Local solar energy making a huge difference in rural Argentina
In Renewable Energy in Rural Markets Project (PERMER)’s proposed scheme, photovoltaic or wind system are installed
for the user, who then pays for its operation and maintenance
dependent on their means.
”People have adapted well to technology and began to ask for solar panels instead of electricity lines,”
there [ the province of Entre Riosall] the rural schools and nearly 2,000 homes have solar panels.The impact is rewarding.
Renewable energy brings power to the rural corners of Argentina
http://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/article/renewable-energy-brings-power-to-the-rural-20130208
Cooking, heating water, or the house during
winter, reading, listening to the radio, charging your phone, using
the computer, watching TV — most people take these activities for
granted in the 21st century, but for thousands of inhabitants in
Argentina’s remote rural communities without electricity it is a
challenge. Nearly 150,000 homes still do not have this basic service,
most of them in the northern part of the country.
Since 1999, the Renewable Energy in Rural Markets Project (PERMER) has
aimed to put an end to this situation. Supported by the World Bank and
the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the initiative connects homes
and schools to clean energy sources such as solar panels and
windmills.
So far, around 25,000 residential customers and nearly 2,000 schools
have been reached, and 300 solar thermal stoves, furnaces and water
heaters have been installed. Also 2,000 users in small, isolated
communities have benefited from small power systems (generation and
distribution networks). The project has also included almost 400
public buildings, such as health centers, community centers, as well
as Gendarmerie (Police force) and National Parks Administration’s
stations. Read more »
Wind power to put Uruguay ahead in global renewable enegy stakes
Uruguay set to become world leader in wind power
South American nation plans to produce 90 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015
BusinessGreen 07 Jan 2013
Uruguay has set its sights on becoming one of the world’s leading wind power producers as part of plans to produce 90 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015.
Electricity generated from wind is expected to make up 30 per cent of the South American nation’s total mix, with hydropower contributing 45 per cent, and biomass 15 per cent, according to reports from SmartPlanet.
This would put Uruguay ahead of current renewable energy leader Denmark, which gets 26 per cent of its electrical generation from wind.
While Uruguay has a number of hydro power plants, these tend to shut down in dry periods, forcing the country to purchase electricity from Argentina at up to $400per megawatt hour (MWh). The government hopes installing wind farms could provide a more secure source of energy and drop electricity prices to around $64/MWh, well under the current price of $90/MWh…..
Brazil’s wind farms bring cheapest electricity prices
Wind farms set record low generation prices, SMH, December 16, 2012 Four energy developers agreed to sell power from 10 proposed wind farms in Brazil at the cheapest rates ever.
Enerfin Sociedad de Energia SA, Renova Energia SA, EGP- Serra Azul and Bioenergy Geradora de Energia Ltda. won contracts to sell electricity to distributors for an average price of 87.94 reais ($41) a megawatt-hour, Brazil’s national energy agency Empresa de Pesquisa Energetica said in an e-mail yesterday. (Australian wholesale prices are about $50 per megawatt-hour, including the $23 carbon tax per tonne.)
“This is definitely the cheapest wind energy in the world,” Maria Gabriela da Rocha Oliveira, a Sao Paulo-based analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in a telephone interview. It’s 12 per cent lower than the August 2011 auction that yielded an average price of 99.58 reais a megawatt-hour. That was the lowest price in the world for wind power then and the least expensive power in Brazil, beating natural gas and hydroelectricity….. http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/wind-farms-set-record-low-generation-prices-20121216-2bh4z.html#ixzz2FLfka1Ga
Areas of naturally high radiation have also higher cancer rates
2004 Study: Two of Brazil’s High Background Radiation Areas Have Higher Cancer Mortality Via : http://ex-skf.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/2004-study-two-of-brazils-high.html quote: APRIL 14, 2012
I have been told numerous times that “People in naturally high background radiation areas in the world suffer no ill effect from the high radiation.” I just stumbled upon one study in 2004 on such areas in Brazil.
Conclusion of this particular study: Cancer mortality in “Poços de Caldas, and Guarapari is higher than would be expected for their respective reference population”, whereas “cancer mortality for the Araxá population is lower than would be expected”.
International Congress Series
Volume 1276, Pages 3-468 (February 2005)
Link http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/05315131/1276
High Levels of Natural Radiation and Radon Areas: Radiation Dose and Health Effects, Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on High Levels of Natural Radiation and Radon Areas, Osaka, Japan
6–10 September 2004… http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/2004-study-two-of-brazils-high-background-radiation-areas-have-higher-cancer-mortality/
Brazil ditches nuclear reactor plans, in favour of renewable energy and gas
Brazil shelves plans to build new nuclear plants Google News 10 May (AFP) BRASILIA — Brazil said Wednesday it has shelved plans to build new nuclear power stations in the coming years in the wake of last year’s Fukushima disaster in Japan.
