Nuclear “renaissance” looking now like a nuclear stillbirth
Nuclear sunset?, The Irish Times, 23 Sept 11, THE NUCLEAR “renaissance” has suffered a serious setback with the decision by Siemens, the giant German conglomerate, to pull out of building any more nuclear-powered electricity-generating plants. After being responsible for developing all 17 of Germany’s nuclear plants Siemens’ chief executive Peter Löscher said bluntly: “The chapter for us is closed”.
Instead, its energy division – which accounted for the lion’s share of the conglomerate’s € 4 billion profit last year – will concentrate on “greener” forms of renewable energy, such as wind power, in what Mr Löscher termed “the project of the century”. Continue reading
Time for rigourous scrutiny of nuclear loan guarantee program
The nuclear industry successfully pushed to put reimbursement for private investors ahead of taxpayers in the event of a bankruptcy or liquidation….
“We should subject the nuclear loan-guarantee program to the same level of rigorous scrutiny as we are now insisting the solar loan-guarantee program undergo,”
Markey Calls for Scrutiny of Nuclear-Power Loan Guarantees, Bloomberg By Brian Wingfield – Sep 23, 2011 Congress should examine whether the U.S. nuclear industry pressed lawmakers and the Energy Department to alter loan-guarantee requirements for reactors, Representative Edward Markey said. Continue reading
Israel should come clean about its nuclear weapons
Muslim nations demand Israel open its nuke program to IAEA viewing, Washington Post, 23 Sept 11, VIENNA — Muslim countries at a 151-nation conference demanded Friday that Israel open its nuclear program to international purview, asserting that its undeclared arsenal is a threat to Mideast peace.
Unlike in recent years, however, Arab states did not push for a resolution directly targeting Israel by name after such an attempt was narrowly voted down at last year’s International Atomic Energy Agency general conference.
And with few exceptions, the tone of the verbal attacks on the Jewish state appeared less confrontational. A planned IAEA meeting in November would bring Arab nations and Israel to the table to explore what can be learned from other regions that have set up zones free of weapons of mass destruction.
As in past years, the conference did pass a resolution calling on all Middle East states to adopt the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in an indirect demand on Israel, the only country in the region not bound by the treaty.
But even Israel did not oppose that document, abstaining instead of voting against it after failing to have a specific paragraph that effectively singled out the Jewish state without naming it struck from the document…… http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/islamic-nations-demand-israel-open-its-nuke-program-to-iaea-viewing/2011/09/23/gIQAl0N8pK_story.html
UK’s nuclear power plan looking gloomy as utility pulls out
SSE’s withdrawal from a major nuclear project in its home market casts a shadow over U.K. government plans to build a fleet of new nuclear reactors ……
Furthermore, public opinion has turned against nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster.
SSE Pullout From UK Nuclear Casts A Pall Over Sector
-Scottish & Southern Energy selling stake in NuGen nuclear group to partners
–SSE move casts a shadow over U.K. government plans for new nuclear power in U.K.
–SSE to focus on renewables, gas-fired power stations and carbon capture and storage
–Analysts see the U.K. building less new nuclear than originally planned
WSJ, By Selina Williams 23 Sept 11 LONDON (Dow Jones)–U.K. utility Scottish andSouthern Energy PLC (SSE.LN) Friday exited a major new nuclear project in the U.K.,announcing it would sell its 25% stake in the NuGeneration Ltd. consortium topartners Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC) and GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) for an undisclosed sum. Continue reading
IAEA: Atomic energy states stymie progress towards nuclear disarmament
UN nuclear body ends annual meeting in disunity, by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Tim Pearce VIENNA, Sept 23 (Reuters) – The United Nations atomic agency ended its annual member state meeting in disunity late on Friday, with member states unable to adopt a resolution on a policy area central to its work in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons….. Continue reading
USA’s Koch brothers’ campaign against the environment
Rand Paul Wants Koch Brothers Thrown in Jail! By Brad Friedman on 9/23/2011 ,”………. Koch Industries was indicted by the DoJ in 2000 for knowingly dumping “at least 91 metric tons of uncontrolled benzene in its liquid waste streams” at its Corpus Christi refinery, and for conspiring to cover it an attempt to deceive regulators.After George W. Bush took office in 2001, however, “his Attorney General John Ashcroft dropped 88 counts against Koch for the benzene spill and cover-up” in exchange for a guilty plea to falsifying documents and a $20 million fine (a settlement from $350 million in potential fines.)
