Lawmakers are forcing taxpayers to go nuclear.

Taxpayers shouldn’t have to bail out the nuclear industry: David Williams Press Journal 27 July 17 Lawmakers are forcing taxpayers to go nuclear.

Now that nuclear energy is becoming less competitive nationwide, lawmakers are responding by using Americans’ hard-earned dollars to bail out floundering nuclear plants.

But government handouts are no way to protect consumers. Rather than favor certain energy sources over others, lawmakers should let consumers benefit from a competitive, level energy playing field.

Many nuclear companies are struggling to compete with other forms of energy. As a result, nuclear bailouts are becoming the norm.

Consider Illinois. Last year, Chicago-based Exelon — the owner of Three Mile Island — announced that without government intervention, its power plants in Clinton and the Quad Cities would be forced to shut down. So legislators cooked up the Future Energy Jobs Act, which will throw a $200 million a year lifeline to Exelon — allowing its plants to limp on.

And they’ll pay for that bailout with the largest tax-rate increase in U.S. history. The scheme would hit Illinois residents with an extra $16.4 billion in energy costs. All told, the plan would forgo $14.7 billion in economic activity and $429 million in local and state tax revenue, costing Illinois up to 44,000 jobs……

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved a similar plan to spend $7.6 billion to save struggling nuclear plants. Exelon is purchasing an additional plant in the Empire State on the condition that the state’s government help pick up the tab by raising utility rates.

That’ll cost New Yorkers big time. Indeed, experts estimate the plan will rob New Yorkers of $3.4 billion over the first five years — and more in the long term. New York and federal taxpayers will also feel the pinch when energy costs for state and federal buildings increase.

The bailouts don’t stop there. Now that nuclear companies have locked down funding models in Illinois and New York, they’re getting ready to turn to other states for more money.

In Ohio, for instance, another power company, FirstEnergy, is looking to sell its floundering plants near Cleveland and Toledo. Exelon is considering moving in — asking the state for a little help in taking over the facilities. Nuclear companies are also eyeing handouts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut.

These other states should look to New York and Illinois as cautionary tales. Throwing taxpayer-subsidized lifelines to nuclear energy will hurt energy markets across America, resulting in poorer service, less choice, and higher utility rates for customers.

Indeed, if all nuclear plants in the northeast and mid-Atlantic win similar subsidies, it could cost ratepayers an astounding $3.9 billion a year, according to a report by Bloomberg Intelligence…….

David Williams is president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating the public on the government’s effects on the economy. http://www.pressandjournal.com/stories/taxpayers-shouldnt-have-to-bail-out-the-nuclear-industry-david-williams,16140

July 28, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | Leave a comment

China’s marketing strategy – Poland and Britain as springboards for China’s nuclear marketing

CGN eyes Poland for China’s nuclear exports By Zheng Xin | China Daily : 2017-07-26 China General Nuclear Power Corp is eyeing Poland as a potential destination for nuclear exports, as part of its expansion in Europe apart from the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Romania.

Polish authorities have been consulting with CGN, China’s largest nuclear operator, on cooperating and building the country’s first nuclear power station, according to a statement on the CGN website on Monday.

“CGN attaches substantial significance to the Polish nuclear power market and is willing to become a long-term strategic partner of the country,” said Shu Guogang, vice-president of CGN.

The two parties signed a Memorandum Of Understanding on cooperation on civil nuclear energy use earlier this month, which Shu said would bring mutual benefits to both countries.

According to Poland’s Energy Ministry, the visit to China earlier this month was to explore the possibility of cooperation between the Polish and Chinese nuclear sectors……..

The Memorandum Of Understanding is yet more evidence that the drive by Chinese electric power industry to diversify abroad is gradually expanding, said Joseph Jacobelli, a senior analyst of Asian utilities and infrastructure at Bloomberg Intelligence.

