Nuclear industry now looks for private investment, not government
Financing Nuclear Power Projects: New Trends Emerging for Asia EIN News 23 Oct 12 The financing of nuclear power projects is a key consideration for any country planning to include nuclear power in their energy mix. The industry has started to see a shift towards private sector financing and this trend is expected to increase going forward
The financial cost of new nuclear power projects is a major factor in planning for a sustainable nuclear future [ now there’s an oxymoron – Christina Macpherson ] . Continue reading
JAPAN -Member Of Nuclear Regulatory Body Hints At Expanding Definition Of Active Faults
21:46 23 October
Member of nuclear regulatory body hints at expanding definition of active faults
TOKYO, Oct. 23, Kyodo
A member of the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Tuesday suggested broadening the definition of active faults that could undermine the safety of nuclear power plants in Japan, which are currently regarded as those that have moved in the last 120,000 to 130,000 years.
Expanding the definition could mean that utilities would have to take heed of faults that they have not paid attention to in the past, possibly leading them to reevaluate the quake resistance of each plant.
“I have never used 120,000 and 130,000 years (when talking about active faults),” seismologist Kunihiko Shimazaki told reporters, while suggesting that around 400,000 years could provide a possible benchmark.
(SUBSCRIPTION ONLY)
Financing Nuclear Power Projects: New Trends in Asia -ONLY PRIVATE FINANCING AVAILABLE
Financial stakeholders involved include:
– International Atomic Energy Agency
– Japan Bank for International Cooperation
– The Export-Import Bank of Korea
– Natixis Bank
– Fitch Ratings
– AON
October 23, 2012 /EIN Presswire/ — The financing of nuclear power projects is a key consideration for any country planning to include nuclear power in their energy mix. The industry has started to see a shift towards private sector financing and this trend is expected to increase going forward
FINANCING NUCLEAR POWER PROJECTS: NEW TRENDS EMERGING FOR ASIA
Private sector financing for the industry set to increase
The financial cost of new nuclear power projects is a major factor in planning for a sustainable nuclear future. Traditional providers of capital to the nuclear industry have been governments and Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), with commercial banks and international financial institutions playing a lesser role. However, new trends are emerging:- Nuclear Steam System Supplier (NSSS) vendors have recently been taking equity stakes in the projects and China’s biggest nuclear power developer, China National Nuclear Power Co. (CNNC), recently announced plans to access international capital markets via an IPO, proceeds of which will be used to fund five nuclear projects with a total required investmentof 173.5 billion yuan ($27.25 billion).
“Firstly we are seeing a trend whereby NSSS vendors are putting equity into these deals, which provides an additional funding source for the prospective. Secondly, it is important to recognize that financing must be considered over a longer term than just the construction period. By building a more comprehensive financing plan for the prospective project, new sources of financing (e.g., project bonds and passive equity investors) can be integrated into the project after the first refuelling outage has occurred,” said Paul Murphy, Advisory Board member of Asia Nuclear Business Platform and Senior Attorney, Global Project Finance Group of Milbank.
“Finally, multi-owner models and multi-owner off-take structures provide further viable financial models, if the necessary market conditions for such structures are present.”
Spend spend spend! Phoenix nuclear lab gets military money bags -USA
A separate, 100,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant will help the company design a neutron source for the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It is aimed at testing electronic components to see if they could withstand the radiation of space or other military applications, without using highly enriched uranium to simulate those environments.
BRIEF: Phoenix Nuclear Labs gets 2 Army contracts
Oct 23, 2012 (Menafn – The Wisconsin State Journal – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) –Phoenix Nuclear Labs, Monona, has received two contracts with the Army, totaling nearly 1 million.
AFP: School facilities in Fukushima city exceed radiation limit by 1,000% — Many hot spots around playground equipment are especially disturbing -Greenpeace
Published: October 23rd, 2012 at 7:30 am ET
|
Title: Japan’s radiation monitoring unreliable: Greenpeace
Source: AFP
Author: Kyoko Hasegawa
Date: Oct 23, 2012
Government radiation monitoring in areas near Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is unreliable, Greenpeace charged on Tuesday, with heavily populated areas exposed to 13 times the legal limit.
