Uranium mining marriage between South Korea and France
KEPCO Partners with Areva in Uranium Mining The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea 8 Feb 2010 KEPCO has joined hands with France’s Areva SA to develop uranium mines around the world. The Korean power monopoly said Sunday that it signed an agreement on Thursday with Areva for the joint development project. Read more »
Citizens’ group promotes wind power in Switzerland
Wind power gains ground in Switzerland GenevaLunch Jessica Evans, 5 February 2010 New wind turbines at Saint-Brais, canton Jura, will raise Switzerland’s total annual renewable energy power production to 17.5 MW, according to Suisse Eole, the Swiss wind energy promotion association.
Switzerland has a limited number of wind turbines, but the Jura wind park is the first in the country to be financed by a broad citizen base: some 600 private investors are behind the two 2 MW turbines. Read more »
AREVA’s nuclear reactor safety features now too costly to compete with Korea’s nukes
It was speculated that those expensive features may have cost the company the UAE contract, and Areva has considered scaling back some of those additions for future designs.
Where Is Nuclear Power Really Heading?A Look at Obama’s Call for New Nuclear and the Reactors that Might Be Built by solveclimate Dave Levitan – Feb 5th, 2010
“…….The cost issues surrounding safety have already come up internationally. The United Arab Emirates awarded a high-profile contract for a new plant to a South Korean company late in 2009, after the French company Areva had been positioned as the front-runner.
The Areva EPR reactor has some advanced safety features including a “core catcher” room that could help prevent compromised nuclear fuel from escaping the reactor, as well as an enforced shell that could theoretically withstand an airplane impact. Read more »
“Nuclear Renaissance” just not happening
there have actually been very few new reactors started in recent years, and that nuclear energy as a percentage of global energy production has actually retreated since 2001.
NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE? Nuclear second coming could run out of steam – A Canadian think tank has challenged the idea that a nuclear renaissance is in full swing stating that new reactor construction is likely to be held back by a variety of issues : MineWeb Cameron French (Reuters) 05 Feb 2010TORONTO (Reuters) – Expectations of a sharp rise in nuclear generating capacity over the next two decades are likely overblown, a Canadian think tank said on Thursday, disputing conventional wisdom that a nuclear renaissance is in full swing. Read more »
Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reducing Greenhouse Gases
the report estimated that emissions would drop 18.6 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.
Massachusetts positioned for steep global warming gas reductions -Boston Globe By Beth Daley, 5 Feb 2010 As national legislation to reduce global warming emissions has stalled in Congress, Massachusetts is on target to reduce its own emissions more than 18 percent below 1990 levels in the next decade, according to a draft technical report released by the state today. Read more »
Medical Use of Ionizing Radiation Needs Better Regulation
Medical Group Urges New Rules on Radiation
The New York Times By WALT BOGDANICHFebruary 4, 2010The leading professional organization dedicated to radiation oncology has called for enhanced safety measures in administering medical radiation, Read more »
U.S. Energy Department carefully helping private uranium producers
the additional government supplies in the market could have depressed prices, making it difficult for producers to expand operations……….
Energy Dept cancels surplus uranium transfers
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department has canceled plans to put into the market during 2011 extra government-owned surplus uranium supplies, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told Congress on Thursday, Read more »
Future for U.S. Nuclear power industry really is doubtful
Problematically, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a policy that does not require newer designs to be substantially safer than old designs,
Where Is Nuclear Power Really Heading?A Look at Obama’s Call for New Nuclear and the Reactors that Might Be Built by solveclimate Dave Levitan – Feb 5th, 2010 “…..Energy Secretary Steven Chu and the president are making it clear that they intend to move forward. Thus, the question arises: After more than a decade without any new nuclear plants being built in the U.S., what exactly would new nuclear power look like?
Slowed Momentum, Escalating Costs…. Read more »
Protest growing against uranium storage plant at Aldermaston
(UK) Anti-nuclear protestors dressed as Romans visit council offices to object to proposed development at AWE Green Reading 5 Feb 2010 A Group of ‘Romans’ visited the West Berkshire Council offices bearing ‘gifts’ of radio-active waste. The Romans were, infact, members of the Nuclear Information Service (NIS), a pressure group, who are protesting against the latest development at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). Read more »
Baltic sea: a Radioactive Nuclear Waste Dump?
Sweden wants explanation on Baltic nuclear ‘dumping’ By Damien McGuinness BBC News, Riga 5 Feb 2010
The Russian military allegedly dumped nuclear waste into the Baltic Sea in the early 1990s, according to a report on Swedish television. Read more »
This Month
Doncha get sick of all the nuclear hype? Meanwhile, where it’s really all happening is in truly CLEAN energy!
(This month on our Action page: 1. UK: Block the Builders is a campaign which aims, using nonviolent direct action, to prevent the building of new nuclear weapons facilities at AWE Aldermaston . 2. Belarus: A call for solidarity actions with Belarusian antinuclear movement on February 19-21)
For February 2010 we focus on RENEWABLE ENERGY and ENERGY EFFICIENCY
1. The most effective method of all: ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The false message of the nuclear lobby is that in order to reduce greenhouse gases, and have enough energy, we need nuclear energy.
In fact, both of these goals can be met quickly, cheaply and cleanly, by just stopping wasting energy.
Energy wastage can be stopped – in the home, in business, in transport, building and manufacturing. The European Plan has already shown how effectively energy can be saved through existing energy efficincy procedures. http://www.energyscience.org.au/FS04%20Energy%20Efficiency.pdf
Cost-effective energy management. There are many ways to implement cost effective energy in homes, offices, industries. Many countries are not doing this yet, due to market problems, lack of information, differing aims of landlords and tenants.lack of institutionalset-ups for delivering services such a sheating and cooling in the least costly way.
Government action would solve these problems by regulating energy performance standards for both existing and new buildings, appliances, equipment and industrial processes.
2. The other component: renewable energy – (and let’s not forget,- while there are set up and maintenance costs – the fuel is free.)
Gas is a good energy source to tide us over the change to renewables, and can provide back-up for solar. Wind power and Solar energy are advancing, but would require special assistance schemes.
The BASELOAD FALLACY
A baseload power station, in theory, provides elctricity 24 hours a day.. In practise, they are costly to manintain, and do break down.. So they have reserve plant, and peakload pland (gas turbines or hydro-electricity.
Renewable energy can provide several different baseload technologies.:
- bioenergy – burning crops and rsidues, or converting them to gas
- hot dry rock geothermal power
- solar thermal electricity, with heat storage in hot water or hot rocks
- large scale distributed wind power, with a small amount of occasional backup from peakload plant
Contrary to general opinion, wind power is generally not intermittent, when it is part of a system of several wind farms, or when connected to a national grid.
A renewable energy system would consist of a mix of different energy sources. Ultimately, its success would depend on some limit to economic and population growth.
http://www.energyscience.org.au/FS05%20Sust%20Energy.pdf
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