nuclear-news

Science and Technology:

¶ CyboEnergy, based in Rancho Cordova, California, patented a solar power mini-Inverter that it says has the key merits of both central inverters and microinverters. The inverter design has multiple input channels, solving partial shading problems and making rooftop solar safer to install and operate. [WebWire]

¶ A study in Nature Climate Change shows that electric vehicle batteries have been getting cheaper much faster than expected. From 2007 to 2011, average battery costs for battery-powered electric vehicles fell by about 14% a year. The cost of batteries is about what the International Energy Agency predicted for 2020. [UK Progressive Magazine]

World:

Solar farm in India

¶ Renewables 2014, the global status report on renewable energy by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, says that the “evolution of renewable energy over the past decade has surpassed all expectations.” It makes clear that…

Protest Against Areva in Germany 21 Oct. 2014, Photo via Dianuke.org

Protest Against Areva at Jaitapur, January 2014, Photo via indien.antiatom.net

On April 18, 2011, police shooting into a crowd of anti-nuclear protestors, in India, killed Tabrez Sayekar and injured others.

Due to the “Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage”, the US, Japan, India and, to a lesser extent, Morocco, Romania, Argentina and the UAE pay now when India has a major nuclear accident. France does not pay for France is not a member of this “Convention”, which encourages the selling of defective equipment by removing liability from the maker. Areva is around 90% French State owned and 4.8% Kuwait owned via the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). Areva has been under investigation for years regarding the Uramin scandal, and would be bankrupt if not supported by the French taxpayer. Who will stop these murderous crooks? Ironically, the steel supplier…