DiaNuke.org

The hurry to enter into these agreements is baffling since it is unclear what the long-term future of the expensive flagship EPR will be once EDF takes full charge of Areva. Energy experts say the EPR’s design issues and costs dragged down Areva and EDF is unlikely to want a similar fate for itself.

Inflamed relations between the supplier and operator of the long-delayed Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant worsened this week as both sides upped the ante in their ongoing compensation battle. Earlier this week TVO ratcheted up estimated costs and losses due to project delays to 2.3 billion euros, while Areva’s new claim reached 3.5 billion euros Friday.

The French nuclear contractor Areva is at the centre of a storm of criticism by French government auditors over its operations. Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority STUK says it still hasn’t received all of the new paperwork relating to nuclear safety for the long-delayed Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant currently at a standstill in western Finland. And the company remains locked in a cycle of recrimination with the plant’s owner.