AREVA will begin making large components in the UK similar to this steam generator channel head emerging from the furnace at Creusot-Forge, France. AREVA / CARILLO GEORGES
Yesterday’s agreement announced between AREVA and EDF Energy shows the impact of clean energy in not only creating a low carbon power future, but also the near-term benefits of workforce expansion and job security.
In the agreement, AREVA will manufacture massive forgings for the first EPR™ reactor to be built at Hinkley Point, South-West England. Current estimates show a single EPR™ reactor project creates peak employment during construction of more than 3,000 direct jobs on the site, plus many more indirect jobs. Once the construction phase is completed, an AREVA EPR™ reactor facility requires highly-skilled workers to manage and maintain the facility, creating hundreds of high-paying permanent jobs.
If you’ve been tallying up the math, that’s an impressive amount of jobs and job security, especially when one considers that this is the first of perhaps eight EPR™ reactors under discussion in the United Kingdom.
The same job numbers are true on this side of the pond, and here are two numbers that apply to the U.S. economy: Throughout construction, a single project represents more than $800 million in federal, state and local taxes, and during operations generates annual tax revenues of nearly $100 million.
With four EPR™ reactors under construction world-wide and more in the works, how are we doing in the United States? AREVA continues working closely with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to certify the U.S. EPR™ design, and several companies have submitted license applications to the NRC based on this technology. We’re making progress on our own low-carbon future.
AREVA’s EPR™ reactor itself is an impressive mix of power and safety. Generating 1,600+ MW of clean, reliable electricity, a single modern Generation III+ EPR™ reactor also meets the highest safety standards, including four redundant safety systems, double-walled hardened container building, and the most reviewed design of any modern power plant.
Combining reliable nuclear energy with peak-load renewable energy is the winning combination for generating sustainable jobs and electricity in our clean energy future.
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