Despite approval of 2 new US nuclear reactors, the nuclear industry has ground to a halt
These US reactors are only happening in Georgia, where the electricity price is regulated. Elsewhere, the nuclear renaissance has ground to a halt.
building a nuclear power plant is risky and that risk falls on the banks and the banks are not happy with that.
There were only ever two firm orders for nuclear power plants in the West using these new designs; one is in Finland and one is in France and both of those are going badly wrong. All the other projects are no more than projections of what might happen in the future……. And the industry needs China more than it needs nuclear.
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3428147.htm No nuke comeback despite US approval of two reactors, Matt Peacock reported this story , February 10, 201 ABC Radio P.M.Listen to MP3 of this story
MARK COLVIN: In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved construction of two new nuclear power plants in Georgia. They’ll be the first nuclear reactors in the US since the Three Mile
Island accident more than 30 years ago.
While the nuclear industry is hailing this decision as a breakthrough, Matt Peacock reports; a so-called nuclear renaissance seems further away than ever. Read more »
Ratings agency sees little future for new nuclear reactors
Fitch says new nuclear plant may spur few more, Reuters, Caryn Trokie, New York Ratings Unit, Feb 10 -, Fitch Ratings believes that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) vote on February 9 approving the combined construction and operating license (COL) for Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 is a significant milestone in the development of new nuclear capacity in the US but has limited impact on credit.
The new reactors are being developed by Southern Company subsidiary, Georgia Power Company (GPC) along with its partners the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC), and the city of Dalton, GA..
.. The two public power utilities have already prefunded, through debt issuance, a substantial portion of their share of the construction
costs. GPC will rely on a combination of Department of Energy loan guarantees and traditional utility funding sources. The utility
benefits from constructive rate treatment of project costs including recovery of construction work in progress on financing costs…..
We believe that new COL applications beyond those in process are unlikely in the near term. Despite significant enthusiasm for nuclear
power in recent years as an alternative to fossil generation, diminished load growth in the slow economy and historically low
natural gas and wholesale electric prices have dampened interest. Combined with lower prospects for carbon emission regulations and
evolving safety standards following the events at Fukushima, the industry’s focus has shifted to maintenance of the nation’s existing
nuclear fleet.
Details of the approval are not yet available. Fitch will review them as soon as they are made available to us to evaluate the conditions included in the COL and any impact they may have on the cost or timing of completion. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/10/idUSWNA998020120210
$14 billion to build Vogtle nuclear plant. If it makes losses, $8.3 billion loan guarantee from govt?
The Vogtle plant will cost $14 billion at least to build……..If things go as planned, the reactors will be making electricity four to five years from now. If not, the company is seeking an $8.3 billion loan guarantee from the federal government to cover losses.
Nuclear Safety, Cost Issues Loom As U.S. OKs Reactor, NPR, by CHRISTOPHER JOYCE February 10, 2012 The nuclear industry is celebrating the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to give the go-ahead for a utility company to build two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first license to be granted for a new reactor in the U.S. since 1978. But last year’s accident at reactors in Fukushima, Japan, still clouds the future of nuclear power, as does the cost of new power plants.
Southern Co. will build the reactors at its Vogtle site in Georgia, where two older reactors already operate. Scott Peterson, vice president of the industry’s Nuclear Energy Institute, says it’s not a “nuclear renaissance,” but instead a “first wave” for new reactors….
Costs But demand for electricity is flat, and the price of natural gas, also used to make electricity, is low. Read more »
The lower price of gas is causing the stillbirth of the nuclear ‘renaissance’
Nuclear Power vs. Natural Gas, February 10, 2012, NYT, By MATTHEW L. WALD When critics say nuclear power is risky, they often mean the risk of an accident. But people in the nuclear industry say that the bigger threat is natural gas.
To look like a smart move, the $14 billion nuclear project undertaken by the Southern Company and its partners must meet several challenges, including actually completing the job for that figure, always a question in nuclear construction.
But for the 104 nuclear reactors now running in this country, and for many of the ones that have retired, the big issue has always been the price of electricity from competing sources. And generally, that comes down to a prediction about the future cost of natural gas, which usually sets the price of electricity on the grid in much of the United States.