The environmental group said authorities were wasting time cleaning up evacuated areas and should prioritise decontamination efforts in places where people live, work and play.
Greenpeace found that in some parks and school facilities in Fukushima city, home to 285,000 people, radiation levels were above three microsieverts per hour. Japan’s recommended radiation limit is 0.23 microsieverts per hour. […]
Rianne Teule, Greenpeace’s radiation expert
- “We also found that official monitoring posts placed by the government systematically underestimate the radiation levels”
- Some machines are shielded from radiation by surrounding metal and concrete structures
- “Official monitoring stations are placed in areas the authorities have decontaminated. However, our monitoring shows that just a few steps away the radiation levels rise significantly”
- “Decontamination efforts are seriously delayed and many hot spots that were repeatedly identified by Greenpeace are still there”
- “It is especially disturbing to see that there are many hot spots around playground equipment, exposing children who are most vulnerable to radiation risks”
Greenpeace’s Japan nuclear campaigner Kazue Suzuki
- Attempts to clean up were “misguided”
- “One home or office may be cleaned up, but it is very unlikely that the whole area will be freed of radiation risks within the next few years” given the mountainous and heavily forested nature of the region
- “The government continues to downplay radiation risks and give false hope (of returning home) to victims of this nuclear disaster”
be sure to check this article {arclight2011}
Update -FBI releases documents that confirm they spy on anarchists- Leah-Lynn Plante freed but not her friends!
“On Thursday, legal documents intended to be cloaked indefinitely were accidently unsealed in US District Court in Seattle for a moment, finally offering a small bit of insight as to why the FBI has been targeting adherents to a specific ideology and intensifying what some have equated to a politically-motivated witch-hunt aimed at anarchists.”
Published: 22 October, 2012,
RT news
Two anarchists remain locked up as prosecutors attempt to coerce the testimonies they’ve been subpoenaed to give about acts of vandalism in the Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, though, the FBI has accidentally blown the cover off its own case.
Ever since Leah Plante, Katherine “KteeO” Olejnik and Matt Duran were asked to testify before a federal grand jury earlier this year, all three self-identified anarchists have been adamant about remaining silent. For refusing to speak, federal prosecutors have since put the trio of twenty-something activists behind bars over contempt of court charges, with Plante being awarded her freedom only in recent days. As her colleagues continue their imprisonment, though — where they could remain for the entirety of the 18-month investigation — the FBI has failed to provide to the press or public alike any information as to why they’ve targeted the known activists or what role they could play in unraveling a greater conspiracy.
“DON’T ABANDON THE CHILDREN OF FUKUSHIMA” (PART 5 OF 5) -documentingian
http://ianthomasash.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/dont-abandon-children-of-fukushima-part.html
Friday, October 19, 2012
“Don’t abandon the children of Fukushima” (part 5 of 5)
 |
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| Koutarou, wearing a radiation monitor on a blue lanyard, watches cartoons before school. |
 |
| Kae and Shinjirou sleep while their brother gets ready for school. |
A HOAX about new Fukushima crisis should not make us think it is now SAFE
Nuclear Perceptions Fight Reality OpEd News, By William Boardman, 22 Oct 12, FUKUSHIMA FREAKOUT OBSCURES REAL ACCIDENT THAT GOES ON AND ON An early morning flurry of internet reports carried scary – but false – headlines aboutFukushima nuclear power plant’s fuel pools exploding and burning, and releasing massive amounts of radiation on October 22. Many readers expressed skepticism, as the reports seemed to come from a single, unconfirmed source and by later the same afternoon more responsible websites were labeling the story a hoax .
The Fukushima accident in Japan continues nonetheless, at a slower pace for now, even though one of the more dangerous damaged units has cracks in its walls and is sinking into the ground, as affirmed by nuclear engineer Arnie Gunderson in his October 21 podcast .
Unit 4 at Fukushima is perhaps the most threatening part of the damaged plant because the unit’s fuel rods are outside the containment where further mishap could lead to the release massive amounts of radiation directly into the environment.
At the time of the earthquake in March 2011, about 100 miles of Japan’s coastline, including the area around Fukushima, dropped about three feet, increasing the impact of the tsunami that destroyed the nuclear power plant, which continues to deteriorate.
