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France in bind over the soaring cost of nuclear safety

Given voter concern over the dangers of nuclear energy, the French government can
do little but enforce new nuclear safety regulations and other governments across the world will also need to follow suit…...

Europe’s reliance on nuclear energy a costly obstacle to green power The National Tony Glover, 14 Jan 12,  Summary Eco-money France’s €10bn bill is a stark warning to those countries now debating whether to opt for traditional or sustainable sources of power.

A decision by France to spend billions of euros making its vast network of ageing reactors safe is once again making environmentalists question the future of nuclear energy.

“This is more evidence that nuclear energy is commercially, as well as environmentally, unviable in the long term. Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

Murder of nuclear scientist has enraged Iranians and their religious leaders

Anti-US Chants as Slain Iran Nuclear Expert Buried, abc News,  By ALI AKBAR DAREINI   TEHRAN, Iran January 13, 2012 (AP) Thousands of mourners chanted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” on Friday during the funeral of a slain nuclear expert whom Iranian
officials accuse the two nations of killing in a bomb blast this week as part of a secret operation to stop Iran’s nuclear program. Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Taiwan’s election may mean closure of nuclear power there

Vote Holds Fate of Nuclear Power in Taiwan, NYT By ANDREW JACOBS, January 12, 2012 TAIPEI, Taiwan — When voters here choose a president and a new legislature on Saturday, their decisions will also determine whether Taiwan pulls the plug on a state-backed nuclear power industry that provides the country with a fifth of its electricity.

Although the presidential race has mostly been about pocketbook concerns and, to a lesser extent, Taiwan’s relationship with China, the leading challenger has made the elimination of Taiwan’s reliance on nuclear energy a central plank of her campaign. Pollsters and analysts say that the challenger, Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, has a good chance of unseating the incumbent, Ma Ying-jeou, whose party has long been a reliable backer of nuclear energy.

In recent months, Ms. Tsai has vowed to retire the island’s six aging reactors and has said that she would seek to mothball a problem-plagued nuclear plant that has been under construction since the late 1990s. The plant, whose price tag has nearly doubled to $9.3 billion, was supposed to begin operating this year, but further delays appear likely.

“After Fukushima, our society has realized that nuclear power is not only expensive but also unsafe,” Ms. Tsai said……. Taiwan — an island devoid of oil, gas and coal reserves — appears to be losing its appetite for the atom. Last spring thousands of protesters in Taipei demanded an end to the construction of the latest plant, the Lungmen nuclear project, or Nuke 4. Soon afterward, one of Taiwan’s richest tycoons joined the antinuclear chorus: Chang Yung-fa, chairman of the Evergreen Group, one of the world’s largest shippers.

Opponents say that there are a number of active seismic faults across the island and that more than five million people in northern Taiwan live within an 18-mile radius of two nuclear plants. For the 23 million people living on an island the size of Maryland and Delaware combined, there would be few places to run in the event of a disaster.

“Taiwan is simply ill suited for nuclear energy,” said Tsui Shu-hsin, secretary general of the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance, which has been waging a lonely battle against atomic power……..

January 14, 2012 Posted by | politics, Taiwan | Leave a comment

International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to boost clean energy for Pacific region

Renewable resources are a competitive, low-cost alternative for fossil fuels for the Pacific, and some inspiring renewable energy goals are being set. 

Today’s meeting – which included six Heads of State and IRENA Members in the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu – discussed IRENA’s proposed role in accelerating its deployment, opportunities for collaboration with
other stakeholders and development partners, and provided guidance on IRENA’s new proposals, ensuring that they accord with the Pacific Leaders’ policy goals and priorities.

IRENA meeting heralds new Regional Energy Era (Wam) Khaleej Times, 13 January 2012 ABU DHABI – A Pacific Leader’s Meeting held on Friday in Abu Dhabi by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in advance of its Second Assembly, (January 14-15), issued a public communique confirming the Agency’s proposed work activities to accelerate renewable energy deployment in this important region, which is currently heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by | OCEANIA, renewable | Leave a comment

USA ahead of China as global investment in renewable energy booms

The indications of a rise in global investment in clean energy follows the pact by major greenhouse-emitting countries in Durban last month on a road map that would lead to a global climate change deal by 2015. Erwin Jackson, deputy CEO of the Climate Institute, said: ”There are all these myths of the world not acting on climate change. All you have to do is follow the money.”

Global investment in clean energy hits record levels SMH David Wroe, Canberra January 14, 2012 DESPITE the turbulence in the global economy, the world invested a record $251 billion in clean energy last year, with the US streaking ahead of China in green spending and boosting confidence among climate action advocates.
New figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance showed the US spent $54 billion on clean energy, retaking the No. 1 spot it lost to China in 2009 and defying assumptions that the world’s largest economy is flagging on greenhouse gas reductions. Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Satellite pictures of North Korea’s nuclear plants

Satellite Snaps Show North Korea’s Nuclear Progress, Wired.com By  January 13, 2012  Kim Jong Il may be dead, but his legacy in North Korea lives on through the nuclear program he left behind. New satellite images now offer a more detailed view of the work that went into North Korea’s nuclear facilities in Kim’s final years.

The satellite pictures and the simulated models based on them show that North Korea has made notable progress building out its uranium enrichment facilities and accompanying experimental light water reactor since 2009. That progress is noted in a new article by Siegfried Hecker, Robert Carlin and Niko Milonopoulos in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists…….   http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/sat-snaps-north-koreas-nukes/

January 14, 2012 Posted by | Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

Strong case against proposed Florida nuclear plant

“It…will (do) irreversible damage to the springs, wetlands and wildlife.”…. The project’s cost is estimated at $22 billion….
The proposed plant site includes 722 acres of wetlands.

Nuclear plant opponents speak out, Ocala.com By Fred Hiers, January 13, 2012  CRYSTAL RIVER — For three hours on Thursday, opponents of a proposed Levy County nuclear plant told the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board the facility would siphon too much water from the aquifer, cause saltwater intrusion, and expose people to deadly radiation.

Hearing the complaints was a three-judge panel from the board, which falls under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and acts as its judicial arm. The meeting for public input was the result of three environmental groups — the Nuclear Information and Resources Service, the Ecology Party of Florida and the Green Party of Florida — challenging Progress Energy’s application to build the plant. Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear fuel plant unable to get loan guarantee

‘Crunch time’ at troubled nuclear fuel plant Washington Post By Steven Mufson,   January 13 U.S. Enrichment Corp., which produces fuel for nuclear power plants, is having its own sort of meltdown.

Disillusioned investors have wiped out 95 percent of the company’s market value since 2007. Standard & Poor’s has saddled it with a dismal CCC-plus credit rating. Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Scottish independence would mean moving Trident nuclear base

The vast majority of MSPs [members of the Scottish parliament], as well as the churches, trade unions, and civic society across the nation totally oppose Trident nuclear weapons being based in Scotland 

Scots’ breakaway plan threatens nuclear base, FT.com By James Blitz, 13 Jan 12 Contingency plans to transfer Britain’s nuclear deterrent to England if Scotland declares independence are being examined by the Ministry of Defence.

Officials warn that London would demand billions in compensation from Edinburgh to fund the move. As Scotland prepares for a referendum on independence in the autumn of 2014, MoD officials said they had been studying the implications of a Yes vote for the deterrent – Trident nuclear missiles, carried by four Vanguard class submarines that operate from Faslane Naval Base in the Firth of Clyde.

Officials warn that the costs of moving the four submarines from Scotland to England would be immense, Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK | 1 Comment