Ralph Nader spells out the case against nuclear power
Nader shares locals concerns about uranium, GoDanRiver.com, 19 Sept 10, “…… Nader pushed for more energy efficiency and conservation and clean energy, which he said didn’t include more nuclear reactors or uranium mining.
“We don’t believe the country needs nuclear power,” Nader said in a Thursday interview. “It’s too costly. The opportunities for energy efficiency and electric generation to the consumer are far greater.”…
Nader said money should be invested in solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy rather than nuclear power, which he called a “gigantic technological lemon.” Nuclear plant projects can’t go forward without federal loan guarantees, he said, because Wall Street won’t invest in them without that backing.
Additionally, nuclear plants have the problem of radioactive waste, he said. The enrichment of uranium to concentrate it for use in fuel rods for nuclear reactors also takes coal-fired power, Nader said.
“Why do we need uranium mines?” Nader said. “They are extremely dirty.”….
World Nuclear Association admits “Nuclear Renaissance” just isn’t happening
Speaking at a meeting of the World Nuclear Association in London today, Ron Cameron head of the Nuclear Energy Association’s (NEA) nuclear development division said: “The nuclear renaissance hasn’t taken off”
Nuclear resurgence constrained Nuclear may go way of the Asian toaster, tcetoday news, 17 Sept 10, by Adam Duckett“……..PROBLEMS with finance, policy and skills have hamstrung the much-hyped resurgence of the nuclear power sector, experts have said. Read more »
The nuclear energy Quick Fix reactors are sitting ducks for terrorism
These countries, exactly like China and India, are however committing themselves to the same gleaming high-tech Quick Fix nuclear solution to power shortages, to keep their economies growing at record rates. This will vastly extend the Doomsday threat of large reactors being treated as sitting duck military targets in regional conflicts……..Each new large-sized civil reactor is potentially a Chernobyl-type Dirty Bomb
Nuclear Renaissance or The End of Nations ? : The Market Oracle, By Andrew McKillop, 15 Sept 10, NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE T he 2010-2020 decade marks the world’s “Nuclear Renaissance” according to triumphal industry spokesmen. Read more »
Looks like Poland can’t afford AREVA”s (or anybody’s) nukes
“Poland’s nuclear target sounds a little bit tough to me as there are few financing opportunities out there right now,”
Analysis: Polish nuclear project faces further delays, By Patryk Wasilewski Sep 14, 2010 WARSAW (Reuters) - Legal hurdles, funding problems and a lack of skilled workers will likely push Poland’s plans to build the country’s first nuclear power plant beyond 2022, further delaying the some 18-billion euro project…… Read more »
America’s nuclear industry near death – begging for money
As renewables plummet in cost, and private financing stays nil, the nuclear industry is desperate to gouge billions from Congress for loan guarantees to build new reactors. Thus far, citizen activism has stopped them. But the industry is pouring all it has into this fall’s short session, yet again demanding massive new subsides to stay on life support
Is the “Nuclear Renaissance” Dead Yet?, HUFFINGTON POST, Harvey Wasserman: 13 Sept 2010, America’s much hyped “reactor renaissance” is facing a quadruple bypass. In actual new construction, proposed projects and overseas sales, soaring costs are killing new nukes. And the old ones are leaking like Dark Age relics on the brink of disaster. Read more »
France’s nuclear socialism – a nightmare, not a miracle
Unlike computers, solar panels, wind turbines and most other high tech projects, nuclear power plants and projects don’t go down in price over time. Instead, the costs escalate, and that’s a recipe for a disaster,
Time to End Nuclear Socialism, Says New Study, Greentech Media, 10 Sept 10, A nuclear plant will cost $7,000 to $10,000 per kilowatt, says Mark Cooper of the University of Vermont. That’s more than wind, solar, storage and other renewables—and the price tag will continue to climb. It shouldn’t be called the French Nuclear Miracle, says Mark Cooper. It’s more like a recurring nightmare. Read more »
Renewable energy 17%, nuclear 2% in new generation since 2000
Globally, the shift to clean energy sources has been gradual. Since 2000, nearly a third of new power generation has come from burning coal. Another third has been fired by natural gas – less greenhouse gas-intensive, but still a fossil fuel. Carbon dioxide-free energy sources have made up less than one fifth of the new generation. Of that, 17 per cent has been renewable energy – largely solar, wind and hydroelectricity…….Nuclear power, the largest source of installed low-carbon energy, has declined markedly since the 1980s and made up just 2 per cent.
Nuclear power, the largest source of installed low-carbon energy, has declined markedly since the 1980s and made up just 2 per cent.
Limit on climate, and the catch, The Age, Adam Morton, September 10, 2010 Read more »
India’s govt resisting pressure from USA firms desperate to sell nuclear reactors
Well placed sources said the law could not now be amended in any way having been forged with the overwhelming backing of Parliament. “There is no likelihood of any changes…...
On US ‘advice’ to change nuclear liability law, govt says no, The Times of India, Rajeev Deshpande, TNN, Sep 10, 2010, NEW DELHI: Though expected to be a sweetner in India- US ties, the nuclear liability law is likely to remain an irritant, with Indian government ruling out any possibility of amendments in keeping with concerns voiced by American suppliers and echoed by the Obama administration. Read more »
ECONOMIC RISKS of NUCLEAR POWER – theme for September
Today : Where nuclear companies are owned by the Government: France, Russia, China, South Korea - the economic risks of nuclear power are taken on by the consumer – the tax-payer.
And this has always been the system on the past, in USA, UK, Europe: state-owned or regulated utility monopolies where many of the risks were borne by consumers rather than suppliers.
Today: Where the nuclear companies are owned by private investors: in the USA, UK, and some European countries the risks are to be borne by plant suppliers and operators rather than consumers
This is changing everything on the financial front. The economic risks of nuclear power are many: construction costs, operating performance, fuel price, and the risk of cheaper energy competitors emerging before capital costs are recovered.
It’s all a culture shock to the nuclear lobby - the realisation that unless the tax-payer takes on these, and many other financial uncertainties - there just will not be any investment in nuclear power.
Spiralling costs threaten nuclear industry – France, UK, Bulgaria
A particular concern is the specter of spiraling costs at a high-profile project at Olkiluoto in Finland, where Areva, a French nuclear reactor builder, agreed in 2005 to build a next-generation plant, called E.P.R.
New Warnings About Costs of Nuclear Power in Bulgaria and Britain – NYTimes.com August 31, 2010, By JAMES KANTER As anticipation grows about a possible renaissance for the nuclear power industry — and about its potential for curbing greenhouse gas emissions — some politicians are stepping up warnings about the high cost of such projects. Read more »
USA nuclear firms worried about becoming liable for nuclear accident costs
Lawmakers in New Delhi approved a bill last night that makes suppliers and builders of atomic reactors potentially liable in the event of an accident…..None of India’s biggest prospective suppliers, including GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy or Westinghouse Electric, are likely to sign contracts if they can be held liable for third-party damages,
India Risks Nuclear Power Isolation With Break From Post-Chernobyl Accord, Bloomberg, By Natalie Obiko Pearson – Aug 26, 2010 India’s push to end a three-decade ban on buying nuclear equipment from abroad may founder on laws passed by its own parliament. Read more »
Climate change effects could stop nuclear industry
.the effects of climate change could make it to impossible to run nuclear reactors.
The Nuclear Industry Needs A Cap On Carbon To Survive, Wonk Room 26 Aug 2010, “……..the effects of climate change could make it to impossible to run nuclear reactors. For example, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has drastically reduced power generation at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant this summer: The Tennessee Valley Authority has lost nearly $50 million in power generation from its biggest nuclear plant because the Tennessee River in Alabama is too hot Read more »
Renewable energy growth outpaces coal, gas and nuclear
Both the US and Europe added more renewable power capacity in 2009 than they added coal, gas, and nuclear capacity. Globally, 80,000 megawatts of renewable capacity was added, with China adding nearly half the total
Renewable Energy Investment is Growing - 24/7 Wall St., Paul Ausick, 21 Aug 2010, An international policy network called the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, or REN21, has released its global status report for 2010. Read more »
Chewonki meeting – stop nuclear power development until waste problem solved
If there could be said to be a consensus that emerged from the public comments that were made at Chewonki, it was that Congress should and must forbid any further development of nuclear power unless or until this intractable problem has been resolved.
Not at any price, The Times Record, Mid-Coast Maine, Betty King, August 20, 2010, “…..the meeting at Chewonki with the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the Storage and Transportation of Nuclear Waste… Read more »
No ‘nuclear renaissance’ – in fact it’s a decline
The view that the amount of energy derived from nuclear power worldwide will continue its slow decrease during the coming years is further supported by the 2008 annual report of the Euratom Supply Agency, which coordinates the long-term uranium needs of nuclear power plants within the European Union. According to the agency’s forecast, uranium demand in Europe will fall from 21,747 tonnes in 2010 to roughly 16,000 tonnes by 2024.
The reality of nuclear energy is inconsistent with dreams of a renaissanceNuclear energy is not on the rise – the hard facts point to a continuing, slow phase-out around the world Michael Dittmar guardian.co.uk, 16 August 2010 Repeatedly in recent years there have been calls for a revival of nuclear power. Yet that renaissance never seems to come. Read more »
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