In recent weeks it’s become increasingly clear that Fukushima Unit 4, with its unprotected fuel rods is continuing to sink into the ground, and is sinking asymmetrically, creating the possibility that the building will begin to tilt. The unit sank about 36 inches in March 2011 and has sunk another 30 inches since then, as confirmed by Gunderson.
How Safe Is a Buckled, Sinking Building?…….. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Nuclear-Perceptions-Fight-by-William-Boardman-121022-931.html
The world’s nuclear industry continues to decline
World Nuclear Industry Status Report maps nuclear power’s global decline http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2012/10/22/world-nuclear-industry-status-report-maps-nuclear-powers-glo.html A new World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2012, authored by Mycle Schneider with Antony Froggatt and Julie Hazemann, maps the continuing global decline of nuclear power. The report shows that nuclear’s future rests not on new construction, but that “Plant life extension seems the most likely survival strategy of the nuclear industry at this point” – a good reason to continue to block reactor license extensions. The report noted that: “Only seven reactors started up, while 19 were shut down in 2011.” By July 2012, “only two were started up, just compensating for two that were shut down so far this year”. Other highlights:
China is spending five times more on renewables than nuclear post-Fukushima with no new nuclear construction since 3/11; nine reactors have been listed as “under construction” for more than 20 years; four countries – Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Taiwan – will phase out nuclear power and five more to date – Egypt, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait and Thailand – have abandoned plans to develop, or re-develop nuclear power; new builds have been canceled in Brazil, France, India and the US; certification of new reactor technologies has been delayed numerous times; in the US, of the 28 license applications received, 16 were subsequently delayed and eight were suspended indefinitely or officially canceled; of the 59 units under construction in the world, at least 18 are experiencing multi-year delays, while the remaining 41 projects were started within the past five years or have not yet reached project start-up dates.
Russia’s Putin is put out about India’s Nuclear Liability Law
Kudankulam sparks ‘nuclear winter’, Putin defers visit Sachin Parashar, TNN | Oct 23, 201 NEW DELHI: In a sudden and unexpected move, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to postpone his much-awaited summit meet with PM Manmohan Singh by close to two months. The meet, which was scheduled to take place on November 1 and for which groundwork had been completed during deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin’s visit to India last week, will now take place on December 24. .. TOI had learnt on Friday that since Moscow was not pleased with the outcome of Rogozin’s visit, Putin may decide to delay his India visit.
While the Russians had been maintaining that the cost of the reactors will go up substantially if suppliers are made accountable for compensation, they were still hoping that the two sides would be able to circumvent, if not override, the liability provisions through some arrangement that will acknowledge Moscow’s contribution to India’s nuclear power industry even during times of adversity. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kudankulam-sparks-nuclear-winter-Putin-defers-visit/articleshow/16920253.cms
Senseless Cold War nuclear arsenal – obsolete system
We have a Cold War nuclear arsenal built to defend us from “Mad Men”-era threats. But those threats, like the three-martini lunch, are a thing of the past. And the over half a trillion dollars we’re goingto spend on maintaining that bloated arsenal over the next decade will be a half trillion less we can spend on the training and equipment our
troops need to face 21st-century threats.
Blunt: Costs of U.S. nuclear posture senseless Online Athens By ROGER R. BLUNT, October 22, 2012 Fifty years ago the biggest event in human history almost happened. During a fateful 13-day period in October 1962, the Soviet Union and the United States balanced at the brink of nuclear war as the Soviets attempted to establish nuclear bases in Cuba. Continue reading
In order to keep people happy, nuclear power plants were kept UNSAFE!
Nuclear Perceptions Fight Reality OpEd News, By William Boardman, 22 Oct 12, FUKUSHIMA FREAKOUT OBSCURES REAL ACCIDENT THAT GOES ON AND ON ”….Perception of Safety Wins Out Over RealityAs has been widely reported, Tepco has known since 2002 that the Fukushima site was unsafe. “I actually think they knew in the eighties,” Gunderson commented. One reason TEPCO didn’t do anything was money, and another was public relations. They didn’t want to create the perception that the site was unsafe, so therefore they kept the site unsafe,” Gunderson said. He explained that they have since acknowledged their behavior and he read from a TEPCO public statement:
“There was a worry that, if the company were to implement a severe accident response plan, it would spur anxiety throughout the country and in the community where the plant was sited, and it would lend momentum to the anti-nuclear movement.”
