UPDATE 1-Areva sees "significant" 2010 order backlog growth

* Sees significant sales growth for nuclear and renewables

* 2009 sales rise 5.4 percent to 8.5 billion euros

* Order backlog up 1.8 pct at 43.3 billion euros end 2009

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PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Areva's CEPFi.PA sales rose 5.4 percent in 2009, driven by its reactors and services unit, and it forecast "significant growth" in order backlog and revenue for its nuclear and renewables operations in 2010.

The world's biggest maker of nuclear reactors said revenues, excluding its transmission and distribution business, which will be sold to a French consortium, reached 8.53 billion euros, with the reactors and services unit showing growth of 12.8 percent.

Areva's international sales, excluding T&D, were up 9.3 percent from 2008 at 5.26 million euros.

The fourth quarter of 2009 was particularly strong, with revenue rising 12.4 percent from the previous quarter to 2.75 billion euros.

The order backlog rose 1.8 percent from 2008 to 43.3 billion euros, with contracts signed to deliver enrichment services with the Czech Republic and Duke Energy (DUK.N) in the United States.

The agreed sale of Areva's T&D business to Alstom (ALSO.PA) and Schneider Electric (SCHN.PA) for 4.01 billion euros should close this year. Areva is 91 percent-owned by the French state.

The sale is part of a larger project to raise 9 billion euros to fund investment in the next generation of nuclear reactors and consolidate Areva's position as a one-stop shop for nuclear build and maintenance.

Areva has recently suffered some set-backs, losing a multibillion euro deal to build new reactors in Abu Dhabi and struggling to finish its first EPR, a next generation nuclear reactor, on time and on budget in Finland. (Reporting by Nina Sovich and Marie Maitre, editing by Will Waterman)