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USA’s secret 21 nuclear bombs in Netherlands

Atomic-Bomb-SmCold War nuclear bombs remain in the Netherlands : http://www.smh.com.au/world/cold-war-nuclear-bombs-remain-in-the-netherlands-20130611-2o15v.html#ixzz2Vz2EnXos June 11, 2013 

BRUSSELS: Twenty-two American nuclear bombs remain housed in underground bunkers at a Dutch airbase, a Cold War legacy described as “pointless”.

Ruud Lubbers, Dutch prime minister from 1982 to 1994, broke a taboo of European politics by confirming the presence of the weapons at Volkel airbase.

“I would never have thought those silly things would still be there in 2013,” Mr Lubbers told De Tijd Vliegt, or Time Flies, a National Geographic television documentary. “They are an absolutely pointless part of a tradition in military thinking.” Continue reading →

June 12, 2013 Posted by | EUROPE, Reference, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Urging Prime Minister Abe to stop promoting nuclear power

Abe,-Shinzo-nukeMr. Abe should stop promoting nuclear energy. Even if the Rokkasho plant becomes fully operative, the resulting plutonium production will increase the danger of nuclear proliferation. If Japan and France wish to cooperate on nuclear energy, they should focus their efforts on cleaning up the areas contaminated by the Fukushima disaster and decommissioning the damaged reactors.

Cease promoting nuclear power http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/06/11/editorials/cease-promoting-nuclear-power/#.UbghOudwo6I 11 June 13,   Meeting in Tokyo on June 7, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Francois Hollande agreed to cooperate on the development of a nuclear fuel cycle and the export of nuclear power technology. Mr. Abe’s decision to push forward with nuclear power technology is deplorable given the damage caused by the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Continue reading →

June 12, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Shared Renewable Energy Bill in California an exciting development

California Shared Renewable Energy Bills Gain Momentum,  http://theenergycollective.com/rosana-francescato/236241/california-shared-renewables-bills-gain-momentum  by Rosana Francescato June 11, 2013 Momentum is building for shared renewable energy in California. Late last week the two bills we’ve been following there, SB 43 and AB 1014, passed with strong margins in their chambers of origin — marking the first time this legislation has moved beyond committee to pass in either chamber.

The author of SB 43, Senator Lois Wolk, worked late into the night to draft last-minute amendments that would address concerns expressed by both Senator Alex Padilla and several utilities. The concerns were about an issue that’s been hounding the bill since its previous incarnation last year as SB 843: that there be no cost-shifting to utility customers not participating in the bill’s program.

The program allows for 500 MW of renewable energy projects that are ideal for utility customers who can’t put solar on their own roof. When they subscribe to energy produced by these shared renewable projects, customers get a credit on their power bill for that energy.

While this may sound great to customers, especially renters, utilities are sceptical. They want to ensure that the method used to calculate the bill credit be fair to all customers, including those who don’t sign up for shared renewables projects. Whether or not the utilities’ concern is disingenuous (remember the debate about net metering?), the bill’s sponsors have focused on addressing this point to ensure both fairness to all customers and passage of the bill.

And pass it did last week, with a vote in the California Senate of 27 – 9. The bill’s current version includes carve-outs that have been key requests of environmental justice and community power organizations: at least 20% of the program is set aside to be built in environmental justice areas, and at least 20% is set aside to be available to residential customers.

Less dramatic was the passage of AB 1014, which sailed through the Assembly with no debate and a vote of 55 – 17. Authored by Assemblyman Das Williams, this bill creates a voluntary program that allows utility customers to opt for 100% renewable energy, through their utility. As with SB 43, an important component of this bill was avoiding any cost-shifting to non-participants.

The bills have distinct approaches, but according to Tom Price, California Shared Renewables Policy and Market Strategies Director, “both solve the same problem — letting people who can’t buy renewable energy because they don’t have a place to physically install it to instead virtually install it on their power bill.”

As currently written, each bill would generate about 500 MW of new clean energy, 6,500 jobs, $60M in new taxes, and $2B in economic activity — all without a penny of state incentives.

At some point, SB 43 and AB 1014 are expected to be reconciled into one. No one knows yet how or when that will happen. Given that some still view SB 43 as pricing mechanism with cost shifts, there may be a convergence toward AB 1014’s PG&E-approved pricing structure. Wolk and Williams are working together to ensure the bills are supportive of each other.

The bills are now set to go through the policy committee of the opposite chamber, and then that chamber’s appropriations committee, before moving on to the whole floor. They’re likely to reach the policy committees by early July.

For the moment, the bills are on pause. But it won’t be long before it’s once again time for action. Keeping both bills moving forward requires showing as much support as possible. To receive updates and find out how you can get involved, sign up at the California Shared Renewables site.

