French Nuclear power - another perspective

[kristopher]

The reality of France's aggressive nuclear power push

"...Unfortunately, Sarkozy's strategy risks contributing to the steady erosion of an international nonproliferation regime "on the brink of collapse." Moreover, France has a devastatingly poor nonproliferation record, having supplied nuclear assistance to most of the official and unofficial nuclear weapon states around the world. The Israeli bomb program was based on French technology, as was the Iraqi nuclear effort and the South African nuclear program. French companies continue to assist Pakistan and India, which have both used civilian nuclear facilities and materials for military purposes.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran still holds 40 percent of the joint French-Iranian consortium Sofidif, which maintains a 25-percent interest in Eurodif, a multinational uranium enrichment group that operates a gaseous diffusion plant in southern France. Currently, the dividends are frozen due to international restrictions over Iran's contested uranium enrichment program, but tens of millions of Iranian Euros are piling up in French banks as a result of the Shah's profitable 1974 investment in French uranium enrichment.

French officials are proud of their country's place as the world's leading nuclear energy state. Kouchner maintains, "Thirty years ago, France made the choice of nuclear . It was the price its independence, its prosperity, its freedom. . . .Today, we have a degree of energy autonomy that profits every French . The cost of our electricity is the lowest in the world and our economy is one of the cleanest in terms of carbon emissions."

Independence, prosperity, freedom--this is strong stuff. And, of course, Kouchner does not forget to point out the price of oil, which "reaches summits and continues to climb."

But is he correct? For starters, he makes a convenient mistake--mixing up the words "electricity" and "energy." In 2007, nuclear energy provided 78 percent of France's electricity, which corresponded to 39 percent of its commercial primary energy but only 18 percent of its final energy. Primary energy is the energy contained in the fuel when it enters the system, while final energy is what is left over for the consumer after processing, transformation, and distribution. In the case of large nuclear or coal-fired power plants, only about one-quarter of the primary energy reaches the consumer's home, office, or factory. In France, more than 70 percent of final energy is provided by oil, gas, and coal, of which one-half is oil alone, just as in many other countries. This year, the country will face an all-time record energy bill of more than $80 billion.

If the goal was independence from oil, then the target should have been the transportation sector. Already the largest consumer of oil in the early 1970s, oil consumption has increased by 70 percent, far outstripping the oil savings from nuclear energy's growth in the electricity sector. Today, transportation is responsible for more than one-half of French oil consumption and one-third of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. With all of the country's uranium now imported as well--the last French uranium mine closed in May 2001, even though nuclear power is curiously still considered an entirely domestic energy source--it's difficult to see how the nuclear program could even come close to ensuring the country's energy independence.

Further claims that French nuclear power costs are "the lowest in the world" can't be substantiated because nobody knows the cost of the entire domestic nuclear program. For decades, the civilian program has profited from direct and indirect subsidies, in particular through cross-financing with the nuclear weapons program. Current estimates don't appropriately take into account eventual decommissioning and waste-management costs, which remain a concern and quite uncertain. (In addition to post-fission waste, 46 years of uranium mining has left 50 million tons of waste for eventual cleanup and remediation, the cost of which is unknown.) Official final disposal cost estimates for long-lived high- and intermediate-level fission wastes vary between $21 billion and $90 billion.

Still, fantastic claims about the benefits of French nuclear power persist... "
http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/the-reality-of-frances-aggressive-nuclear-power-push

About the source:
From The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists http://www.thebulletin.org/content/about-us/purpose

Purpose

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists informs the public about threats to the survival and development of humanity from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies in the life sciences. Through an award-winning magazine, our online presence, and the Doomsday Clock, we reach policy leaders and audiences around the world with information and analysis about efforts to address the dangers and prevent catastrophe. With fellowships for students and awards to young journalists, we help educate the next generation.

History

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was established in 1945 by scientists, engineers, and other experts who had created the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. They knew about the horrible effects of these new weapons and devoted themselves to warning the public about the consequences of using them. Those early scientists also worried about military secrecy, fearing that leaders might draw their countries into increasingly dangerous nuclear confrontations without the full consent of their citizens.