2012 July 09 « nuclear-news

AREVA having trouble getting funding for uranium enrichment plant

Uranium enrichment plant near Idaho Falls could be delayed KTVB.com.. July 7, 2012 BOISE, Idaho — Areva still hasn’t announced a partner to help build its proposed gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant near Idaho Falls.

If it can’t find an investor, construction on the $3 billion project will likely be delayed until 2014…. Spokesman Mike French said Areva is still seeking assistance. If no suitable investor is found or steps forward, he says it could push construction back until early 2014.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/Idaho-uranium-enrichment-project-could-be-delayed-161675625.html

July 9, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

BHP’s contempt for Aboriginal rights in Australia

BHP has shown similar contempt for taking responsibility for the impacts of its actions in Australia. The recently amended Indenture Act which will apply to the new mine continues to exempt BHP from the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988, which applies elsewhere in the state.

It is clearly a conflict of interest to have a corporation with a commercial interest in a piece of land also making decisions as to whether this same piece of land has competing non-commercial values.

Uncle Kevin Buzzacott is an Arabunna elder. Arabunna land lies North of the mine site. The borefields which extract water for the mine from the Great Artesian Basin are located on Arabunna land. The recent recognition of the Arabunna peoples long standing Native Title claim does not give the Arabunna people any rights to contest the location of the borefields. The GAB feeds the mound springs scattered throughout the Lake Eyre region. The springs are integral to the desert ecosystem and sacred to the Arabunna people. They have already been impacted by the water usage of the current mine.

by Nectaria Calan, 9 July 12, The Lizards Revenge was first announced on the 10^th October 2011, coinciding with the State and Federal approvals of the Olympic Dam expansion. Since then, Rio + 20 in June this year has highlighted the failure of the concept of sustainable development and the failure of individual governments and the international community to genuinely address the ongoing environmental destruction that has become a feature of our age. Continue reading →

July 9, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, indigenous issues | Leave a comment

Clean Coal? Carbon Capture and Storage is a Dud

CCS? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ CCS, by Energy Matters, 9 July 12, While the Carbon Capture and Storage boffins struggle to make CCS commercially viable and environmentally safe – a goal that may never eventuate in time – the key to a low carbon energy future is already here.

A report released last month by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has determined renewable electricity generation using currently available technologies such a wind, solar PV, concentrating solar power (CSP), hydropower, geothermal, and biomass; combined with better electricity infrastructure, could supply 80% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2050.

The NREL says electricity supply and demand can be balanced in every hour of the year in this scenario, including nearly 50% from variable renewable generation.

The Renewable Electricity Futures Study (RE Futures) states U.S. renewable energy resources “can support multiple combinations of renewable technologies that will slash not only electric sector greenhouse gas emissions, but also water use“…..

Perhaps instead of increasingly throwing good money after bad in terms of CCS – or other expensive and questionable solutions that only further promote the mining and burning of coal and are essentially the equivalent of sweeping dirt under a rug – those investments could be re-routed towards achieving such an attainable renewables scenario and maybe even help to bring forward the time we’ll see 80% renewables in our energy mix.

The four-volume Renewable Electricity Futures Study can be downloaded here.

Established over 35 years ago, the NREL is the principal research laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The organisation is solely focused on advancing renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies; from concept to commercial application. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3287

July 9, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

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