The nuclear industry must also reckon with the prospect that in the 2020’s or 2030’s, that the United States will get more serious about limiting carbon dioxide emissions, which would be a plus for nuclear operators. Substituting gas for coal does reduce emissions, but there is still far too much carbon in natural gas to allow its widespread use if the electric system is to reduce its emissions by 80 percent by 2050. That was the national goal endorsed by President Obama when he ran for president in 2008.
In fact, some electricity experts say that if the economy as a whole has to cut emissions by 80 percent, the electric sector will have shoulder even deeper reductions, given that other areas, like transportation, can probably manage less….
John W. Rowe, the chairman of Exelon, the nation’s biggest nuclear utility, had said that he would not build a new reactor at today’s natural gas prices. Referring to the geologic formations from which natural gas is extracted, he said in a recent speech, “Shale is good for the country, bad for new nuclear development.”
“There must be a shortage of natural gas and stable high prices to make the economics right, ‘’ he said of nuclear power in a speech to a nuclear group. And the Union of Concerned Scientists, a group that is generally critical of nuclear energy, argues that new reactors will be more expensive than other “readily available alternatives, including energy efficiency, renewable energy and natural gas.” http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/natural-gas-vs-nuclear-power/
Cameco uranium company cuts production in view of nuclear industry slowdown
Cameco outlook sours amid doubts on nuclear’s future * Company sees 2012 revenue flat to down 5 percent
* Eyes lower production in 2012
* Shares down 1 pct at C$23.12
TORONTO, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Uranium producer Cameco forecast lower sales and highlighted doubts about the takeup of nuclear power in its stronger than expected quarterly results, and its shares edged lower on Friday, ……
Cameco, the world’s No.1 publicly-listed uranium producer, also lowered its 2012 uranium production outlook by 3 percent to 21.7 million pounds and said delays and cancellations after last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster could hit prices.
Germany, which represents about 5 percent of the global market for uranium, plans to phase out its reactors by 2022.
Japan shut down most of its reactors for testing after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, and is expected to take its remaining three reactors offline for maintenance in the next few months.
“It remains unclear what level of nuclear power Japan itself – which represents 12 percent of global nuclear generating capacity – will depend on in the future,” Cameco said.
Safety and financial woes of USA nuclear reactors
the Public Utilities Commission last week denied a request by Pacific Gas & Electric to bill customers $85 million for its attempt to extend the license of Diablo Canyon, California’s other active nuclear plant.
More Concerns Over San Onofre Safety, San Diego Reader, By Dave Rice February 7, 2012 Concerns about safety and the durability of components at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station are continuing to surface as the plant approaches a full week of complete shutdown. Read more »
Russia is privatising its State nuclear corporation Rosatom
Russia Prepares Privatization of State Nuclear Giant Rosatom, Publics BG 6 Feb 12, Russia has compiled a plan for the reorganisation of each state holding company and their subsequent entry into the market Having spent five years combining its nuclear power, engineering and research enterprises into the single entity of Rosatom, the Russian government now sees privatisation of the firm as part of a plan for industrial modernisation…
… its civil nuclear assets – for example nuclear fuel, reactor technology, supply chain, power plant operation, services and waste management – are to become a “public liability
company” with its shares “subsequently sold off….
….. Rosatom had a preliminary agreement with Siemens to partner in nuclear energy in
2009, but this faltered and in 2011 it signed with Rolls-Royce to consider possibilities “for mutually beneficial cooperation in a comprehensive series of activities in Russia, the UK and third countries.”, World Nuclear News reported. http://www.publics.bg/en/news/7037/Russia_Prepares_Privatization_of_State_Nuclear_Giant_Rosatom.html
Dim prospects for global nuclear industry
Prospects for Nuclear Power in 2012, Platts a leading global provider of energy, metals and petrochemicals information., London, 30 January 2012 Even before the Fukushima disaster, the long-awaited nuclear renaissance in the West seemed to be running out of steam. There were two main factors behind this failure; the new Generation III+ reactors produced to take account of the lessons of Chernobyl that would spearhead the revival were not living up to their promises, and, more importantly, banks were proving unwilling to provide finance
Energy Economist – Report.
