Power generation at Wales Wylfa’s Reactor 1 was stopped on Sunday due to a problem with refuelling work
No return-to-service date has been indicated.
3 October 2012 Last updated at 15:26
The existing Wylfa plant, which has been producing energy since 1971, is set to continue generating electricity until the fuel runs out or September 2014, whichever comes first.
Wylfa is the only Magnox site still generating electricity, following the closure of Oldbury in Gloucestershire in February.
If finance is difficult, and finding £8bn for a capital spend on Wylfa B is beyond French company like Areva and the China Guangong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG), then it may hamper the two bids believed still to be on the table.
Japan – Scientists in study on effects of radiation on Fukushima wildlife
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 04, 2012
In April last year, researchers from Nippon Veterinary and Life ScienceUniversity (NVLU), along with other institutions, began sampling muscle tissue of wild Japanese macaques caught in the provincial capital, Fukushima, for radioactive cesium content.
The concentrations ranged between 10,000 and 25,000 becquerels per kilogram immediately after the nuclear crisis began to unfurl the month before.
The readings fell to 500-1,500 becquerels per kg in June, but rose again to more than 2,000 becquerels per kg from last winter to spring.
German solar, wind power generation grows 27% in Jan- Sep 2012
(SeeNews Renewables) – Oct 3, 2012 – Wind and solar power plants in Germany generated a total of 57.6 billion kWh in the first nine months of 2012, an increase of almost 27% year-on-year, news portal IWR said on Tuesday, citing estimates of the European Energy Exchange.
Accumulated wind power generation came in at 32.6 billion kWh in the period, recording a 10% rise. In September alone, wind power plants fed into the grid 3.02 billion kWh of electricity which corresponds to a monthly increase of 40%. However, August was the month of the least winds so far this year.
Electricity generated from solar power grew to 25 billion kWh in the first nine months of the year, from 16 billion kWh a year earlier. However, solar power production fell by one-fourth to 2.91 billion kWh in September as compared with August 2012.
Wind and solar power complement each other. Wind power contributed much more to electricity generation than solar power from January to April, while solar power generated more electricity than wind in the period from May to August.
Utico Middle East, the GCC’s largest private full service utility and solutions provider, and Shanghai Electric, the world’s largest coal power company, announced a joint collaboration to establish the world’s greenest coal-fired power plant in Ras Al Khaimah.
Japan nuclear-watchdog issues disaster guidelines that do not make sense?
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T121003003856.htm
The plans will be the basis for decisions on whether to allow the reactivation of reactors at nuclear power plants across the nation.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
(Oct. 4, 2012)
The Nuclear Regulation Authority released Wednesday a draft of guideline measures to cope with nuclear disasters….
[…]
The NRA will finalize the draft guideline by the end of this month.
[…]
Compiling the new guideline was one of the first tasks of the NRA, which was established in September.
[…]
As a result, the number of municipalities to be covered under the new guidelines will increase from the current 45 to 135.
[…]
The draft guideline also proposed stable iodine pills be directly distributed in advance to all households that may be affected to prevent radiation exposure to thyroid glands.
The previous guidelines stated that iodine pills should be stored near nuclear plants by local governments and only be distributed after an accident actually occurs.
The European commission has been accused of ‘dodging tough questions’ on the safety of nuclear plants in Europe.
Commenting ahead of the report’s publication on Thursday, Greens/EFA joint leader Rebecca Harms said, “The final report of the EU nuclear stress test charade looks set to dodge all the tough questions as expected. One thing seems clear: this exercise has been orchestrated to cause as little stress to the nuclear industry as possible.
“Safety campaigners also say the tests “fail to properly assess a host of key risks to nuclear reactors and contain no proposals to close unsafe reactors.”
According to the leaks, safety regimes vary greatly and the commission report will say that Europe’s nuclear reactors need investment of €10-25bn.
The commission is also expected to propose new laws next year, including on insurance and liability, to “improve the situation of potential victims in the event of a nuclear accident”.
Of the 134 EU nuclear reactors grouped across 68 sites, 111 have more than 100,000 inhabitants living within 30km.”
By Martin Banks – 3rd October 2012
The attack from the Greens group in parliament comes ahead of this week’s publication of a commission report of the outcome of ‘stress tests’ on Europe’s nuclear reactors.
The stress test report was commissioned by the executive in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in Japan last year and is expected to be adopted on Thursday.
The review was designed to ensure a disaster like Japan’s Fukushima cannot happen in Europe.
It has been claimed that leaked drafts appear to confirm fears that large numbers of nuclear reactors in Europe are deficient in basic security areas.
Safety campaigners also say the tests “fail to properly assess a host of key risks to nuclear reactors and contain no proposals to close unsafe reactors.”
Nuclear wastes- deep burial is the only option
Worldwide, 240,000 tonnes of spent fuel from nuclear reactors is in storage, mostly in surface facilities, according to Alexander Bychkov of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The pile of spent fuel — which remains dangerously radioactive for several hundred thousand years — continues to grow at a rate of 11,000 tonnes a year.
“Wait and see is not an option; you would put an undue burden on future generations.”
