Areva says it is ready to build 12 reactors in South Africa

1/31/08

Areva says it is ready to build 12 reactors in South Africa

Thu Jan 31, 9:07 AM ET
French nuclear giant Areva said on Thursday it was ready to build up to 12 next-generation power plants in South Africa, where massive electricity shortages shut down the key mining industry this month.

Areva said that in addition to an earlier plan to build two nuclear power plants in South Africa, announced earlier this month, it would now offer 10 more of its third generation systems through to 2025.

These would be built in partnership with construction and communication conglomerate Bouygues and electricity giant EDF of France, alongside South African engineering firm Aveng -- the same companies involved in the first two.

Areva said it was offering South Africa "a total partnership, covering the construction of EPR (third-generation) reactors and joint development of the South African nuclear industry."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to visit South Africa on February 26-27 and will be accompanied, among others, by the head of Areva, Anne Lauvergeon.

South Africa, the continent's strongest economy, has been beset by power shortages in recent years as demand outpaced supply, with the problem hitting crisis proportions earlier this month as cuts forced the shutdown of the country's mining sector.

The government has been under fierce pressure because a 1998 white paper had warned that "timely steps will have to be taken to ensure that demand does not exceed available supply."

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Ten Reasons To Say No To Nuclear Power

1. Climate change is underway. Renewable energy can be brought online faster, more cheaply and more safely than nuclear power. 2. Reactors are sitting-duck targets and are not even defended to the ferocity of the 9/11 attacks. 3. Nuclear power is not emissions-free. Reactors routinely release radioactivity and use fossil fuels at every step from uranium mining to waste storage. 4. Building more reactors in the U.S. sends the wrong message abroad. Commercial nuclear technology inevitably leads to nuclear weapons capability. 5. The Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive dump is unsound and even if opened could not accommodate all wastes if generation continues. 6. Evacuation plans are unrealistic. Hurricane Katrina taught us that a mass evacuation during a serious radiological release would be a chaotic catastrophe. 7. A typical 1000 megawatt nuclear reactor produces enough plutonium each year to make 40 atomic bombs, an unacceptable risk. 8. New and old reactors are most prone to break down. U.S. reactors are old. New ones increase the risk of accident. 9. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission—mandated to watchdog the nuclear industry – chooses to protect industry profit over public health and safety. 10. The most defenseless are at the greatest risk—children, the elderly, minorities, the poor and animals—at every phase of the nuclear fuel chain. Ten Brighter Ideas 1. If every U.S. household installed one compact fluorescent light bulb, the power savings would equal the power produced by one nuclear reactor. 1=1! 2. Twenty compact fluorescents in every U.S. home could displace at least 25% of U.S. nuclear reactors. 3. Updated lighting, appliances, heating, cooling and other electrical systems can save more energy than all 103 U.S. reactors produce annually. 4. Cost-effective energy efficiency measures for homes and businesses can save at least 20% of electricity use. 5. Turning off and unplugging electrical equipment not in use and line-drying clothes seem like small measures but can make a big difference. 6. Homeowners and renters alike can choose to buy green power instead of nuclear generated electricity. 7. Properly sealing and insulating your home can save 25%-40% of building heat loss. 8. Renewable energy sources can meet 25% of U.S. energy needs by 2025. 9. Shifting to locally-generated electricity avoids waste, reduces brownouts and blackouts, increases efficiency of service and creates jobs. 10. Every dollar spent on nuclear power instead of fossil fuels results in releasing six times more carbon than if the same dollar is spent on efficiency. www.nirs.org 301.270.6477

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1/31/08