The previous government led by former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had planned to construct between four and eight new nuclear plants through 2030….. “The last plan, which runs through 2020, does not envisage any (new) nuclear power station because there is no need for it. Demand is met with hydro-electrical power and complementary energy sources such as wind, thermal and natural gas,” Energy ministry’s executive secretary, Marcio Zimmermann said in remarks released by the ministry Wednesday. ”The 2021 plan, as far as I know, will not consider nuclear power stations either, ” he added, ….
Solar photovoltaic energy going ahead in Asia and South America
Solar week roundup: China, Latin America pushing ahead with solar, Clean Energy, Chris Meehan, APR 02, 2012 News in the world of solar is increasingly becoming worldwide. As the U.S. imposed preliminary duties on Chinese silicon photovoltaics, the top 10 solar producers are looking to increase the Asian PV market for more sales. At the same time interest in Latin and South America is picking up as costs for solar continue to come down and costs for other energy sources go up.
In the U.S., the news is more mixed with some places embracing solar while others are trying to reduce incentives to support renewables. But even Minnesota could go 100 percent renewable at a small cost. …. South America’s largest country, Brazil, is considering legislation that could grow the amount of solar in the country.
The country is considering a national net-metering program for home and small business owners, to credit PV owners for generation. And it’s considering legislation that would slash taxes on utilities by 80 percent on electricity sourced from distributed solar generation.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) increased financing for solar, renewable projects in Latin America to $736 million in 2011. That’s more than it invested over the decade between 2000 and 2010, when it invested more $663 million in renewable energy projects in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The IDB also plans to invest more than $700 million in such projects in 2012. …. http://www.cleanenergyauthority.com/solar-energy-news/solar-energy-news-week-roundup-040212/
Objection by Argentina to British nuclear submarine in South Atlantic
UK sent nuclear sub near Falklands, says Argentina, BBC News, 10 Feb 12, The UK says the HMS Dauntless is being sent to the South Atlantic as part of routine operations
Argentina’s foreign minister has accused the UK of sending a nuclear-armed submarine to the South Atlantic, after making an
official complaint to the UN over the Falklands dispute. Hector Timerman demanded that the British confirm the location of
nuclear submarines in the region. Read more »
Brazil postpones its nuclear power project
Brazil delays nuclear plans after Japan disaster RIO DE JANEIRO (MarketWatch) Feb. 8, 2012, – Brazil’s plans to build four new nuclear power plants have been delayed by about 18 months following last year’s accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, an official of Brazilian state-owned nuclear power company Eletronuclear said Wednesday….
Nicaragua’s President urges Israel to foster peace, destroy nuclear weapons
Nicaragua’s Ortega urges Israel to destroy nuclear arms By Dave Graham, MANAGUA | Wed Jan 11, 2012 (Reuters) – Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega on Tuesday urged Israel to destroy its nuclear weapons to foster peace in the Middle East as he hosted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is touring Latin America. Read more »
Brazil’s nuclear plans a cash cow for France and a weapons worry
Brazil’s nuclear plans stir up debate, RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 30 
(UPI) — Brazil’s nuclear program, including its ambitious moves to develop a nuclear-powered submarine with French help, is stirring debate that puts focus on the Latin American country’s long-term aims in the field.
Both Brazil and Argentina began developing nuclear capabilities while under military rule. While Argentina has expanded its nuclear power generation capacity Brazil has gone into nuclear fuel processing and hopes to deploy the technology into a nuclear-powered submarine it plans to build with French help.
Agreements for the joint defense production program are in place but, as the implementation nears, questions are being asked about its nuclear component. French President Nicolas Sarkozy spearheaded a marketing drive that secured France much needed cash in a deal that includes the supply and joint construction of four diesel-electric submarines and a fifth nuclear-powered submarine….. Brazil has an advanced nuclear program dating to the 1950s that has drawn support at various stages from France, Germany and the United States. ….
Brazilian analysts who disagree with the nuclear bomb thesis say a program that includes deployment of nuclear power in weapons wouldn’t pass congressional approval or win public endorsement…. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/11/30/Brazils-nuclear-plans-stir-up-debate/UPI-27811322687019/#ixzz1fJnQZ2Ij
Mexico abandons plans for new nuclear plants
Mexico Scraps Plans to Build as Many as 10 Nuclear Plants, Bloomberg, By Carlos Manuel Rodriguez - Nov 2, 2011 Mexico, one of three Latin American nations that uses nuclear power, is abandoning plans to build as many as 10 new reactors and will focus on natural gas-fired electricity plants after boosting discoveries of the fuel.
The country, which found evidence of trillions of cubic feet of gas in the past year, is “changing all its decisions, amid the very abundant existence of natural-gas deposits,” Energy Minister Jordy Herrera said yesterday in an interview. Mexico will seek private investment of about $10 billion during five years to expand its natural gas pipeline network, he said……
“This is a very good decision by the Mexican government,” said James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economics, an energy research firm in London, Arkansas. With a power generation project based on gas “you can build multiple plants at a much lower cost and much faster pace than a nuclear facility.”
