AFP: French state nuclear giant Areva invites new investors
’PARIS (AFP) - French state-controlled nuclear giant Areva said Tuesday it was opening its capital to new investors and would sell a subsidiary to raise money for massive investments in new nuclear technology. The company also said it was considering the sale of its stakes in French metal mining group Eramet and Geneva-based computer chip maker STMicroelectronics. "The AREVA Supervisory Board has decided to open up its capital to strategic and industrial partners, to the value of 15 percent, mainly by increasing its capital," the company said in a statement, confirming earlier reports. "The Supervisory Board has also asked the Executive Board to put the group's Transmission and Distribution (T&D) division up for sale .... AREVA is also considering disposing of its stakes in Eramet and TMicroelectronics," it said.’

BusinessGreen.com: Government proposes single nuclear oversight body
’The government has today announced plans to streamline the UK's different nuclear oversight bodies through the creation of a "single, easily identifiable body" for regulating the civil nuclear energy sector. Under the proposals, which are now open for consultation, the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Nuclear Directorate will be extended to take responsibility for the Department for Transport's (DfT) Transport Security and Contingencies Directorate and Radioactove Materials Transport Team, which govern the safe transport of nuclear materials. It will also formally take over the operation of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security and the UK Safeguards Office, both of which were moved under the control of the HSE in 2007. The expanded body will become a Statutory Corporation with greater organisational and financial freedom from both government and the HSE, although it will still be required to report to ministers and will continue to be managed under the auspices of the health watchdog.’

NTI: All HEU Removed From Romania
’Romania has become the latest nation to be stripped of highly enriched uranium, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced today (see GSN, Oct. 7, 2008). The semiautonomous Energy Department agency assisted in repatriation of the Russian-origin material. Fifty-two pounds of spent nuclear fuel from a research reactor at Magurele was flown to a secure site near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, while another 66 pounds of fresh material from a reactor at Pitesti was flown to a secure site near Dimitrovgrad. All U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium had been taken out of the European nation by last year. "With these shipments, all HEU has been successfully removed from Romania," NNSA Administrator Thomas 'Agostino
said in a press release.’

Maryland Daily Record: Constellation's third reactor needs EDF deal approval
’Constellation Energy Group's plans to build a third nuclear reactor in Maryland are closely tied to state approval of its deal with a French utility. While Constellation praised the state's Public Service Commission for recognizing the benefits of building a new reactor at its Calvert Cliffs plant in Lusby by issuing the required Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, the Baltimore-based company also said the real hurdle would be gaining state approval for its $4.5 billion deal to sell nearly half of its nuclear business to Electricite de France. If the deal with EDF does not move forward, Constellation could lose its financial stability and face downgrades to its credit ratings, which would make it very difficult to raise money to build a new reactor. Standard & Poor's said in April that it would consider downgrading Constellation to junk status if regulators held up the EDF deal.’

The Star: France offers to build nuke plant in Malaysia
’PARIS: France has offered to help Malaysia build its first nuclear power plant as an alternative source of energy supply, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Muhyiddin said France had very advanced nuclear power technology which provided nearly 90% of its energy needs. "They have also invited Malaysian experts to visit France to discuss the benefits of developing such a plant," he said when briefing Malaysian journalists Tuesday on his talks with Elysee Palace secretary-general Claude Gueant. According to a recent report, Tenaga Nasional Bhd hoped to start its first nuclear power plant by 2025 once it gets the go-ahead from the Government. Muhyiddin said Gueant, who is a senior advisor to President Nicolas Sarkozy, also hoped to send French teachers to Malaysia to assist in the teaching of the language. They also agreed to encourage high-level ministerial visits, including Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon, to Malaysia.’

Bloomberg: GE, Hitachi to Seek Guarantees for Nuclear Project
’June 30 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co., Hitachi Ltd. and Cameco Corp. plan to seek U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees to help finance a venture that would use lasers to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel. GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment said today it completed an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the world's first commercial uranium enrichment plant to use laser technology. The proposed development in Wilmington, North Carolina, would create as many as 300 permanent engineering and support jobs, as well as employ more than 500 workers during construction, Tammy Orr, chief executive officer of Wilmington- based GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment, said today in a telephone interview. "We are closely working with the government on the next round of loan guarantees and would be very interested in participating," Orr said. "We believe nuclear energy is a worthwhile energy to invest in from a stimulus perspective." She declined to disclose the project's estimated cost or the potential size of the Department of Energy guarantees.’

Bloomberg: Mitsubishi Heavy Prepares for Areva Stake Acquisition Talks
’July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Areva SA's Japanese partner in nuclear power projects, said it is preparing for talks to buy a stake in the French atomic- reactor maker. "We are preparing for a formal discussion with Areva because we would properly and constructively consider an investment if we receive an official request from the French side," Hideo Ikuno, a spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy, Japan's largest heavy machinery maker, said by telephone today. Areva, the world's biggest maker of nuclear reactors, yesterday said it plans to sell a stake of about 15 percent and may divest its power-grid operation to finance expansion in the growing atomic power market. The Paris-based company, currently 93 percent owned by the French government, intends to raise capital by selling shares to industrial and strategic partners.’