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Is French nuclear headed towards insolvency?
France begins its costly nuclear bailoutBy Craig Morris on 12 June 2015
Renewables International
Last week, the French government announced plans to inject cash into Areva, the firm that constructs nuclear plants in the country. It is a desperate attempt to ward off the inevitable: bankruptcy.
The French nuclear power sector has always been a top priority for government officials ever since the practically forgotten (and failed) Messmer Plan of the early 1970s. With few orders for nuclear reactors on the books and tremendous cost overruns for the EPR plant under construction in Flamanville, Areva now faces a financially dismal future.
As a result, the French government is officially (press release in French) looking into “reorganizing the French nuclear industry” with a strategic partnership between Areva and EDF, the former state power monopolist. The deal would not make the order books look better by ramping up international demand.
Instead, it would absorb losses by spreading them across the merged new company...
More at http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/france-begins-its-costly-nuclear-bailout-49807