60 Minutes to Profile French Nuclear Industry

According to my colleague in media relations, Steve Kerekes, 60 Minutes is putting the finishing touches on a report on the French nuclear energy industry. Though it won't run this Sunday, look for it to air sometime in the next few weeks.

For more on the French nuclear program, which provides 80% of that nation's electricity, visit the World Nuclear Association.

UPDATE: My boss, Scott Peterson, sent in the following note:

Let's not forget the the French program is modeled after the U.S. program, using U.S. technology as its base. Despite the fact that the French have gone forward with a state electricity company to build 57 (?) reactors, the U.S. still produced more electricity from nuclear energy than France and Japan combined!

NEI also maintains a library of nuclear statistics.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Energy, Environment, Electricity, 60 Minutes, France

Comments

Anonymous said…

Jerome Guillet has written a good summary of the French nuclear power program.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/10/182655/427

June 30, 2006 at 2:52 PM

Anonymous said…

I suspect the program will be negative. I can't imagine 60 Minutes doing a positive show on nuclear power.

It will be interesting to see if they will be negative about the French program or negative about the US program because it is perceived to be different from the US program, thus putting the US program in a bad light. Another possibility is that the French program will be used only as a stage prop for introducing the persecution of the French regulators for not becoming hysterical about the Chernoble fallout.

I am sure that they will not mention the French scientific establishment's official trashing of the LNT for ionizing radiation.

June 30, 2006 at 3:43 PM

Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...

Fluor Invests in NuScale

You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...

NEI Nuclear Notes

Search This Blog