June 12, 2013 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Shortage of Fukushima cleanup workers will be worse if Japan’s nuclear power push goes ahead

Stricken nuke plant struggles on, Yahoo 7 Finance, AAP  Jun 10, 2013“…….One Fukushima Dai-ichi worker, who has gained a big following on Twitter because of his updates about the state of the plant since the meltdowns, said veteran workers are quitting or forced to cut back on working in highly radiated areas of the plant as their cumulative exposure rises…………. Known as Happy-san to his 71,500 Twitter followers, he has worked in the nuclear industry for 20 years, about half of that at Fukushima.

He has worked at bigger contractors before, but is now at a mid-level contractor with about 20 employees, and has an executive level position.

“If things continue the way they are going, I fear decommissioning in 40 years is impossible. If nuclear plants are built abroad, then Japanese engineers and workers will go abroad. If plants in Japan are restarted, engineers and workers will go to those plants,” he said in a tweet………..

Other jobs are already so plentiful that securing enough workers for even the more lucrative work decontaminating the towns around the plant is impossible, according to Fukushima Labour Bureau data.

During the first quarter of this year, only 321 jobs got filled from 2,124 openings in decontamination, which involves scraping soil, gathering foliage and scrubbing walls to bring down radiation levels……….

“We’re headed toward a real crisis,” said Ryuichi Kino, a freelance writer and photographer who has authored books about the nuclear disaster and has reported on TEPCO intensively since March 2011.

Under the worst scenario, experienced workers capable of supervising the work will be gone as they reach their radiation-exposure limits, said Kino.

He believes an independent company separate from TEPCO needs to be set up to deal with the decommissioning, to make sure safety is not being compromised and taxpayer money is spent wisely. http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/stricken-nuke-plant-struggles-000105277.html

June 12, 2013 Posted by | employment, Japan | Leave a comment

Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful, says Russia’s Putin

Russia’s Putin says Iran nuclear push is peaceful (Reuters) 11 June  -by Alexei Anishchuk, and Steve Gutterman,  Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he has no doubt that Iran is adhering to international commitments on nuclear non-proliferation but regional and international concerns about Tehran’s nuclear programme could not be ignored.

Putin, whose country is among six world powers seeking to ensure that Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, also said Iranian threats to Israel’s existence were unacceptable.

His remarks appeared aimed to strike a balance between the interests of Iran, on the one hand, and on the other, Israel and global powers seeking to ensure Tehran does not acquire nuclear weapons…………http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/06/11/nuclear-iran-russia-idINDEE95A0E920130611

June 12, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Questions on San Onofre’s radioactive trash disposal

FAQ: How will San Onofre store its spent nuclear fuel? 89.3 KPCC, Sanden Totten | June 8th, 2013 Southern California Edison announced it will permanently close the remaining reactors at the San Onofre nuclear power plant. The spent nuclear fuel will be stored on site “for  a very long time,” said Edison chief executive Ted Craver during a press conference on Friday.

According to Craver, the company has a $2.7 billion fund to help shut down the site. That will include decommissioning the reactors, disposing of equipment and moving radioactive spent fuel to storage units.

The shutdown raises questions about how the potentially hazardous materials will be stored and what risks are involved. We have some answers below.

Q: What will happen to the spent fuel at San Onofre nuclear plant? ……

Q: How much spent fuel is there at San Onofre?……

Q: What is the spent fuel made of?……

Q: How long will the waste be stored at San Onofre?…..

Q: What are the risks involved with storage at San Onofre?…… http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/06/08/37631/faq-how-will-san-onofre-store-its-spent-nuclear-fu/

 

June 12, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Closure of Sann Onofrenuclear plant opens opportunity for renewable energy

Sad Saga of San Onofre Nuclear Is Good News for Renewables   ”The demise of the San Onofre nuclear facility HERMAN K. TRABISH: JUNE 10, 2013 The eighteen-month struggle of the just-shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) has been chronicled in detail by GTM…………. The final straw was last month’s call by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) for a Justice Department investigation after letters were discovered showing that SCE purposely misrepresented the renovations to regulators as “like-for-like” (though it knew they weren’t) in order to avoid the costly license review…………. Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies Executive Director V. John White observed that “the prudent economic thing is to recognize the plant is out of the money and it is time to move on.”……….. “Thanks to consumer conservation, energy efficiency programs and a moderate summer, the region was able to get through last summer,” SCE President Ronald Litzinger said, but any 2013 “generation outages, soaring temperatures or wildfires impacting transmission lines would test the system.”

San Onofre staff is expected to be cut from 1,500 to 400 employees by the end of this year. SCE intends to pursue recovery of damages from MHI and NEIL.

The CPUC promised to protect ratepayers by quickly determining financial responsibility and by leading the effort for “energy efficiency and demand response programs, as well as transmission upgrades and enhancements and some new generation resources.”

“This opens up the market to renewables to fill the gap,” former utility official Freeman said. http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Sad-Saga-of-San-Onofre-Nuclear-is-Good-News-for-Renewables?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreentechMedia+%28Greentech+Media%29

June 12, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

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