Exelon looking to close uneconomic nuclear reactors

Exelon is considering shutting down at least three of its uneconomic nuclear power plants -- at Clinton, Quad Cities and Byron. Exelon Corp. owns and operates 11 reactors at six nuclear energy facilities in Illinois. Exelon is trying to point the finger at "energy policies that benefit renewable wind energy" but in reality, nuclear -- especially single units -- is becoming steadily more uneconomical and impractical.

Europe's nuclear giants are close to collapse

Reuters is reporting that the planned new nuclear construction project at Hinkley, Somerset in the UK could still be scrapped. The French project is now looking at funding from Saudi Arabia and China. The British government has agreed to vast subsidies raising the ire of the British public. No final decision to greenlight the project has yet been taken. The prototypes for the EPR reactor design planned for Hinkley -- in Finland and France -- have proven disastrous. Costs continue to sore, delays mount and in-fighting and the blame game characterize the business partnerships.

Steve Thomas, professor of energy policy at the University of Greenwich, London, said: “The [Hinkley] project is at very serious risk of collapse." More.

EdF delays Flamanville reactor another year

The ever moving "completion" date for EdF's Flamanville EPR on the Normandy coast was this week pushed one more year into the future according to the embattled French government-owned utility. EdF now estimates a 2017 completion date but given the endless delays, cost-overruns and bickering, it is an open question whether the reactor will ever be done. This time, EdF is blaming supplier, Areva, for failure to deliver parts.

Meanwhile, Areva saw its stocks plummet as a result of such delays and warned of an "uncertain outlook" for its business.