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German government turning against nuclear power

Mrs. Merkel told parliament Thursday, acknowledging that nuclear plants may be switched off faster than her government had planned….Mrs. Merkel says she wants to speed up the build-up of renewable energies, and the accompanying extension of electricity grids…..

Merkel Getting More Anti-Nuclear as State Elections Loom  WSJ, By Bernd Radowitz March 17, 2011Upcoming state elections and opinion polls seem to have transformed German Chancellor Angela Merkel into an anti-nuclear warrior. Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | Germany, politics | Leave a comment

Wind power more economic than nuclear

Generating energy from wind turbines at sea would be cheaper than building new atomic power plants, Europe’s climate chief has said, in the latest challenge to the crisis-stricken nuclear industry.

Wind power cheaper than nuclear, says EU climate chief , Connie Hedegaard says declining cost of offshore wind energy makes it genuine alternative to crisis-hit nuclear industry Fiona Harvey in Brussels and Terry Macalister * guardian.co.uk,  17 March 2011 Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | EUROPE, renewable | Leave a comment

UK nuclear power programme under review

Japan crisis: UK nuclear review to report in two months, BBC News. 7 March 2011 SA review of the safety of UK nuclear plants will publish its initial findings in May, officials say. Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

France keen to sell nuclear reactors to South Africa

French companies Areva and EDF presented bids for the supply of highly specialised third-generation reactors,…..the president had not held separate talks with Areva and EDF but had attended a dinner at which all French companies with a stake in South Africa were represented.

SA unveils plans for a nuclear future French interested in supplying technology, Times LIVE, Mar 17, 2011 By CAIPHUS KGOSANAThe cabinet has approved a power generation master plan that calls for nuclear technology to become the single biggest new generator of electricity……. Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, South Africa | Leave a comment

The huge risks of the nuclear industry make secrecy essential

the nuclear industry is high risk at very large scales; when something goes wrong it affects millions of people. The industry has to mask the huge risk and to do so needs to control information……he development of the nuclear sector is not only a risk to the health of the people, it also inherently brings a greater risk for democracy.

Masking the high risk of nuclear energy, Mail & Guardian Online, ESTIENNE RODARY AND DAVID FIG: ENERGY Mar 18 2011 n the aftermath of the earthquake and the tsunami, Japan is facing the most important nuclear accident worldwide since 1986 when a nuclear reactor exploded at Chernobyl. Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

The world waits for outcome at Fukushima, ? shift from nuclear power

What’s the Cost of Shifting Away from Nuclear Power? TIME, by Bryan Walsh Wednesday, March 16, 2011 The news from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan just keeps getting worse. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that at least a “partial meltdown” seemed to be happening, and today the U.S. government advised its citizens to stay at least 50 miles away from the Fukushima plant. Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear energy shares slammed. solar rocketing up

Uranium ETFs Slammed While Solar ETFs Rally In Wake of Japan Nuclear Blasts  ETF DAILY NEWS, 17 March 11,“………..Solar has never really come into its own without heavy subsidies, and prices at the pump have rising againamid turmoil in the Middle East.  That had left a strong secular case for nuclear power and uranium ETFs.  But everything has changed.  Today’s market action in various energy classes pretty much says it all.  Nuclear energy shares were slammed while solar rocketed up in an overall down day for global indices Monday:……Uranium ETFs Slammed While Solar ETFs Rally In Wake of Japan Nuclear Blasts (NYSE:URA, NYSE:NLR, NYSE:TAN, NYSE:KWT, NYSE:SPY, NYSE:CCJ, NYSE:FRG, NASDAQ:FSLR) | ETF DAILY NEWS

March 18, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | Leave a comment

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s lax rules for re-licensing nuclear plants

Entergy merely had to prove that it had a program to manage the aging reactor……NRC’s rubberstamp of this old and leaking nuclear reactor says more about the Commission and its deference to the nuclear industry than it does about the battle over Vermont’s energy future.  The NRC ‘s standard for renewal is now so lax that the Commission could relicense the Chicago Pile.

License Renewal Vote Says More About NRC Than Vermont Yankee Greenpeace USA by jim riccio – March 11, 2011 Yesterday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) decided to end the legal proceeding on the license renewal for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and said that the agency expects to issue the renewed license soon.

While discouraging, this should not come as a surprise.  The NRC has renewed every reactor license since Yankee Rowe withdrew its application in the early ‘90s and threw the nuclear industry’s efforts to run aging reactors another 20 years into chaos.

So why did Yankee Rowe withdraw and Vermont Yankee receive NRC approval?
Simple, after Yankee Rowe shut down the NRC gutted its renewal rule.  Yankee Rowe had to prove that it met the original terms of its operating license; not so Vermont Yankee.  Entergy merely had to prove that it had a program to manage the aging reactor.

Now you might think that the series of screw ups at the reactor: the turbine fire, the cooling tower collapse and the never ending leaks of radiation into groundwater, would give the Commission reason to question running the reactor another 20 years.  But NRC’s rubberstamp of this old and leaking nuclear reactor says more about the Commission and its deference to the nuclear industry than it does about the battle over Vermont’s energy future.  The NRC ‘s standard for renewal is now so lax that the Commission could relicense the Chicago Pile.

License Renewal Vote Says More About NRC Than Vermont Yankee | Greenpeace USA

March 18, 2011 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear reactors at San Onofre and Diablo Canyon not designed to withstand earthquakes

VIDEO YouTube – Chernobyl Winds Over America Chernobyl Winds Over America. AceHoffman, 15 March 11, Had the massive 8.9 Richter-scale earthquake that has just savaged Japan hit off the California coast, it could have ripped apart at least four coastal reactors and sent a lethal cloud of radiation across the entire United States. (http://nukefree.org/ace-hoffman-computerized-graphic-what-if-chernobyl-h… )

The two huge reactors each at San Onofre and Diablo Canyon are not designed to withstand such powerful shocks. All four are extremely close to major faults.
All four reactors are located relatively low to the coast. They are vulnerable to tsunamis like those now expected to hit as many as fifty countries.  YouTube – Chernobyl Winds Over America

March 18, 2011 Posted by | Resources -audiovicual, safety, USA | Leave a comment

USA nuclear facilities in earthquake zones

Maps – Nuclear power and earthquake zones overlap in the U.S. | MNN – Mother Nature Network, 12 March 11, Earthquake in Japan raises concerns about what could happen in the U.S. Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves extending life of old nuclear reactor

The state argues that the plant is too old to be reliable, an area over which it has jurisdiction….The governor who took office in January, Peter Shumlin, has said repeatedly that the plant was designed to close at the end of 40 years and that it should be closed then.

Showdown on Vermont Nuclear Plant’s Fate, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD : March 10, 2011 WASHINGTON — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday rejected all challenges to extending the operating license of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, setting up a confrontation between the reactor’s owner and the Vermont Legislature, which has blocked a state certificate needed to keep the plant running. The commission voted 4 to 0, with one recusal, to allow its staff to issue the renewal. Continue reading →

March 18, 2011 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

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