Word: nuclearism
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...driving force is China. Beijing says it wants to lift nuclear-generated power from its current 11 gigawatts to 86 gigawatts by 2020--an increase equivalent to France's current total output. China is already adding 14 reactors to the 11 it operates, including three third-generation installations supplied by Areva and Westinghouse. And it won't stop there: Beijing has signed on for an additional 35 plants to be built over the next decade...
Areva has soared on nuclear's second coming. But its 2008 profits--$824 million on $18.4 billion in sales--were down 17% from 2007, owing mostly to a whopping $2.4 billion write-down linked to construction troubles with what is supposed to be its leading-edge Finland reactor...
...main utility, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj, is designed to showcase Areva's 3G earthquake- and missile-proof design, known as a European Pressurized Reactor. Areva spokesman Jacques-Emmanuel Saulnier said winning the contract over Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi was crucial to establishing the firm as the leader in advanced nuclear tech. "You only see how it works once you've built it and proved it's what you'd said it would be," he said. "That's why winning the Finnish contract and building the world's first third-generation reactor is so important...
...which produces less waste, Areva aims to capture one-third of the new reactor construction market by 2030. That will be increasingly difficult because competition is heating up. Siemens now looks set to form a partnership with Rosatom, the industry's second biggest firm. And China's push for nuclear plants means there will probably soon be competition from there...
...this supply-driven nuclear summer, Areva may even be able to profit from its setback in Finland. In an industry where experience is everything, making mistakes first may just help Areva stay...