuclear jitters in France, which relies on nuclear power for about 75 percent of its electricity needs, EDF said another reactor was being reconnected to the grid after a minor system fault on Tuesday.

EDF shares dropped as much as 2.3 percent in strong volume — representing a market capitalisation wipeout of about 1 billion euros for the giant utility group — as rumours of a leakage at a French nuclear plant spread across trading floors.

They later trimmed losses and were down 0.6 percent by 1450 GMT, lagging the 0.1 percent lower European sector .

Shares in French reactor builder Areva were down 1.8 percent.

EDF’s stock has tumbled 16 percent, while Areva’s shares have plunged 29 percent, since Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami sparked a nuclear crisis in the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, French investigative website Mediapart reported there had been a series of malfunctions at the Paluel plant in the northern region of Normandy, which it said produces some 8 percent of the country’s nuclear power capacity.

Indemnisation Des Dommages en Cas D'accident Nucléaire, Compte Rendu D'un Atelier: Paris, France, 26-28 Novembre 2001

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Severe accidents in nuclear power plants, proceedings of an International Symposium on Severe Accidents in Nuclear Power Plants

Balancing automation and human action in nuclear power plants, proceedings of an International Symposium on Balancing Automation and Human Action in Nuclear Power Plants

Feedback of operational safety experience from nuclear power plants, proceedings of an International Symposium on Feedback of Operational Safety Experience from Nuclear Power Plants