The Kochs made out pretty well in exchange for their $32,200 contribution to the 2000 Bush campaign. The job killing Koch brothers are making out even better under Barack Obama. But more on that later.
Suffice to say, neither the Kochs, nor anybody who works for them, went to jail for “dump[ing] benzene in the stream,” as Paul is calling for, even as he calls for doing away with even more environmental regulations in his remarks to The Street.
As we’ve been highlighting of late, the Republicans have been on a tear against clean air and water regulation by the EPA recently, and have shown themselves willing to partner with their various front groups in the media, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and with folks like the Koch brothers to simply make stuff up about such regulations “killing jobs”, in their 2012 “mother of all wars” to regain the White House…. http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8778
100 countries want USA and others to ratify Nuclear Test Nab Treaty
Officials from dozens of countries convene at UN to press for nuclear test ban, Washington Post, By Associated Press, September 23 UNITED NATIONS — With momentum toward international adoption of a nuclear test ban treaty stalled, representatives of more than 100 countries urged holdouts to ratify the document Friday.
Leaders convened at the United Nations General Assembly to mark fifteen years since the treaty was negotiated and to press remaining countries to bring it into force.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been signed by 182 countries and ratified by 155 of them. But it needs to be ratified by all 44 states identified as nuclear technology holders to enter into force.Nine have not yet done so — China, North Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon told the delegates the ban was “an indispensable stepping stone to a nuclear-weapon-free world.” He joked that he was uniquely qualified to make the case.
“My name is spelled Ban,” he said. “Therefore my name has a very clear, firm determination – nuclear test ban. I will ban this nuclear test.” Ban and other officials urged holdouts to ratify quickly.
Proponents of the treaty hoped that U.S. ratification would pressure the remaining holdouts. But despite support from U.S. President Barack Obama, the treaty has run into strong opposition from Republicans in the U.S. Senate and is unlikely to be considered before elections in 2012. Swedish Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who co-chaired Friday’s conference, said he hoped that other countries would move without the United States…..http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/officials-from-dozens-of-countries-convene-at-un-to-press-for-nuclear-test-ban/2011/09/23/gIQA1asnqK_story.html
Nuclear power’s potential for devastating financial losses
Time for Ontario to get out of nuclear power business 23 Sept 11, North Bay Nugget , Green Party, The disaster at the Fukishima nuclear facility in Japan has served as a wakeup call to the entire world that nuclear-powered electrical generation is not only unsafe, but also has the potential to cause devastating financial losses. Continue reading
Nuclear energy got huge startup subsidies, renewable energy gets pittance
Early subsidies to nuclear dwarf all others
Energy subsidy showdown: Fossil fuels, nuclear, biofuels vs. renewables, Smart PlanetBy Kirsten Korosec | September 23, 2011 Renewable energy has snagged just a fraction of the federal subsidies that fossil fuels and nuclear received when they were emerging technologies, according to a new report from venture capital firm DBL Investors. Continue reading
Strike at Rio Tinto’s Rossing uranium mine
Strike at Rio Tinto’s Rossing mine, IOL, September 23 2011 Workers at Rio Tinto’s Rossing mine in Namibia on Friday started an indefinite strike at the uranium mine after rejecting management’s latest offer that was meant to settle a dispute over production incentives, a union official said.
“Workers have shot down the management offer. The strike has started as planned at 0800 (10:00 SA time) this morning,” Mineworkers Union of Namibia Rossing branch representative Ismael Kasuto told Reuters. – http://www.iol.co.za/business/international/strike-at-rio-tinto-s-rossing-mine-1.1143719
Toothless Nuclear Safety Plan adopted by IAEA
151-nation meeting endorses post-Fukushima nuclear safety plan, Washington Post September 22 VIENNA — Members of the 151-nation International Atomic Energy Agency have endorsed a post-Fukushima nuclear safety plan but the IAEA chief says it will only be as good as the will of individual countries to enact it.