“CGN’s experience and financing capability and capacity means the company should be able to lock in one or more overseas deals in the next few quarters, despite the fact that whether the company can nail more deals in Eastern Europe is difficult to say at this stage because of the complex nature,” said Jacobelli.

“Nuclear investments take a long time to complete as they are more complex, while projects may also create local social backlashes and have security considerations.”

According to Jacobelli, CGN’s cooperation with the British government is more of a springboard for the company to reach other destinations in the European continent.

CGN signed an agreement on the Hinkley Point C power plant with French utility EDF and the British government last September, which has been hailed as a gateway to promote Chinese nuclear technology.

“The UK is the perfect base from a logistics perspective. It is a perfect springboard for development,” he said. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-07/26/content_30248171.htm

July 28, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, marketing | Leave a comment

USA nuclear ship closed 45 years ago – but still no funds to decommission it

Aboard the NS Savannah, America’s first (and last) nuclear merchant ship, Years after shutdown, Savannah still waits for funding for its reactor decommissioning. Ars Technica, SEAN GALLAGHER – 7/26/2017 Constructed at a cost of $46.9 million ($386.8 million in 2016 dollars) and launched on July 21, 1959, the Savannah was the world’s first nuclear cargo ship and the second nuclear-powered civilian ship (coming just two years after the Soviet nuclear icebreaker Lenin). Owned by the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) and operated by commercial cargo companies, for nearly a decade she carried cargo and passengers around the world. She also acted as a floating herald for America’s seemingly inevitable, cool Atomic Age future. Savannah boasted all the latest conveniences, including one of the world’s first microwave ovens.

Many critics have since called the Savannah an expensive Cold War-era.boondoggle,………

Ultimately, the bright atomic future Savannah was supposed to herald quickly lost its luster. The $2 million in annual subsidies required to operate made her a target for budget cuts—especially when the price of oil was low. In 1971, she was taken out of service. By the 1980s, both Japan and Germany abandoned their own nuclear merchant programs; only Russia still operates nuclear-powered merchant ships from its Arctic port in Murmansk. The country has a lone nuclear icebreaking cargo ship and six icebreakers in service…….

So more than 45 years after her last voyage, the Savannah remains moored here at the Canton Marine Terminal in a sort of limbo. It has been defueled and had nearly all of its radioactive materials removed, but the Savannah‘s reactor is still intact—as is the ship’s license to operate from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)……

the ship is also still regulated by the NRC and awaiting congressional funding for full decommissioning. It’s a step that the US government didn’t really even think about back when Savannah was built……. t the ship is also still regulated by the NRC and awaiting congressional funding for full decommissioning. It’s a step that the US government didn’t really even think about back when

July 28, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | decommission reactor, USA | Leave a comment

Indian State Government hands over land for nuclear development, displacing 2,200 families

Nuclear plant: 473 acres handed over toNPCIL, The Hindu, STAFF REPORTER, SRIKAKULAM,JULY 27, 2017 Remaining 1,500 acres to be given in three months

The State government on Wednesday handed over 473 acres of land to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to facilitate construction of an atomic power plant in Kovvada village of Ranasthalam mandal in the district.

The government would hand over the remaining 1,500 acres of land in three months. Revenue Divisional Officer B. Dayanidhi handed over the relevant documents to NPCIL Project Director, Kovvada, G.V. Ramesh, at a programme organised in the office of the tahsildar in Ranasthalam……..

According to the revenue officials, the government will construct a model colony for the 2,200 families facing displacement in Dharmavaram village of Etcherla mandal in the district. An extent of 250 acres of forest land has already been acquired for the construction of the colony. ……http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/nuclear-plant-473-acres-handed-over-to-npcil/article19366598.ece

July 28, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics | Leave a comment

HBO announces five-part miniseries on Chernobyl accident

https://www.apnews.com/70c22c24c7d343118dedd9cf82f94124BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — HBO says production will begin next year on a miniseries about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The five-part series will star Jared Harris as a Soviet scientist tapped by the Kremlin to investigate the accident.

The series will dramatize the events of the 1986 Ukrainian nuclear catastrophe that resulted in widespread radioactive fallout. Thirty people were killed and more than 100,000 had to be relocated.

HBO announced at the Television Critics Association’s summer meeting on Wednesday that production on “Chernobyl” is set to begin in Lithuania in spring of 2018.

July 28, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Resources -audiovicual, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Viability of Millstone nuclear plant to be reviewed

Connecticut Governor orders review of Millstone nuclear plant viability Reuters), 27 July 17 – Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has ordered state agencies to review the economic viability of Dominion Energy Inc’s Millstone nuclear power plant, which critics want shut down in the face of cheaper energy sources.

“We must objectively and thoroughly review and evaluate the relevant information and market conditions of the Millstone facility … in the context of reducing costs for consumers and moving our clean energy strategy forward,” the governor said in a statement on Tuesday…..

Millstone is among several nuclear power plants in danger of shutting before its licenses expire as cheap and abundant natural gas from shale fields keep power prices low, making it uneconomic for generators to keep some reactors operating…..

Opponents of state support for the reactors, like the Stop the Millstone Payout coalition, said “Millstone does not need a ratepayer-funded corporate payout.”

“Governor Malloy made the right call in seeking additional information from Millstone before any decision is made regarding financial support for the company,” said Matt Fossen, spokesman for the Stop the Millstone Payout coalition, in a statement…..

Since 2013, six reactors, including Dominion’s Kewaunee in Wisconsin, have shut for economic reasons. Another six are expected to shut over the next five years. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-idUSKBN1AC1G0

July 28, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Citizens concerned about Palisades nuclear wastes

Citizens ask about spent nuclear fuel storage, closure of Palisades, Kalamazoo News 27 July 17 By Brad Devereaux bdeverea@mlive.com SOUTH HAVEN, MI — Inspectors and experts on radioactive material and decommissioning nuclear power plants spoke with the public during an open house about Palisades Nuclear Plant.

While the plant is slated to be shut down in October 2018, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will remain involved to oversee safety compliance as the reactor fuel is removed and the plant enters decommissioning.

During a July 26 meeting in South Haven, citizens asked NRC officials about the clean-up and expressed concerns about the process to shutter the facility.

Benton Harbor resident Bette Pierman said she wanted answers from the NRC about what the site would be like for future generations. She wanted to know if any radioactive materials would be transported off-site during decommissioning, and said she worries the infrastructure is not in place to transport radioactive materials…….

Corinne Carey of Grand Rapids sat in the front row during some of the presentations by NRC officials, recording on a video camera. She said the plant should have been closed “a long time ago,” and now she’s concerned about the details of the clean-up and wants to make sure it’s done right.

“Who knows what’s going to happen to it? Is the radioactive waste going to remain on site?” she said.

She worries that a plane could hit a site where spent nuclear fuel is to be stored.

“What is the world we’re turning over to (our grandchildren)?” she said.

Decommissioning experts spoke about the process that can take up to 60 years that involves removing radioactive material and cleaning materials at the site and putting spent fuel into safe storage……..

Security measures will remain in place as long as spent fuel is stored on the site, the NRC said. The spent fuel is in a different category than other radioactive materials found on site, and will not decay to a safe level in the near future.

“The contents inside is extremely radioactive,” Edwards said about spent fuel that is usually stored in a dry cask some time after a plant shutdown. It emits lethal doses if left unshielded……..http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2017/07/citizens_ask_about_radioactivi.html

July 28, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Cameco wants TEPCO to buy unwanted uranium! LOL

A multi-billion-dollar contract cancellation also weighed on Cameco’s second-quarter financial results. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), the operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, terminated a supply contract in January alleging force majeure, which affects about 9.3-million pounds of uranium deliveries through 2028, worth about C$1.3-billion in revenue to Cameco, including about C$126-million in 2017. Cameco disputes the withdrawal,