In recent weeks the government continues its march toward the resumption of nuclear energy in Italy - registering a vote against the State-Regions Conference - and Enel continues its activity of agit-prop presenting with bright prospects for the Confederation of Italian companies. According to Enel, the "non-nuclear" (not covered by patents) is 70% of the investment, while the share for EDF nuclear power accounts for 60%. It should be recalled that the talks last November between Ansaldo and Areva to enter the nuclear know-how of the island have had no success in Finland and also in the civil works the French giant Bouygues is the lion's share in terms of procurement, however, with results very discutibili.Lo Last October, the Finnish nuclear safety agency STUK stop the welding of the primary circuit of the EPR reactor being built in Olkiluoto, for having found any irregularities in the implementation the works. These are the same pipe welds which had been the subject of investigation in the past. This time the problem is not the weld, but the welding work done to cover cosmetic defects on the surface of the pipes. And that, contrary to the practice, but it has been documented. If ever you were to redo all the work it would take three anni.Il head of STUK Jukka Laaksonen says that "the timetable was unrealistic from the outset. When TVO ordered the new reactor was no longer built a nuclear reactor in Western Europe or the U.S. for over 10 years, and none had experience with a reactor of this size. Areva had no experience in the management of a site of this magnitude, the French are accustomed to go ahead and finish the documentation at a later time while the Finns want to approved projects on paper before you begin or continue work "(Huvudstadsbladet, November 11, 2009). "The cement truck after truck arrived. And we pumped. Even when the reinforcement system was not over. The cement could not aspettare.Gli Bouygues inspectors ordered us to cover the obvious defects of the structure with concrete. If there were big mistakes, the inspectors observed, but these smaller ... were left there "(interview with Polish workers employed on site at Helsingin Sanomat, January 31, 2010). If Finland France's Areva Finland's TVO and criticizing each other for the faults of construction delays, threatening billions with requests, the conflict within the French industry, including Areva and EDF, broke to the point that the leaders of the two companies - owned largely public - were asked to report by the Minister Fillon that imposed silence. The casus belli was caused by the call for tenders for four nuclear reactors lost in the UAE in December last year (won by a consortium sudcoerano). Enel is interesting to note that in January there are still a cost for reactor 4000000000-4.5000000000 euro, while in Abu Dhabi, the French made an offer that is approximately € To 6.5 billion reactor. There was still only a question of price - as is apparent in an analysis appeared in the newspaper The National in Abu Dhabi on January 16 last year - but also an effect of the fiasco in Finland. On the matter to the Financial Times reported on January 15 as the top management of Areva is considering the possibility of reproducing the second-generation reactors CPR 1000 - France has ceased to build 20 years - for those customers who enter the figure nucleare.La bid for the race in the UAE is even higher than the estimate by Citigroup in a report published in November to assess the costs of nuclear power in the UK market. According to the report, because the investment in nuclear power is profitable in that country, the electricity price should be € 65-70 per MWh. But Undersecretary Saglia announces that with the cost of nuclear power in Italy will be 40 € / MWh: Saglia would be interesting to ask if he believes most of the costs that Enel has at press conferences or what the French industry to submit tenders. The conflict in the French nuclear power has now become glaring. While Areva relationships with Gas de France-Suez, President Sarkozy asked François Roussely - former President of EDF and friend of the new head of electrical Henri Proglio - to prepare a report for the April 2010 to determine whether Areva has the ability to do the "conductor" of the nuclear industry. According to the sources of the French press, a dismantling of Areva is on the horizon, but it is not the first time that this assumption is palesata.Questa would be the failure of the EPR design certification that the terms in which it was proposed - 3 billion cost, 48 months for construction and absolute security - has already failed: even the site of Flamanville multiply the voices of a delay of 2 years already accumulated. The sudden decision by Siemens in January 2009 to sell their quota of 34% of Areva NP had provoked angry - 'this is not the way to behave in business, typically send signals ", The Economist, January 29, 2009 - Today the move seems less incomprehensible. We'll see if, after the report by the British Safety HSE update on the licensing process of the EPR in the UK, have been overcome the problems encountered on the control system of emergency and if they were given the information to judge the tightness of the shell containment of an accident aereo.Di new government made it clear, through the Secretary Saglia, that there are no subsidies to nuclear power. The same certainty, however, not share the British National Audit Office, an organization that monitors public finances. In its report published in January about the sale of British Energy to EDF, it also analyzes the real possibility that EDF build new reactors without receiving public subsidies. He concludes that "it will take many years to determine whether the sale of British Energy will bring to the construction of new nuclear power without public subsidies." These difficulties in reconciling the market and nuclear power are the basis of the ad given by the Minister David Millband want to review the structure too deregulated market that is not conducive to wind and nuclear. The British government will revert to the previous system, the reform of 1989, where he also paid the power available is not used, then was abandoned by the Thatcher reform because of its poor flessibilità.Negli U.S. President Obama - in an attempt to find greater consensus on Climate Bill - is considering tripling of funds for secured loans at reduced rates introduced by Bush in 2007, rising from 18.5 billion to 54. The financial analysis of Moody's concluded in 2008 that with the incentives introduced by Bush could do only one or two plants, and apparently was an analysis corretta.In conclusion, the EPR is increasingly difficult and is causing conflict in ' French nuclear industry, the costs are clearly higher than expected and it is increasingly clear that without subsidies in various forms even countries that have the nuclear industry are able to reconstruct at least part of facilities that will be closed. Because in Italy and Enel's nuclear government tell us more stories? The goal, perhaps, is just to sign contracts that lock in case the program will produce new "nuclear charges" (download it in the bill) to turn to the French as a bargaining chip for some possible future share in the EPR. And, meanwhile, are increasing barriers to renewables.