The key markets for the renaissance were the US and the UK. As pioneers of nuclear power, potentially large markets and countries that seemed to have abandoned plans for new nuclear plants, a successful revival in these countries would have been a powerful endorsement for these new technologies. Read more »
France, no new nuclear reactors, and can’t afford to shut down existing ones
France must extend nuclear reactor lifespans-audit Jan 31, 2012 Some 22 nuclear reactors will reach 40 years old by 2022
* EDF wants to extend reactors lifespan to 60 years
* Heavy investments needed in short, medium term
PARIS, Jan 31 (Reuters) - France has no option but to extend the lifespan of existing nuclear plants, because any investments in new nuclear capacity or an increase in its reliance on other forms of energy would be too costly and come too late, the French Court of Audit said.
The French independent government body, which is charged with conducting financial and legislative audits, said in a report that a lack of investment decisions to build new reactors meant there were few choices left. Read more »
Iowa citizens to pay up even if nuclear company walks away!
MidAmerican’s nuclear plant proposal puts risk on consumers, Des Monies Register, 29 Jan 12, Sonia Ashe, Iowa Public Interest Research Group, Des Moines Beyond the lack of public protection against the financial risks and uncertainties associated with the development of new nuclear power, some provisions in Iowa’s nuclear construction work in progress bill, H.F. 561, actually incentivize behavior contrary to the public interest.
The Iowa Utility Board staff recently released a memo that makes clear that H.F. 561, as written, “would shift nearly all of the construction, licensing and permitting risk associated with one or more nuclear plants from the company to its customers.” That certainly
doesn’t provide proper motivation for a utility company like MidAmerican Energy to keep costs low or even follow through with completion of the project.
The memo also warns that H.F. 561 would prevent the Iowa Utility Board from offering traditional protection to consumers in the case of cost overruns, project cancellation or mismanagement.
MidAmerican Energy CEO Bill Fehrman keeps emphasizing that this bill lays all the responsibility and power at the feet of the IUB, but it certainly doesn’t sound like the IUB staff agrees.
If bringing new nuclear power to Iowa means forcing already strapped Iowans to bear all the cost and risk involved, with few protections, I say it’s not worth it. We have other, more cost-effective options that don’t require a blank check in advance….
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120129/OPINION04/301290080/-1/becker_trial/MidAmerican-s-nuclear-plant-proposal-puts-risk-consumers
Australia’s ailing uranium industry
In short, the deal with India is seen by some as little more than a short term means to prop up an industry breathing its last gasp……
[For uranium explorers] the 52 week highs and lows paints the same picture as we saw for the producers – market participants doubt the viability of exploring for a product whose demand may be in jeopardy.
Share market participants have spoken and they clearly doubt the future of nuclear energy.
URANIUM STOCKS HIT HARD BUT BULLS ARE BELLOWING, The Bull, By Bob Kohut | 30.01.2012 As the dismal trading in 2011 global share markets ground down to its agonising year-end finish, some Australian investors were heartened by the news that our government was about to lift the ban on uranium sales to India.. Read more »
AREVA’s nuclear sales losses partly offset by renewable energy profits
Areva Reports Fall In 2011 Revenue On Nuclear Concerns –Areva reported full year revenue hit by the effects of Fukushima on the nuclear industry - WSJ By Nadya Masidlover 26 Jan 12, PARIS (Dow Jones)–French state-controlled nuclear engineering firm Areva SA Thursday reported 2011 consolidated revenue down 2.6%, as nuclear operations were hit by growing concern on atomic energy following the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011.
The company said that revenue fell to EUR8.87 billion from EUR9.1 billion a year earlier, below analysts’ expectations of EUR8.99 billion.
Areva posted a full-year revenue down 1.2% on a like-for-like basis however revenue in the fourth quarter was stable at EUR2.92 billion, falling 0.5% on a like-for-like basis…. The company said that a decrease in nuclear operations revenue was partly offset by growth in renewable energies business which rose 98.2% to EUR297 million.
EDF’s nuclear plans for Britain are fraught with problems
No easy ride for EDF’s plans for new nuclear, Greenpeace by Richardg – 25 January 2012 Despite the growing shift of support away from nuclear energy in Europe, EDF is stubbornly pushing forward plans to build a new nuclear reactor in the UK, without sufficient consideration for all the relevant risks….. the French state-owned company EDF Energy is trying to build a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
EDF applied for planning permission in late October, less than three weeks after Britain’s nuclear watchdog – the Office of Nuclear Regulation – published a long list of improvementsneeded to protect Britain’s nuclear reactors. Given the scale of the recommendatons in the list, it is not possible for EDF to have incorporated all those improvements into its proposals in just three weeks. Lessons are still being learned following Fukushima (such as ‘don’t delete the minutes of the disaster response meetings’). EDF’s rush to apply for planning permission betrays their cavalier attitude and suggests they can’t have fully considered the implications of the Fukushima disaster.
