Siemens buys conventional power generation business Westinghouse.
(November 21, 1997) On 14 November Westinghouse Electric Corp. said it agreed to sell its power generation business to Siemens AG of Germany for $1.525 billion cash as part of its plan to divest its industrial businesses. Siemens has purchased what is called the "Power Generation Business Unit", which does steam turbines and other conventional power systems. It does not include Westinghouse Energy Systems Business Unit, which does all of the companies nuclear work. Westinghouse is promising to sell its nuclear side by mid-1998. Until it is sold off, the nuclear part of Westinghouse will be run by the current chief of the Energy System, Dr. Charles Pryor.
ABC press release, 14 November 1997
Anti-nuke victory in Karelia. Russian first vice-prime-minister Nemtsov said during his October 6-7 visit to Karelia (north-west Russia) that a nuclear power plant would not be constructed there because it does not solve energy problems. That's the end in the long story of a tough campaign against Karelian local politicians who have been trying to convince the government to start the construction of two planned VVER reactors there. One more nuclear-free region in Russia (At least one bottle of champagne deserves to be opened).
WISE-Kalinigrad, 22 October 1997.
Bangladesh: Officials at Bangladesh's national atomic energy commission announced plans to go ahead with a nuclear power plant that has been on the drawing board for 35 years. The World Bank has said it is unlikely to provide financing for the 600 MWe plant, expected to cost up to US$1 billion.
Uranium Institute News Briefing, 22-28 October 1997.
Action against EC Kalinin-3 loan. On November 18, about 10 activists from Socio-Ecological Union's Antinuclear Campaign held an action to protest the issue of a European Commission loan to finish the Kalinin-3 nuclear reactor. Euratom, a European Commission agency, declared its intent to issue Kalinin-3 loan before the beginning of 1998. Activists walked to the EU embassy, where two activists climbed onto the roof and put up a 7-meter-long banner reading "Stop Kalinin-3!". Other protesters demanded a meeting with the EU ambassador. Ten minutes later, the EU vice ambassador came to talk to the protestors, who gave him a petition demanding the rejection of the Kalinin-3 loan proposal. The ambassador said all the documents he got from the protestors would be sent to Bruxelles and promised to give russian public a consultative place in the Environmental Impact Assessment of Kalinin-3 loan.
Ecodefense, 18 November 1997