Areva in talks to build a next generation reactor in California.

[Statistical]

French nuclear engineering company Areva SA said Wednesday it has firmed up an agreement with Fresno Nuclear Energy Group to develop a new-generation reactor in California's Central Valley.

Areva has said FNEG is a group of investors that wants to acquire the so-called EPR, or European Pressurized Reactor, technology for California. EPR reactors are under construction in France, Finland and China, and the certification process is under way in the United States and Britain.

In California, Areva said that it has signed an agreement with FNEG to jointly select a site and work on the initial development of a 1,600-megawatt EPR unit."Our goal is to create a power-producing infrastructure that combines clean electric energy sources, including nuclear, solar, and future technologies," said John Hutson, president of FNEG, in a statement.Once the site is selected, FNEG and Areva will also start developing solar power.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9FC6C4G0.htm

[kristopher]

1. Talk about greenwashing...

Also, their EPR is not "next generation" design. It is Gen III design, not Gen IV.

Did California change its regulatory regime to allow recovery of cost overruns from ratepayers? Unless they do that and/or enact some other mechanism for shoving the cost over runs down the ratepayers throats, this is nothing but talk.

[Statistical]

2. GenIII+ is next generation.

99.9% of reactors worldwide are Gen II. Hence Gen III+ reactors would be next generation.

As far as cost. Electricity in CA is about 50% higher than national average.
Hell wholesale electricity in CA is higher than retail electricity in most countries.
Lot easier to "make ends meet" selling energy at 10 cents per kWh than 6 cents per kWh.

[kristopher]

3. Bullshit - that is pure deception

There is a standard lexicon applied to the technology and as Gen III is now the worldwide standard; the use of "next generation" could only be an attempt to capitalize on the positive publicity and hopes attached to the REAL next generation technology - Gen IV.

It is a typical nuclear industry lie.

[Statistical]

4. GenII is current generation of plants. GenIII+ is what is being built NOW to replace them.

There is no completed EPR yet and you think it is "standard" and something else is next gen?
:rofl:

[kristopher]

5. Gen III is the standard and "NEXT GENERATION" refers to Gen IV

unless it is the nuclear industry trying to hoodwink people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Generation_Nuclear_Plant
A Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) is a generation IV version of the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) that could be coupled to a neighboring hydrogen production facility. It could also produce electricity and supply process heat. The United States Department of Energy has recently issued a "request for expressions of interest from prospective industry teams" that want to provide design services for developing the NGNP<1>.

[bananas]

6. kristopher is correct - you used a misleading subject line, the article doesn't say "next generation

Your subject line says "next generation", but when I click it, the word "next" does not appear at all in either the body or the text. The article refers to "a new-generation reactor", which might be correct because this is the new generation of reactors being built, however the term "next generation" refers to Gen IV reactors.
You should have known better than to use the phrase "next generation", it was misleading.

[NNadir]

7. Beat me to it.

Good for you.