We are seriously concerned that the flood defences, the emergency response plans and other vital safety features (such as a secure supply of off-site electricity during an emergency) aren’t fit for purpose. There’s a distinctly slap-dash feel to the application: as though EDF were more concerned with keeping the wheels on their nuclear gravy train than with making sure their plans stood up to scrutiny.
We’re not the only ones with concerns about the proposals. EDF’s planning application is also facing fierce opposition from local campaign groups, nuclear experts and Members of Parliament. Local councils have made their own representations, pointing out problems withtraffic levels, waste storage and the impact on tourism.
With 1,200 people registering to comment on their ill-thought out proposals, EDF shouldn’t expect an easy ride. We’ll keep you posted. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/no-easy-ride-edfs-plans-new-nuclear-20120125
Nuclear company AREVA sales fell in 2011
Areva sales slip as mining cushions Fukushima blow Jan 26 (Reuters) - French nuclear group Areva posted a 2.6 percent fall in 2011 sales as strength in its mining unit helped cushion declines in its core reactor businesses as it restructured following the nuclear disaster in Japan.
Revenues at the world’s biggest maker of nuclear reactors, which in December disclosed a massive write-down tied to three of its African mines, reached 8.87 billion euros ($11.67 billion), with the reactors and services unit showing a 3.6 percent drop…. Since the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima power plant in March, order cancellations have been 464 million euros.
Reactors and services, which designs and builds nuclear reactors and is Areva’s biggest division, saw revenues slide to 3.26 billion euros as fewer engineering studies were undertaken in the United States.
Areva has been grappling with construction delays at two of its new-generation EPR reactors, while the Fukushima crisis has sparked a global debate about the future of nuclear power and led some governments to review their energy mix.
On top of that, Areva, the world’s biggest uranium mining producer, is bogged down by the $2.5 billion acquisition of Canada’s UraMin in 2007 and allegations of spying on the long-serving Lauvergeon.
Despite the dark cloud of Uramin, Areva’s mining unit had the most robust sales growth of any unit aside from its much smaller renewable energy business, which nearly doubled
Iowa Utilities Board warns on nuclear power cost burden on ratepayers
IUB staff raises red flags about nuclear power plant legislation, Bettendorf.com, January 25, 2012 The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) staff has raised several warning flags about legislation sought by MidAmerican Energy to shift the risk of building a new nuclear power plant to utility ratepayers.
In a memo sent to the IUB and state legislators in December, the IUB staff warns that “some of these (bill) provisions could create incentives for the company to engage in behavior that could be contrary to the public interest in certain situations.”
To illustrate what might happen, the staff report gives this possible scenario: Read more »
1 THIS MONTH
Uranium mining in Namibia http://namibian.me/group/canwin2?commentId=4103091%3AComment%3A47391&xg_source=msg_com_group
Nuclear industry is moribund, despite 2 new reactors licensed in USA http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3428147.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3413882.htm Is the world facing a groundwater crisis?
of the week http://climaterealityproject.org/thin-ice/
and another WEBSITE : - New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution http://www.necnp.org/
EVENT
February 18 Hindsdale, Chicago American Association of University Women - nuclear disaster preparedness H.OB.aauw.reservations@gmail.com.
March 2012 is “March Against Nuclear Madness” and Beyond Nuclear has created a new March Against Nuclear Madness Facebook page.
March 8th & 9th – Cape Town, South Africa - The Global Conference: Nuclear Power For Africa? http://koebergalert.org/npfree/
May 31 USA - Portland, Maine, Bonnie Raitt benefit concert for New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution
Nuclear power and water – theme for February 2012
FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR PLANT and WATER – present state
That nuclear core is in direct contact with tons of water. And that containment, while not leaking down, is leaking out the sides. That contaminated water is going into every other building on site. And there is literally thousands and thousands of tons of water in other buildings. That water contains radioactive cesium, radioactive strontium, and it also contains nuclear fuel. There will be uranium in that water and plutonium in that water as well. We know for sure that that water is leaking into the ground water and into the Pacific Ocean. So while it is important to know that we are not going to release the nuclear core directly into the center of the earth, the problem is not over. And as a matter of fact, the problem will last for tens, perhaps even as long as 30 years because this contaminated water is in the basements of all the buildings on site. And not only does it contain cesium (that hangs around for 300 years), strontium (hangs around for 300 years), but it also contains plutonium and uranium and they have half lives of tens of thousands of years.
