Field Report: Discover pragmatic examples of customer benefits
Fuel, the heart of nuclear fission
AREVA, European leader in nuclear fuel
Alternatives #2: Tomorrow's reactors
Alternatives #1: Energies, what scenario for 2050?
Quiz: Test what you know about sustainable development
Quiz: Checking on the state of the Earth
Game: Nuclear energy key words
Game: Energy Memory Game
Game: Evaluate your ecological footprint
New Builds
AREVA is committed to the nuclear resurgence in the United States. Today more than 30 new reactors are under consideration in the United States. AREVA ranks as the No.1 supplier in nuclear energy products and services, generating $2 billion in U.S. revenues in 2009, and employs over 5,000 people at 45 locations throughout the United States.
AREVA has four generation III+ EPR™ reactors under construction in Finland, France and China, and many more are under development or evaluation including several in the United States.
Design Certification
The U.S. EPR™ Design Certification review is on scheduled for final rulemaking from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in first quarter 2013. Four Combined License Applications (COLA) referencing the U.S. EPR™ technology have been submitted to the NRC. Before construction begins in earnest on the first U.S. EPR™ reactors, AREVA will have completed several others internationally.
Customers can be more confident in their project economics because of AREVA’s field experience with EPR™ regulatory review. The EPR™ reactor is the most scrutinized new generation design in the world: there are four EPR units currently under construction and five regulatory reviews under way. AREVA is further along in regulatory processes worldwide than any other advanced design supplier.
Supply Chain
AREVA is making investments in the U.S. supply chain to ensure that as much as possible will be American made. This includes investments in a heavy component manufacturing facility in Newport News, VA and the Eagle Rock uranium enrichment plant in Bonneville County. By building this supply chain, AREVA is making a commitment so that future AREVA reactors will be approximately 90 percent made in the United States.
I & C System
In 2010, AREVA announced that the U.S. NRC granted approval for the digital Instrumentation & Controls (I&C) system upgrade of a U.S. nuclear station. AREVA is the first and only supplier to receive NRC approval for full application of a safety-related digital I&C system.
Economic Development
The AREVA U.S. EPR™ reactors will be built in America by Americans, and their construction and operation will create thousands of new jobs. During the design and engineering phase, AREVA has hired hundreds of engineers at locations in Lynchburg, VA and Charlotte, NC to develop the U.S. EPR™ technology.
The construction of one EPR™ reactor will create approximately 10,000 jobs during peak construction. This includes construction workers, equipment and service vendors, and service jobs created in food, hotel, and other local industry. Throughout construction, over $800 million will be generated in federal, state and local taxes. For the long-term life of the reactor, it means more than 500 jobs to support plant operations, and annual tax revenues of nearly $100 million. The potential benefits also include increased regional skills and education with ongoing job-focused learning, continued business for local economies through the life of the facility. With this cost-effective, long term source of clean energy, it provides a favorable economic context for business development and investment.
Support for America's New Nuclear Builds
The Department of Energy Loan Guarantee program is designed to provide an additional guarantee from the U.S. government to encourage investment in innovative, new energy facilities, including nuclear power plants. The loan guarantee program does not involve an outlay of taxpayer funds. The cost of the program is borne by the companies seeking the loan guarantees, not taxpayers. The Loan Guarantee program is an important mechanism helping to provide additional support in financing in this current credit environment. The EPR™ reactor is one of the three technologies short-listed for Federal Loan Guarantees.