“It is time for action,” says IAEA head Yukiya Amano, asking nations for “sustained commitment and full involvement.”
Before Thursday’s endorsement, the plan was approved last week by the agency’s policy making 35-nation board despite gripes by influential member nations that it was too timid.
Drawn up in response to Japan’s March 11 reactor disaster, the plan outlines steps to be taken by states to pinpoint weaknesses and remedy them. But these measures can only be carried out “upon request” of the nation involved.
States are “strongly encouraged to voluntarily” open their nuclear facilities to outside checks of potential weak links. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/151-nation-meeting-endorses-post-fukushima-nuclear-safety-plan/2011/09/22/gIQAJJMwnK_story.html
Kaminoseki village election a pointer to nuclear power’s future in Japan
With the national government feeble and divided, the future of nuclear power now is being shaped more in communities where reactors are located or planned.
Nuclear Power Drives Japan Village Election, Mayor Who Has Backed Reactor Plan Faces Anti-Nuke Challenger, WSJ, By JAMES SIMMS, 22 Sept 11 KAMINOSEKI, Japan—This small fishing village has become the next front in Japan’s battle over nuclear power, with an anti-nuke protester threatening to oust the pro-nuke mayor in an election Sunday.
At stake: the fate of a long-planned reactor for which ground-breaking is supposed to take place next year.
More broadly, the defeat of a mayor whose economic development strategy has centered around a controversial power plant could fuel the country’s increasingly influential anti-nuclear movement. Continue reading
Nigeria’s Atomic Energy Commission’s dream – a nightmare for the country
OIL POLITICS: Nigeria’s Nuclear Nightmare , NEXT, By Nnimmo Bassey, September 22, 2011, The Nigerian government appears to be scheming to get deeper into the nuclear mire at a time when the world is inching, albeit slowly, from dirty and dangerous energy sources. The fact that Nigeria has one of the worst electricity supplies in the world, with only about 40% of the population having access to public power supply does not justify toeing the nuclear path. It calls for investing in safe forms of renewable energy production. It also calls for the wastage in the gas and oil fields. Following the Fukushima incident earlier this year the dangers associated with nuclear power generation have again been brought to the front burners. With heightened concerns about the safety of nuclear power plants, it is shocking to see the Nigerian President pushing Nigeria unto the nuclear path. This may appear like a dream come true for the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, but this has all the potential of turning into a nightmare for the country. Continue reading
Russian nuclear submarine collides with fishing boat
Nuclear submarine collides with fishing boat ABC News, 23 Sept 11, A Russian nuclear submarine collided with a fishing boat off the country’s Pacific coast, damaging the outer shell of the naval vessel but causing no radiation leak, Russian news agencies reported overnight. Continue reading
Florida’s nuclear power project – long delay, skyrocketing costs
the online date, if the reactors ever even come online, has bumped back to 2021 and 2022 and the estimated cost has skyrocketed to upper estimates of $22.5 billion!…
Round 3 – Florida Paying for Risky Nuclear Costs, Clean Energy Footprints, 22 Sept 11, Last month, SACE again participated in the nuclear cost recovery hearings for Progress Energy Florida (PEF) and Florida Power & Light (FPL) at the Florida Public ServiceCommission (PSC) in Tallahassee. This is the third consecutive year that these Florida utilities have asked the PSC to approve millions of dollars in ratepayer increases to pay in advance for proposed nuclear power projects that have an uncertain future, especially in a post-Fukushima world.
Utilities gained this ability in 2006 when the Florida Legislature passed anti-consumer legislation. SACE has intervened on behalf of Florida consumers every year to highlight the risks of these proposed nuclear power projects and the resulting unfairness in charging Florida ratepayers in advance. And every year the PSC has unfortunately granted the utilities’ wishes in full.
Could the third time be the charm? The PSC is set to vote in just over a month, on October 24, 2011. Continue reading
1 This Month
10 June – Assessing Canada’s Investments in Small Modular Nuclear Reactors – https://zoom.us/meeting/register/IiqHA5feRhaEBycOLNTJlA#/registration
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
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