So the problem is, what do we do with all that water that is contaminated? It is already leaking into the groundwater. It is already leaking into the ocean. TEPCO is frantically catching it and putting it into tanks. But just today, TEPCO announced that they are running out of tank space on site, and eventually they are going to have to release those tanks into the Pacific Ocean. Now they will try to clean up some of the isotopes like cesium. But they have been unable to capture all the strontium. Strontium is a bone seeker that causes leukemia… http://fairewinds.com/content/fukushima-could-it-have-china-syndrome
NUCLEAR REACTORS - WATER USE : Per megawatt existing nuclear power stations use and consume more water than power stations using other fuel sources. Depending on the cooling technology utilised, the water requirements for a nuclear power station can vary between 20 to 83 per cent more than for other power stations.”- Dep of Parliamentary Services research note, 4 December 2006, no. 12, 2006–07, ISSN 1449-8456 Water consumption figures:
Nuclear: 2.3 L/ kWh
Solar (PV): 0.110 L/ kWh
Wind: 0.004 L/ kWh
(American Wind Energy Association estimate & US DOE)
A typical 1000-megawatt pressurized-water reactor (with a cooling tower) takes in 20,000 gallons of river, lake or ocean water per minute for cooling, circulates it through a 50-mile maze of pipes, returns 5,000 gallons per minute to the same body of water, and releases the remainder to the atmosphere as vapor. A 1000-megawatt reactor without a cooling tower takes in even more water–as much as one-half million gallons per minute. The discharge water is contaminated with radioactive elements in amounts that are not precisely known or knowable, but are biologically active.
Some radioactive fission gases, stripped from the reactor cooling water, are contained in decay tanks for days before being released into the atmosphere through filtered rooftop vents. Some gases leak into the power plant buildings’ interiors and are released during periodic “purges” and “ventings.” These airborne gases contaminate not only the air, but also soil and water. http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/routineradioactivereleases.htm
NUCLEAR REACTORS -IONISING RADIATION to GROUNDWATER In USA the nuclear industry has contaminated groundwater with radioactive tritium at nuclear power plant sites all across the country. Nuclear plants that have admitted leaking tritium into the groundwater include:
- Braidwood, Byron, Dresden and Quad Cities in Illinois;
- Indian Point and Fitzpatrick in New York;
- Yankee Rowe and Pilgrim in Massachusetts;
- Three Mile Island and Peach Bottom in Pennsylvania;
- Callaway in Missouri
- Catawba in South Carolina
- Oyster Creek in New Jersey
- Hatch in Georgia
- Palo Verde In Arizona
- Perry in Ohio
- Palisades in Michigan
- Point Beach in Wisconsin
- Salem in Delaware
- San Onofre in California
- Seabrook in New Hampshire
- Shearon Harris in North Carolina
- Watts Bar in Tennessee
- Wolf Creek in Kansas
- Connecticut Yankee in Connecticut
- Vermont Yankee in Vermont
URANIUM MINING – OPEN CUT or UNDERGROUND It is very difficult to find figures on the amounts of water used. All mining is water intensive, but uranium mining is the greatest guzzler Water is extensively used to suppress airborne dust levels, to try to reduce the radioactive clouds that would otherwise emanate constantly from the uranium tailings.IN SITU LEACHING – Uranium Mining Process in-situ leaching uses a hydrogen peroxide mixture to strip the uranium from the rock, which kills tissue and destroys cells in human and animal life. The addition of oxygen and sodium bicarbonate called oxygenates causes uranium and other radioactive substances and trace metals to be liberated from the rock into the groundwater.
.. judges have too often taken the stance that they are judges who know nothing of the mining industry and accept the data of corporations, claiming the corporations are in the know.
..the water taken from the extremely pristine Westwater Canyon Aquifer near Crownpoint for uranium mining and used for flushing out chemicals would not be replaced in our lifetimes.
It takes hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, to transform aquifer water back into a drinkable condition. Virginia Against Uranium Mining: Scientists Back Navajos’ Uranium Mining Fight: Tribe fears contamination of drinking water
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