Nuclear waste: bury it deep, say the planners The Star.com, October 01, 2012
John Spears Business Reporter Don’t expect the cut and thrust of debate when nuclear waste planners gather to discuss what to do with the world’s tonnes of radioactive spent fuel.
That argument is over, an international conference heard Monday. We have to bury it deep, delegates were told. And we have to do it now. “There is no alternative to geological disposal,” bluntly declared Luis Echavarri, of the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency. Continue reading
Today’s Republicans lie about Ronald Reagan: he condemned nuclear weapons
Perhaps the most audacious whopper is that of many Republican candidates who claim the legacy of President Ronald Reagan and do not espouse his policies.
I have gathered some quotes of his on the abolition of nuclear weapons. It should be clear that he was not just concerned that bad people or countries should have the weapon, but that the weapon itself is bad.
Ronald Reagan, Republicans, and Nuclear Weapons HUFFINGTON POST : 09/30/2012 Listening to today’s candidates –at any level — one would not know that, historically, Republicans have been instrumental in advancing arms control, nonproliferation, and nuclear disarmament. That is, until the recent Bush administration. In fact, active Republican leadership was essential in obtaining the Biological Weapons Convention, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and the Chemical Weapons Convention, to name but a few.
However, the current Republicans running for offices, both high and low, have forgotten this legacy of success in making America and the world safer based on the US value of the rule of law.
Of serious concern is that the men who brought us the eight-year anomaly of consistent failure now comprise Romney’s foreign policy team. Out of 24 advisers, 17 played significant roles in the Bush administration and contributed to an unmatched history of unprecedented catastrophes. These guys include Max Boot, John Bolton, Elliot Cohen, and Cofer Black. They constructed an era defined by lies to justify a war in Iraq, a distortion of American values that rationalized torture, the execution of an aggressive war of choice rather than necessity, degradation of the international legal order which the United States had spent decades to establish, and the execution of costly military ventures based on money borrowed from China. Continue reading
New nuclear reactor now being built North of Tokyo
Work resumes on Japanese nuclear reactor http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-02/japan-resumes-reactor-work/4290390 By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy,2 Oct 12, A Japanese power firm has resumed construction of an atomic reactor, despite government plans to phase out nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
The reactor – 650 kilometres north of Tokyo – is being built by the J-Power company which had planned to have it operational in two years’ time. The company says it has now resumed construction of the reactor which was halted work after the Fukushima meltdowns. Continue reading
Florida Supreme Court considers the forced up front fees for planned nuclear reactors
The advance fee forced down customer throats by state law is “practical” only because Wall Street financiers of nuclear power plants won’t touch such projects. Too pricey. Too risky. Too – wait for it – uncompetitive.
State’s highest court should end forced fees to pay for nuclear power plants By Robert Trigaux, Tampa Bay Times Business Columnist Oct 01, 2012 It’s a big week for many Floridians, their wallets and their energy bills.
On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court takes a closer look at a 2006 state law that may go to the very top in my personal Guinness Book of Stupid Legislation.
That law forces Florida customers to pay for their utility’s proposed nuclear power plants long before they are built or begin operation. If the utility decides not to build the plant, it can keep much of the money it has already squeezed out of customers. We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars already. Continue reading
Fukushima compensation payments 1.24 trillion yen, and rising
TEPCO must compensate nuclear accident victims quickly The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2 Oct 12
The government should further enhance its system to resolve disputes over compensation for damage caused by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant so people suffering from the nuclear accident can be helped appropriately and quickly.
By late September, 940,000 compensation claims had been made against Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the nuclear plant, for damage caused by the crisis. The claimants and TEPCO have reached agreements in 860,000 cases. The total compensation has already reached 1.24 trillion yen and will increase further. This shows the seriousness of the accident, which has forced 160,000 local residents to evacuate.
Under a compensation scheme for the damage caused by the crisis, the government first pays evacuees the money and later requires TEPCO to repay it. Compensation is calculated based on criteria set by the government’s Committee for Dispute Resolution for Compensating Damages from the Nuclear Power Plant Incident.
The criteria require TEPCO to pay compensation for such expenses as evacuation transportation fees and damage to farmers and other people who lost their businesses due to the crisis.
The agreement ratio has been high in initial compensation negotiations, but many crisis victims are still dissatisfied with the amount of reparations…… http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/T121001002720.htm
USA’s nuclear industry moribund, so it lobbies for easier export rules
Nuclear Firms Seek Eased Export Rules as U.S. Demand Wanes Bloomberg News, By Brian Wingfield October 01, 2012 The U.S. nuclear-power industry is seeking to ease export restrictions so it can sell equipment and technology to nations including China and Russia as domestic demand wanes for reactors.
Regulations unchanged since the end of the Cold War impede U.S. companies in gaining export licenses, putting suppliers at a global disadvantage, according to a report released today by the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based group whose members include
Exelon Corp. (EXC) and Southern Co. (SO)…..
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this year issued its first reactor-construction licenses in more than three decades, while U.S. companies struggle to arrange financing for additional units.
A glut of natural gas has lowered prices for the fuel, discouraging investment in more expensive sources including nuclear power.
Southern’s reactor project in Georgia is awaiting final approval 2 1/2 years after winning a conditional $8.3 billion Energy Department loan guarantee. The NRC in August imposed a two-year freeze on final decisions for power-plant licenses in response to a court decision
requiring a reassessment of risks associated with storing nuclear waste……..
Fukushima Daiichi to increase dramatically in several years – “But no one talks about that” (VIDEO)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu9UbfsOpG0&feature=player_detailpage#t=2430s Interview with Mr. Yastel Yamada about Fukushima
http://enenews.com/japanese-engineer-radiation-doses-fukushima-daiichi-increase-dramatically-several-years-one-talks-about-video Japan Engineer: Radiation doses at Fukushima Daiichi to increase dramatically in several years – “But no one talks about that” (VIDEO)
September 30th, 2012
By ENENews Mr. Yastel Yamada, a retired engineer and founder of the Fukushima Skilled Veterans Corps
Uploaded by: OccupyUkiah
Filmed: July 30, 2012
Uploaded on: Sept. 27, 2012 Mr. Yastel Yamada, a retired engineer and founder of the Fukushima Skilled Veterans Corps: Just after [the Three Mile Island] accident there was some exposure, then in 3-4 years it decreases, then during fuel removal you have much more exposure.
Annual radiation doses at Three Mile Island
That’s quite normal. Meaning as you can imagine, workers work very close to the fuel.
Now we have to consider what will be in Fukushima, this is Tepco’s estimation, they estimate only 5 years [into the future]… they say now last year they needed such number of workers, but now the future necessities are much less. But if you compare, those periods [Tepco’s first 5 years] are only this period [left half of Three Mile Island chart].
After 10 years when the [fuel] debris removal starts, then the exposure to radiation must be serious, but no one talks about that.
Small scale renewable energy promoted by California’s Governor
Governor signs bill to ease small-scale renewable energy generation http://westernfarmpress.com/government/governor-signs-bill-ease-small-scale-renewable-energy-generation
Oct. 1, 2012 California farmers, school districts and commercial energy users got a boost with the Gov. Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 594, which removes barriers to on-site renewable energy production. The California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN), a coalition of sustainable agriculture organizations, supported the bill. Senate Bill 594, authored by Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis), will allow Net Energy Metering (NEM) customers to aggregate the electrical load of their meters.
The new law will ease the production of small-scale distributed renewable energy production in the state. “California farmers produce more renewable energy on their farms and ranches than their counterparts in other states, but obstacles still exist,” said Jeanne Merrill, policy director with CalCAN. “The governor’s action today moves us closer to developing more on-farm renewable energy production throughout California.”
Farmers and ranchers typically have multiple meters on their property. Current California law prohibits the power generated from an on-site renewable facility to be counted against other meters. Consequently, farmers would have to install a separate facility for each meter, which is extremely inefficient and cost prohibitive; thus limiting their ability to cost-effectively generate renewable energy. Senate Bill 594 addresses this issue and eliminates the need for multiple facilities.
“The governor just made it easier and more affordable for growers like me to produce renewable energy,” said Russ Lester, owner of Dixon Ridge Farms in Winters, Calif. “California agriculture can help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce clean energy. Senate Bill 594 is an important step forward.”
Senate Bill 594 will move California closer to meeting the governor’s goal of 12,000 megawatts of distributed renewable energy generation in the state. For more information on Senate Bill 594, please see: http://bit.ly/oNr9fT .
Oil companies prepared to risk environmental disaster in Arctic
despite the risks, most of the world’s biggest oil companies are eyeing the Arctic. US giant ExxonMobil has signed an exploration deal for the Russian Arctic with Rosneft, as have Italy’s Eni and Norway’s Statoil. Statoil is also working in the Norwegian Arctic and is partnering Cairn Energy off Greenland
Risky business: oil giants chase Arctic bounty http://www.theage.com.au/world/risky-business-oil-giants-chase-arctic-bounty-20121001-26vew.html#ixzz28AfLRrIN October 2, 2012 Emily Gosden Energy companies are looking at the potential riches, but one is breaking ranks. DRILLING for oil and gas has always been a risky business; overcoming technical, political and environmental challenges is part of the job.
But last week, Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of French oil giant Total, declared that when it came to the Arctic Ocean, the risk of a spill was simply too high. Continue reading
North Korea: Spark could set off nuclear war Tulsa’s Channel Oct 01, 2012 By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) – A North Korean minister lashed out at the United States on Monday, saying its “hostile” policy has left the Korean peninsula a spark away from a nuclear war.
Vice Foreign Minister Pak Kil Yon told the U.N. General Assembly that
the Koreas have become “the world’s most dangerous hotspot” and blamed
the “hostile” policy of the United States toward North Korea.
Pak said “the vicious cycle of confrontation and aggravation of
tension is an ongoing phenomenon on the Korean peninsula, which has
become the world’s most dangerous hotspot where a spark of fire could
set off a thermonuclear war.”….
http://www.ktul.com/story/19688491/north-korea-spark-could-set-off-nuclear-war
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