Similar thinking in the U.S. was revealed by the release of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) study that showed that 34 U.S. nuclear power plants at risk of flooding from dam failures upstream. Written about six months ago, but classified “not for public disclosure,” the studywas recently made public by a whistleblower.
“So here’s the NRC, America’s nuclear watchdog, doing exactly what Tokyo Electric did, preventing the public from becoming aware of a safety problem, because they don’t want to frighten the public,” Gunderson said….. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Nuclear-Perceptions-Fight-by-William-Boardman-121022-931.html
Permanent shutdown for USA nuclear power plant
The shutdown would be the first of any reactor in the country since the late 1990s
Dominion says Kewaunee nuclear plant will shut down for good By Thomas Journal Sentinel 22 Oct 12, Dominion Resources Inc. will shut down the Kewaunee Power Station by the middle of next year, the company announced Monday, saying it was unable to find a buyer for the nuclear plant east of Green Bay.
The Kewaunee reactor is one of three operating reactors in the state, with the other two located five miles away at Point Beach Nuclear Plant.
The Virginia-based company said the low price of natural gas, which sets prices for the wholesale power market, was a key factor in the decision. The company’s agreements to sell power to two Wisconsin utilities expire next year. Continue reading
“Sleeping dragon” Fukushima reactor No 4 nuclear fuel pool
Nuclear Perceptions Fight Reality OpEd News, By William Boardman, 22 Oct 12, FUKUSHIMA FREAKOUT OBSCURES REAL ACCIDENT THAT GOES ON AND ON These buildings are supposed to be seismically and structurally secure and, you know, if the ground sinks under them, that suddenly changes a lot of people’s perception,” Gunderson said, underscoring the assurances of the nuclear industry that reactors are constructed to survive earthquakes intact. The Japanese “seismic calculations were wrong all along,” he added.
Unit 4 was first damaged by the earthquake/tsunami event, and then suffered several explosions during the aftermath. Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) acknowledged that the building was damaged and went in during the spring of 2011 to structurally reinforce the elevated fuel pool, to keep the bottom of the pool from breaking and dumping fuel rods uncontrollably.
Today the Unit 4 building is buckled, and is two inches wider at the bottom than at the top. There is at least one crack in its foundation.
Of the four Fukushima reactors and fuel pools, Unit 4 has the most nuclear fuel in the fuel pool, and no fuel in its reactor within the containment. All the fuel in Unit 4 is outside the relative safety of the containment. And part of that fuel is the entire hot nuclear core that used to be in the reactor. That’s why the fuel pool steams on colder days.
“There is dozens of times more Cesium in the nuclear fuel pool at Unit 4 than was ever released in all the above ground [nuclear bomb] testing that ever occurred, so if that pool were to face structural damage from another earthquake, it would likely devastate Japan,” Gunderson said, “It’s a sleeping dragon.”
He added that until Tepco gets the fuel out of the pool, the world needs to keeps its fingers crossed that there’s not another earthquake, because Tepco is moving too slowly and methodically to make the site safe any time soon…… http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/Nuclear-Perceptions-Fight-by-William-Boardman-121022-931.html
Judges struggle to understand budget for Indian Point nuclear plant evacuation plan
Nuke hearing targets evacuation costs Iohud.com Michael Risinit 22 Oct 12, Federal judges question formula used by Indian Point owner TARRYTOWN — The three federal administrative judges presiding over Indian Point’s re-licensing hearing struggled Wednesday to understand how the nuclear plant’s owner and federal regulators
estimate the cost of relocating residents following a radioactive accident. Continue reading
1 This Month
Protect Sazan Island from the Trump family! https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/protect_sazan_island_from_the_trump_family_loc/?bqFCVab&v=174511&cl=22707147157&_checksum=5e9dde668860e8231c33699735e16a1fbf22ab2cb01da50c999fe8732b9775ef&utm_source=email&utm_medium=blast_email&utm_campaign=174511
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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