Nations around the world are also reconsidering plans for increasing their reliance on nuclear power after the March 11 earthquake in Japan that wrecked the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, causing a loss of cooling, the meltdown of three reactors and the worst atomic disaster since the leak at Chernobyl in 1986….. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-02/mexico-scraps-plans-to-build-as-many-as-10-nuclear-plants-focus-on-gas.html
Nuclear submarines for Brazil
Brazil to build nuclear submarines which will dramatically alter balance of power in South America, By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 17th July 2011, The Brazilian government has started work on a submarine programme which will include the construction of South America’s first nuclear subs.
The move will boost Brazil’s claim to be the strongest force in the region, and strengthen the country’s military assertiveness….http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2015731/Brazil-build-nuclear-submarines-dramatically-alter-balance-power-South-America.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Renewable energy cheapest for drought stricken Chile
"Renewable energies require a greater investment but they have low production costs," said Mabel Weber, an energy analyst with Banchile Investments. "The more prices rise, the more viable alternative energies look."...Energy prices have nearly tripled in five years, leadingcompanies to covet the cost stability offered by wind, solar and geothermal power......
Costly Chile power may jolt renewable energy Feb 10, 2011 By Brad Haynes OVALLE, Chile, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A long drought has dried up hydroelectric power production in Chile, sending electricity costs soaring and making renewable power sources like wind, solar and geothermal more attractive, Read more »
Chilean public not happy as USA and France push for selling nuclear technology to Chile
international environmental activists, Chilean naturalists and the Chilean public in general upset and displeased that the country keeps heading toward the nuclear power option.
U.S. and Chile Seeking Cooperative Nuclear Energy Deal, Despite Displeasure of Many Chileans, Hispanically Speaking News, January 28, 2011 Read more »
USA scorns Venezuela’s nuclear energy ambitions
A confidential cable from John Caulfield, the deputy chief of mission, said Washington had little reason to fear Venezuelan plans to exploit uranium with Iranian help and build a reactor with Russian help…….
WikiLeaks cables dismiss Hugo Chávez’s nuclear ambitions guardian.co.uk Rory Carroll in Caracas guardian.co.uk, 9 December 2010 Leaked dispatches describe Venezuelan government as too shambolic and broke to exploit uranium or build reactors Read more »
SEARCH for particular names or topics at the SEARCH BOX at very bottom of this sidebar
- AUDIO About San Onofre Nuclear plant. Nuclear Regulatory Commission – NRC: Lapdog or Watchdog? http://www.fairewinds.org/content/nrc-lapdog-or-watchdog
- and this Japan’s nuclear safety record criticised by regulator http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/connect-asia/japans-nuclear-safety-record-criticised-by-regulator/1132464
VIDEO: Japan to open nuclear plant http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3761126.ht
From Fukushima to New York: Continuing Dangers of Nuclear Power
Women and nuclear radiation – Mary Olson speaks
Mary Olson, from Nuclear Information and Resource Service, spoke at the New York symposium on Fukushima’s effects, March 2013.
Here are some highlights:
Mary Olson discussed the findings of the latest National Academy of Sciences Biological Effects of Ionising Radiation ( BEIR VII) , illustrated by this graph:
This lifespan graph shows increased cancer risk by exposure to a given amount of radiation, The pink line shows the risk for girls, the blue line for boys. Look at left hand part of the graph. It covers from zero to 5 years, and includes pre birth. We see a striking difference between the blue line and the pink line. The nuclear regulators assume that the risk shown here at age 40 – in the blue line- is the same for every individual regardless of age or gender. Yet, even at ages 40 – 60 the cancer risk from radiation is significantly more for women, than for men.
The cancer danger from ionising radiation depends on the type of radiation, the amount, and the duration of the exposure. But it also depends on who is exposed. Radiation exposure endangers some individuals more than others. In order, the most vulnerable are:
Primary germ cells/ Embryo
Foetus
Children
Elders
Some genotypes
Females – both juvenile and adult
All of the world’s scientific authorities agree that there is no safe dose of radiation. That includes the WHO, EPA, NRC, and national Academy of Science.
The standards for permissable levels of ionising radiation were originally written to cover doctors using radiation, then were intended for the purpose of sending military into radiological areas. Yet these standads, based on a 30 year old man, are applied to everyone.
Over 100 years, man’s activities have increased the background radiation by 25%
The ratio of cancer risks from radiation for males and females is 3 to 2. That is for every 2 males who get cancer from ionising radiation, there are 3 females. In reports from BEIR and the Lifespan study of Hiroshima survivors only external radiation is considered, not internal radiation. The risk for females is being underestimated in reports and in regulations about radiation
The World Health Organisation is the first big agency to acknowledge this difference in radiation risk between males and females, in its latest report. WHO is also saying that there is 70% higher risk of thyroid cancer for little girls exposed to radiation.
Studies are continuing, and animal studies, too, are showing this gender difference. We must move towards prevention and precaution as the basis of policy. Sadly, it is too late for a lot of prevention. We need to cahnge the priorities – to protect first, study second
And we need to get a whole lot more women motivated to get involved.
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