Nuclear Plant Journal, July-August 2014 NuclearPlantJournal.com
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We have to be mindful of the
economics. The market and grid dynamics
right now are such that there is a question
as to whether some plants will continue
to operate after 2014. For some plants, if
the utility tries to do everything at once,
it could cause the plant to shut down or
threaten the overall health of the utility.
We also pay the utmost attention
to the assumptions we make when
preforming analyses, say for flooding and
seismic. Invalid assumptions may call for
unnecessary plant modifications. As a
result, it is important that we are critical
of our assumptions and use conservative
decision making as we address these
new regulations. Our job is to help our
customers invest their money wisely.
3.
Provide an overview of AREVA’s
global business?
Last year, we launched the
commercial production of Georges Besse
II, an enrichment facility in France.
The facility is in operation and we are
gradually ramping up production between
now and 2016.
We are constructing multiple
EPR™ reactors in Europe and Asia.
For example, Taishan 1 and 2 are being
constructed in China. November 2013,
AREVA completed the fuel assembly
fabrication and installed the first high-
voltage 10 kilovolt switchgear in the
electrical building for Taishan 1. We’re
also in discussions for additional reactors
in China.
Under our AREVA Med subsidiary,
we opened the Maurice Tubiana Facility
located in the Limousin region of France
in November 2013. After receiving
the administrative authorizations and
completing the prerequisite technical
testing, the new facility started production
to extract and to purify lead-212 (²¹²Pb)
for fighting cancer. The story behind that
venture is amazing and one of our most
successful business incubator projects.
We just recently expanded the Phase 1
clinical trial in the United States through
collaboration with the University of
California, San Diego’s Moores Cancer
Center.
In January 2014, we installed the
reactor pressure vessel at the Flamanville
3 site in France, which is coming along
quite well. We are finishing the Olkiluoto
3 instrumentation and controls (I&C) in
Finland and look forward to having it
online very soon.
Alongside these major construction
projects, the EPR™ and ATMEA™ are
being competitively bid globally with
great traction. AREVA passed a decisive
step for the sale of two EPR™ reactors
at Hinkley Point in the United Kingdom,
in addition to supplying the nuclear steam
supply system, digital I&C and fuel over
an extended period.
As for recycling, the only operating
facilities are currently located in France,
but there is one under construction in
Japan. There is discussion to build a
recycling facility in China, but nothing is
final there yet.
4.
Does AREVA have any contracts for
technology transfer after the new plants
are built?
As the four EPR™ reactors we are
currently building will demonstrate,
we developed the optimal Generation
III+ pressurized water reactor design,
keeping in mind safety, sustainability,
performance and competitiveness. We
expect to build more EPR™ reactors
globally and remain fully committed to
completing the U.S. EPR™ license as
well.
Through our Safety Alliance
Program, we collaborate with utilities
worldwide to help them demonstrate
or upgrade the safety of their existing
plants. The comprehensive range of
products, services and solutions we offer
help them meet ever-increasing safety
requirements and achieve the three main
safety imperatives: resistance to major
hazards, robustness of cooling capability
and prevention of environmental damage.
As of 2012, we’ve launched more than 30
Safety Alliance projects in 11 countries.
5.
Concluding comments?
We must ensure that nuclear energy
is a viable source of electricity well into
the future for a number of reasons. The
current economics related to nuclear
power operations are being challenged
in many markets by subsidized forms of
energy. We must find a way to place a
value on the ancillary benefits of nuclear
in order to level the field. Not only is
nuclear power a safe, carbon-free, stable
and reliable energy source but benefits
such as grid stability and on-site fuel
storage offer advantages to the grid
structure. At AREVA, we are working
hard to raise awareness of the expansive
benefits of nuclear energy. For instance,
last year in the United States, nuclear
energy provided 63 percent of carbon-
free electricity and 19 percent of the
overall electricity supply, and prevented
589 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide. To put this into perspective,
the amount of carbon dioxide prevented
by nuclear power plants is equal to the
amount of carbon dioxide emitted by 113
million passenger cars. Without nuclear
energy, carbon emissions from the U.S.
electric sector would be approximately
25 percent higher.
Our goal is to help our customers’
existing fleets become even more
reliable, improve their capacity factors
while reducing operating costs, and
enable them to operate safely and
efficiently beyond 60 years. This past
winter was particularly severe in many
parts of the country, but nuclear energy
facilities performed well and continue to
be the premier clean, base-load electricity
provider.
Our nation’s nuclear energy plants
are vital national assets that provide
reliable, carbon-free electricity to tens
of millions of households and businesses
around the country. Therefore, we need to
make sure that nuclear energy continues
to be a major source of electricity well
into the future. Nuclear energy matters. It
is a safe and stable investment, and it’s
the right choice for North America as part
of a diverse energy mix. At AREVA, our
slogan is “forward-looking energy.” What
that means is it’s our mission to educate
our stakeholders, to promote nuclear
energy’s contributions and benefits,
and to help our utility customers stay
competitive, safe and reliable, so they
can continue to provide clean air nuclear
energy.
Contact: Mary Beth Ginder, AREVA Inc.,
1 International Plaza, Suite 210, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; telephone: (301) 841-1703,
email:
