2010 February 05 « nuclear-news

Wind industry thriving in Europe, Nuclear declining

“in Europe, more nuclear and coal capacity were decommissioned than installed in 2009,”

Wind beating nuclear and coal in europe CleanTech February 4, 2010 – by Dallas Kachan More signs of the ascendancy of renewables and the waning of conventional energy, at least in Europe, according to two new reports:

Wind installations were up dramatically in 2009 despite the recession, driven by China, and accounted for the largest proportion of new power installations in the world, says one report, and
In Europe, more nuclear and coal capacity were decommissioned than installed in 2009, according to the other Continue reading →

February 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable | antinuclear, energy efficiency, nuclear | Leave a comment

Obama beholden to nuclear industry’s donations and backing?

Obama’s Nuclear Giveaway, Mother Jones 4 Feb 2010 By Kate Sheppard

“………..nuclear interests have been keen boosters of his political career: Executives and employees of Exelon, the Illinois-based utility that produces approximately 20 percent of the country’s nuclear power, donated nearly $210,000 to Obama’s presidential campaign, according to CQ Moneyline.

In fact, Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, helped broker the merger of two utiltilies to form Exelon in 2000 when working as an investment banker at Wasserstein Perella & Co. Obama’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod, consulted for an Exelon subsidiary periodically between 2002 until he started working on the Obama campaign. Exelon officials Frank M. Clark and John W. Rogers Jr. have been among his biggest fundraisers, and Obama has also received donations from John Rowe, Exelon’s chairman. Rowe also heads NEI, is a key player in a business-environmental coalition pushing for climate legislation, and has been selected to serve on the DOE’s panel on nuclear waste. Continue reading →

February 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment

Cameco, Exelon, USEC, – Nuclear and Uranium Stocks are Losers

Top Nuclear Stocks Losers (NYSE: CCJ,EXC,USU) Trak In, Business and Finance News by EIN, 2010/02/05 Dallas, Tx – Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ) went down 2.94% to $27.37 on 2.29 million shares. The stock hit an intraday high and an intraday low of $28.30 and $27.34 respectively. In the last six months the stock went down over 6%. Cameco Corporation is a Canada-based company. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the exploration, development, mining, refining, conversion and fabrication of uranium for sale as fuel for generating electricity in nuclear power reactors in Canada and other countries. Continue reading →

February 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactor, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Stephen Chu’s religious faith that a nuclear waste solution will be found

(Despite 60 years of fruitless search ) “Chu, testifying to the panel members on the budget proposal, maintained that “we’re going to have a solution to nuclear, the backend fuel issue…”

GOP: Chu Sending Mixed Signals on NuclearEnergy and Environment National Journal Amy Harder
February 4, 2010

Republican senators today accused Energy Secretary Steven Chu of sending mixed signals to the nuclear industry. Continue reading →

February 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Activists get deep inside U.S. Nuclear Weapons Site in Europe

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Site in Europe Breached By Hans M. Kristensen FAS Stategic Security 4 Feb 2010

A group of people last week managed to penetrate deep onto Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium where the U.S. Air Force currently deploys 10-20 nuclear bombs. Continue reading →

February 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | 1 Comment

Tax-payers giving a blank check to the U.S. nuclear industry?

“With hundreds of billions in bailouts already on the shoulders of US taxpayers, the country cannot afford to move forward with a program that could easily become the black hole for hundreds of billions more,” …The Senate energy bill approved by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last June would create a Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA) within the DOE that could distribute a virtually unlimited number of loan guarantees without any congressional oversight.

Obama’s Nuclear Giveaway, Buried in the budget is a plan to underwrite the nuclear industry’s revival.

Mother Jones 4 Feb 2010 By Kate Sheppard

“… the Obama administration’s 2011 budget proposes tripling the loan guarantee program—from the $18.5 billion that Congress has already approved to $54.5 billion. The program’s expansion is just one of several signs that the Obama administration is throwing its muscle behind the nuclear industry’s push for a massive expansion. Continue reading →

February 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

$Billions for Nuclear Power Sneaked into the U.S Climate Bill

Nuclear’s Slice of the Climate Pie— Mother Jones, Feb. 3, 2010 By Kate Sheppard

Senators hoping to pass a climate and energy bill this year have listed increased support for nuclear power as one of the major enticements for Republicans and apprehensive Democrats to back the legislation. Continue reading →

February 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, USA | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Unnecessary nuclear and uranium projects get $billions in U.S. budget

POGO is Shocked by Wasteful Spending in DOE Budget

Project on Government Oversight, Ingrid Drake, 4 Feb 2010 In the midst of initiating a federal spending freeze, it is shocking that President Obama’s FY 2011 Budget Request released this week pours billions of dollars into two unnecessary nuclear weapons construction projects. There is no demonstrated requirement for either the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at the Y-12 National Security Complex nor the Chemical and Metallurgical Research Replacement Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

“Contrary to the spin, neither of these facilities are needed to ensure the safety, security and effectiveness of our weapons,” says Peter Stockton, POGO Senior Investigator.

In addition, DOE does not even have an estimated cost for completing the projects, as the budget describes their total costs as “TBD.” “To Be a Disaster,” is what POGO fears that term means, based on DOE’s atrocious record of soaring construction costs and overruns. For example, the cost of the Highly Enriched Uranium Manufacturing Facility (HEUMF) at Y-12 ballooned from $97 million to $549 million. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) project also experienced dramatically increased costs and delayed completion dates. The Department of Energy sold the NIF to Congress in the early 1990s with a reported cost estimate of $700 million and an original completion date of 2002, yet its most recent cost estimate is $5-6 billion with a completion date of 2010 — more than 600 percent over budget and at least 8 years behind schedule.

Despite the 10 percent spending increase on the nation’s nuclear weapons budget, one of the only areas to see reduced growth is the budget for weapons dismantlement, which was sliced almost in half….http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2010/02/pogo-is-shocked-by-wasteful-spending-in-doe-budget.html

February 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment