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Liberal Party re-election in Canada renews hope for renewable energy

Green energy sector cheers Ontario election result, (Reuters) by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver 8 Oct 11,  – Ontario’s renewable energy industry breathed a sigh of relief on Friday and manufacturers looked forward to a surge in demand after voters in the province returned the Liberal Party to power, albeit without a majority.

Shares in renewable energy companies rose on expectations of an end to an industry slowdown caused by months of uncertainty over the future of the Liberal-sponsored green energy plan and its generous feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme for renewable power developers.

The opposition Progressive Conservative Party, which had been well ahead in the polls for much of the campaign, had threatened to abolish the FIT program, which pays well above-market rates to developers of green power.

October 8, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

USA subsidies for renewable energy: the facts

The Truth About Renewable Subsidies, the Motley fool, By Travis Hoium , October 6, 2011 The headlines will tell you that subsidies for renewable energy are outrageously high and like throwing money down the drain. But outside of some poor decisions (ahem, Solyndra), subsidies for renewable energy have been effective at lowering costs and require very little money from the government.

When you compare renewable subsidies to the growth stages of oil and gas, coal, nuclear energy, and biofuels, it becomes apparent that we’re nowhere near the support we gave to those energy sources. In a study done by Nancy Pfund and Ben Healey for DBL Investors (link opens PDF), some interesting statistics emerge. Continue reading →

October 8, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Britain’s government spends millions to prevent atomic veterans getting justice

Around 1,000 atomic test veterans are trying to claim compensation for exposure to radiation in the Pacific Ocean and Maralinga in Australia, between 1952 and 1967.

the MoD, which denies responsibility for the men’s illnesses, has spent £5m on legal fees trying to stop compensation cases going to court.

Atomic bomb test veterans prepare for court battle, Portsmouth News UK 6 October 2011VETERANS who are fighting for compensation over radiation exposure at nuclear bomb testing sites held a remembrance service at Portsmouth Cathedral yesterday. Continue reading →

October 8, 2011 Posted by | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

NRC delays permitting restart of Virginia nuclear reactors

The NRC has said it wants Dominion to prove the plant can operate safely before the agency will approve of its restart.

1-NRC not ready to allow restart of Virginia reactors

* NRC to hold meeting on North Anna Oct. 21

* North Anna shut Aug. 23 following earthquake

Oct 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it does not expect to allow U.S. power company Dominion to restart the 1,806-megawatt North Anna nuclear power plant in Virginia until sometime after an Oct. 21 meeting. Continue reading →

October 8, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

USA – Israel’s cyberwar against Iran’s nukes

US, Israel Guilty for Worm Attack on Iran’s Nuclear Program: Russia, SPAMfighter News – 07-10-2011 Though it is shocking, it is true. Russia has blamed the United States and Israel for the Stuxnet worm, calling it a case of real cyber-war, according to a Techworld news report published on September 26, 2011. A number of Stuxnet infections were found in Iran and it was speculated that the worm, which was skilled to identify the system it was to hit, targeted at damaging the country’s nuclear facilities.

The experts, however claims that the Stuxnet system was initiated in June 2010 against the centrifuge control system with an intention to enrich uranium in Iran. Though Iran has also blamed Israel for the Stuxnet, it could not offer much evidence.

Meanwhile, Tehran has also held Israel and the US responsible for killing its two nuclear scientists in November 2010 and January 2011….. In early 2011, Russia’s NATO ambassador Dmitry Rogozi asserted that the Stuxnet infection had seriously affected Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant causing the equipment to breakdown.

The Stuxnet has drawn their attention towards the susceptibility resulting due to the industrial control systems that were under attack by the worm.Who created the Stuxnet still remains unproven and a mystery, but according to experts, Israel was responsible for this malicious cyber attack, which was likely funded by the US. http://www.spamfighter.com/News-16866-US-Israel-Guilty-for-Worm-Attack-on-Iran%27s-Nuclear-Program-Russia.htm

October 8, 2011 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry fears on the safety of Iran’s nuclear power plant

“They say trust us, but there’s no such thing as trust us in nuclear politics. “

Iran reactor disaster warning from whistleblower, The Australian, Martin Fletcher October 08, 2011 IRAN’S first nuclear power station is unsafe and will probably cause a “tragic disaster” according to a document apparently written by an Iranian whistleblower. Continue reading →

October 8, 2011 Posted by | Iran, safety | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear power plans derailed by safety fears

 “What you see in Koodankulam and Jaitapur will be repeated in other nuclear parks earmarked for reactors from US suppliers,” 

India’s nuclear future put on hold, Safety fears derail plan to import reactors., Nature News, 8 Oct 11K. S. Jayaraman An increase in anti-nuclear sentiment after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in March has stalled India’s ambitious plan for nuclear expansion.

The plan, pushed forward by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, aims to use reactors imported from the United States, France and Russia to increase the country’s nuclear-power capacity from the present 4,780 megawatts to 60,000 megawatts by 2035, and to provide one-quarter of the country’s energy by 2050. But now there are doubts that the targets will ever be met if safety fears persist….. Continue reading →

October 7, 2011 Posted by | India, politics | Leave a comment

Florida and Georgia – renewables and energy efficiency cheaper than new nuclear plants

Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Cheaper and Safer than Building New Nuclear Plants in Florida and Georgia, Report Finds,Union of Concerned Scientists, WASHINGTON (October 6, 2011)—According to a new report, ratepayers in Florida and Georgia would be better served by investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy resources, rather than building new nuclear reactors in those states. The report, “Big Risks, Better Alternatives,” (PDF) was released today by Synapse Energy Economics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based consulting and research firm.  Continue reading →

October 7, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

10 reasons for India to reject nuclear power

India has no independent authority that can evolve safety standards and regulate reactors for safety.

There are at least 10 reasons to say ‘no’ to nuclear energy, The Weekend Leader, India,   08 Oct 2011 As the fate of Koodunkulam Nuclear Power Project hangs in balance, Sam Rajappa lists out 10 reasons given by scientists who are opposed to India opting for nuclear energy.

1. Nuclear power involves radiation exposure at all stages of its fuel cycle: from uranium mining and fuel fabrication to reactor operation and maintenance; to spent-fuel handling, storage and re-processing.

2. Reactors leave a toxic trail of high-level radioactive wastes which remain hazardous for thousands of years. Continue reading →

October 7, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Germany objecting to Poland’s plans for nuclear reactors

German anger at Polish nuclear plant on border, The Australian David Charter ,October 08, 2011 “….. plans in neighbouring Poland to build an atomic plant in its western border region near to Berlin.

Brandenburg state, which borders Poland, said it had voiced strong objections after learning of four possible locations being considered for a reactor, including one just 275km from Berlin….

Opposition to nuclear power has grown in Poland after Fukushima, but the country has signed up to EU targets to reduce greenhouse emissions and 90 per cent of its electricity comes from coal-fired generators.

October 7, 2011 Posted by | EUROPE, politics international | Leave a comment

Armenia’s nuclear power plant the most dangerous in the world?

Aging nuclear technology, a disaffected work force in a facility located in a seismically active region – what could possibly go wrong?

Armenia’s Aging Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant Alarms Caucasian Neighbors International Business Times, By Dr. John C.K. Daly | October 6, 2011  The USSR might have imploded two decades ago, but debris from its headlong industrialization drive litter the post-Soviet landscape, and nothing more unsettles the population of the fifteen new nations carved out of the Soviet Union than its nuclear legacy. Continue reading →

October 7, 2011 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | Leave a comment

Deputy Director General of World Nuclear Association not optimistic about new uranium mines

with demand lower than was expected before, the price outlook is also down in both the medium and long-term..

It is clear that some of the anticipated new mines, heavily promoted by financial backers, will be ‘out of the money’—in other words, too expensive to develop in the new environment. Future uranium projects are very sensitive at prices in the $50 to $70 per pound level, and many may need more than $70 for viability. 

Uranium – what are the prospects post-Fukushima?, Nuclear Engineering, Steve Kidd  Deputy Director General of the World Nuclear Association, 06 October 2011“………..Falling uranium demand in the short-term is likely to delay some new projects, particularly those in Africa where financial requirements are heavy. But the reaction of producers will largely depend on the continuation of China’s new build programme and its willingness to finance new mines abroad. Continue reading →

October 7, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Israel prevents nuclear whistleblower Vanunu from emigrating

Israel bars nuclear whistle-blower from emigrating: media, Google News, 7 Oct 11 JERUSALEM — Israel’s supreme court on Thursday barred nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu from emigrating on the grounds he still poses a threat to state security, Israeli media reported. Vanunu, under orders to stay in Tel Aviv and not to speak to journalists, “has proved several times he can not be trusted and does not respect the letter of the law,” supreme court judges said in turning down his appeal.

The prosecution charged he posed “a real danger to the security of Israel,” while the judges stressed the 56-year-old former nuclear technician had contacts with unspecified “foreign elements.”

Vanunu served 18 years behind bars for disclosing the inner workings of Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant to Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper in 1986. He was released in 2004 but banned from travel or contact with foreigners without prior permission. He has since been sanctioned more than 20 times for breaking the rules.

Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, with between 100 and 300 warheads, but it has a policy of neither confirming nor denying that.

The Jewish state has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or to allow international surveillance of its Dimona plant in the Negev desert of southern Israel. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g9x-LXW9KK7ZK3qTE9Lev88ZJTHg?docId=CNG.c05571d1da8b533f5fbbc6407b4da20d.ae1

October 7, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, Israel | Leave a comment

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani the paid advertising man for nuclear plant

Aging nuclear power plant near NYC hires Rudy Giuliani to do ad campaign vouching for safety, Washington Post,  October 6, NEW YORK — The operator of an aging nuclear power plant near New York City has hired former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to vouch for its safety in a new ad campaign.

According to a spokesman for Entergy, the ads for the Indian Point plant will begin running next week on cable television and in newspapers.

The operator is seeking to renew its licenses for its two reactors.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for the plant to be shut down due to safety concerns.

Entergy spokesman James Steets tells The New York Times   the campaign is aimed to reassure the public about the plant’s safety. A spokesman for Giuliani’s consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, declined to comment.Giuliani has previously done promotional work for Indian Point. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/aging-nuclear-power-plant-near-nyc-hires-rudy-giuliani-to-do-ad-campaign-vouching-for-safety/2011/10/06/gIQAIyImPL_story.html

October 7, 2011 Posted by | marketing, USA | Leave a comment

Automakers moving to renewable energy

as fossil fuels rise in price and consumers’ tastes evolve, the smart money is for more of these new cars to roll out, in part, manufactured thanks to the energy technologies of the future….

Why automakers are the new renewable energy investors, As the industry recovers from the financial crisis, firms such as General Motors and Ford have set up renewables projects.  , guardian.co.uk,  6 October 2011 The automobile industry, on life support during the global financial crisis, has recently been catching its breath. In America, many reasons are behind the slow resurgence: improved design and performance, painful restructuring, and new technologies such as hybrid or electric vehicles that push innovation. Continue reading →

October 7, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

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