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Nuclear energy unsafe for Asia: renewables are the way to go

Asia’s nuclear dilemma, Global Post, by Jonathon Adams, 21 March 2010 Nuclear not the answer: activists, “….Philip White, of the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, disputed those [nuclear power]figures. “Renewable energies like wind and solar are not too expensive,” wrote White in an email. “Wind is cheaper than nuclear now. Solar will soon be cheaper when economies of scale and the associated development advances get operating.”

He says energy sources should be compared based on the retail cost to the consumer, since some renewable energies can be produced on-site, for example with rooftop solar panels. By those calculations, renewables are more competitive.Activists like White cite studies pointing out nuclear power’s shaky business model, such as this report on nuclear power in the UK, or a study from MIT that concluded that the drawbacks of reprocessing spent fuel outweigh the benefits. (Japan hopes to begin reprocessing its own spent nuclear fuel this year.)

“Renewables are a realistic replacement for fossil fuels at this point,” White insisted. “Nuclear energy is an obstacle to solving problems associated with climate change.”

Veteran anti-nuclear activist Makoto Kondo agrees. He disputes the notion that nuclear is a “clean” energy source, pointing out that parts of the nuclear generation process, such as mining uranium for fuel, do produce CO2. And he insists nuclear power is a risky gamble, especially in a country like Japan that’s prone to frequent earthquakes.

One of the most recent big quakes, in 2007, toppled more than 100 barrels of nuclear waste at one plant, caused a fire and dumped 317 gallons of water with trace amounts of radioactive waste into the Sea of Japan.

Due to that and other accidents, as well as halts after falsifications of reports at other plants, Japan’s nuclear fleet operated at only 58 percent of capacity in 2008, far below the 80 percent capacity assumed in government projections on emissions cuts.

“We need to develop more clean energy, not depend on nuclear energy,” said Kondo. “This is the only way to fight global warming.”……

Taiwan’s activists have successfully slowed, if not stopped, the island’s nuclear expansion.

Nuclear Power | Asia Energy

March 22, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, wastes