Electricité de France's (EdF's) finances have been hit by a provision for the risks of new nuclear build in America, delays at Flamanville and operational issues.
First-half results released today by the world's biggest power utility showed a sharp drop in net income from €3.1 billion ($4.0 billion) in the same period last year to €1.6 billion ($2.0 billion) in 2010. The primary cause of this was the provision of €1.06 billion ($1.38 billion) to cover the risks of the Unistar joint venture with US utility Constellation.
Unistar originally wanted to build several Areva EPR units across North America, but EdF said today only one project was "currently in development". The €1.06 billion provision "covers the risks of impairment of the assets of [Constellation], the investment in Unistar and certain future costs and risks associated with the project, as EdF still intends to continue studies for development of a new reactor on the Calvert Cliffs site."
The project is seen as a front-runner for the US Department of Energy's current batch of loan guarantees but it nevertheless faces competition from NRG's South Texas Project expansion. Officials have not been quick in awarding loan guarantees and remarks from both EdF and Constellation executives show the companies are bearing the strain of those delays.
Source: World Nuclear News
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