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Vogtle nuclear power station in Georgia, only half completed, and 7 years behind schedule

Saporta Report 24th May 2018, A new report on the construction status of the Vogtle nuclear plant,
released Wednesday by Moody’s Investors Service, provides greater detail
than a May 10 statement released by Georgia Power and cites a number of
risks that could further delay the plant’s opening date. Moody’s report
addresses a list of frequently asked questions about the Vogtle project as
it relates to MEAG, the Municipal Electric Authority. MEAG is a partner in
the Vogtle project, along with Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corp., and
the City of Dalton Combined Utility. The first sentence of Moody’s report
observes: “Construction is progressing on the Vogtle Nuclear Units 3 and
4 in Georgia, offering additional credit stability to the owners of the
units, though the work is still only around 50 percent completed and is
several years behind the original schedule.”

May 28, 2018 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Delay in start-up for United Arab Emirates nuclear reactor, marketed by South Korea

UAE’s first nuclear reactor start-up delayed, MEMO, May 27, 2018 

The start-up of the Arab world’s first nuclear reactor – in the United Arab Emirates – has been delayed and should start operations between the end of 2019 and early 2020, the plant’s operator said on Saturday.

Nawah Energy Company, the operator of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the Al-Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi, said it “has completed a comprehensive operational readiness review” for an updated start-up schedule for the reactor.

The $24.4 billion Barakah power plant is the world’s largest nuclear project under construction and will be the first in the Arab world.

“The results of Nawah’s review forecast that the loading of nuclear fuel assemblies required to commence nuclear operations at Barakah Unit 1 will occur between the end of 2019 and early 2020,” it said in a statement.

Reuters reported in March that the start-up had been pushed back to 2019 due to training delays.

“The resulting projection for the start-up of Unit 1 operations reflects the time required for the plant’s nuclear operators to complete operational readiness activities and to obtain necessary regulatory approvals,” Nawah said.

The first of four reactors being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) in the UAE is part of the Barakah power plant project that was originally scheduled to open last year.

Barakah One is a joint venture between Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and KEPCO….https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180527-uaes-first-nuclear-reactor-start-up-delayed/

May 28, 2018 Posted by | marketing, United Arab Emirates | Leave a comment

Jordan drops plans for large nuclear reactors, will try small ones from Russia

Jordan Settles for Smaller Russian Nuclear Reactor by 2022 May 27th, 2018 via SyndiGate.info  

Jordan on Saturday announced a plan for a small modular nuclear reactor with Russia, replacing the $10 billion nuclear power plant for which an agreement was signed in 2015 between the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) and Russia’s Rosatom Overseas.

“Jordan is now focusing on small modular reactors because the large reactors place financial burden on the Kingdom and in light of the current fiscal conditions we believe it is best to focus on smaller reactors,” a government official, who preferred anonymity, told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

The official said the plan for the $10 billion nuclear plant with Russia that entails building two nuclear reactors with total capacity of 2,000 megawatts is over now and that focus will be on smaller reactors, which are safe, require less financial burden and for which Jordan can attract investors, the official said Saturday……..https://www.albawaba.com/news/jordan-settles-smaller-russian-nuclear-reactor-2022-1137364

May 28, 2018 Posted by | Jordan, politics | Leave a comment

Pennsylvania nuclear lobby hoping for nuclear industry salvation via Tax-payer funding

Nuclear plants hope not to close, The Daily Item, By John Finnerty CNHI Harrisburg reporter, May 26, 2018, HARRISBURG — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law this week a $300 million Zero Emissions Certificate program intended to prop up the state’s nuclear power plants.

Nuclear energy industry lobbyists in Pennsylvania hope to see similar state aid here, to hold off announced closings of the Three Mile Island power plant operated by Exelon in Dauphin County and Beaver Valley Power Station, operated by FirstEnergy in Beaver County.

Exelon will not refuel Three Mile Island, as scheduled, in October 2019, unless something changes, David Fein, Exelon’s vice president for state and government affairs, said Thursday. FirstEnergy has filed noticed with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission that Beaver Valley will cease operating in 2021……….

Three Mile Island was the site of what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has described as “the most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history” when its reactor partially melted down on March 28, 1979. The incident prompted then-Gov. Dick Thornburgh to announce that women and children within five miles of the nuclear power plant should evacuate. An estimated 140,000 people within 20 miles of the power plant fled the area in the days after the incident, according to an NRC summary of the event.

…….Environmentalists interviewed for this story said the shadow of the 1979 incident “still lingers” in the minds of many people skeptical of the industry.

Tom Schuster, who leads the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Pennsylvania, said he’d recently heard Three Mile Island described as “the least popular nuclear power plant in the country.”

Schuster said it would be bad for climate change if the nuclear plants were replaced by plants running on fracked natural gas.

Still, he’s still not particularly sold on the idea that the power companies will follow through and close the plants if the state doesn’t provide subsidies. Any plan to reward nuclear power for producing cleaner energy should also provide incentives for solar and wind energy, he said.

Eric Epstein, the long-time president of TMI Alert, a local watchdog group, said that taxpayers have repeatedly been asked to subsidize the nuclear power plants and he sees no reason it should continue.

“Nuclear power can’t exist without subsidies,” he said. “The market has ruled. There should be no more subsidies.”

He said the industry suggestion that nuclear power is clean, doesn’t tell the whole story.

“When you look at their green benefits, you have to look at their brown impacts too,” he said, pointing to concerns about handling of the radioactive waste produced at the power plants.

No legislation has yet been introduced in Pennsylvania to spell out how the industry might be propped up here………http://www.dailyitem.com/news/local_news/nuclear-plants-hope-not-to-close/article_1875b9ad-f430-5904-be06-1048b736c352.html

May 28, 2018 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

May 27 Energy News

geoharvey's avatargeoharvey

Opinion:

¶ “The Silence of the Bugs” • Fifty-six years after Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” warned of bird die-offs from pesticides, a new biocrisis may be emerging. A study published last fall, showing a 76% decline in the total seasonal biomass of flying insects netted at 63 locations in Germany over the last three decades, tells only part of the story. [The New York Times]

Artwork by Enzo Pérès-Labourdette

¶ “Climate Change Canaries and Our Changing Climate” • While some disagree over its causes, the reality of climate change is an incontrovertible fact. The planet is warming, affecting our weather and our oceans. Our growing seasons are affected, in turn having effects on our food. Crops fail, causing shortages and price hikes. [The Market Oracle]

¶ “Electric Buses A Crucial Portion Of Our Mobility Needs” • So far, the electric news limelight has been around electric…

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May 27, 2018 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Novel Method of Quantifying Radioactive Cesium-Rich Microparticles (CsMPs) in the Environment from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

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Novel Method of Quantifying Radioactive Cesium-Rich Microparticles (CsMPs) in the Environment from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant” has been published in the journal of Environmental Science:
Highly radioactive cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) were released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) to the surrounding environment at an early stage of the nuclear disaster in March of 2011; however, the quantity of released CsMPs remains undetermined. Here, we report a novel method to quantify the number of CsMPs in surface soils at or around Fukushima and the fraction of radioactivity they contribute, which we call “quantification of CsMPs” (QCP) and is based on autoradiography. Here, photostimulated luminescence (PSL) is linearly correlated to the radioactivity of various microparticles, with a regression coefficient of 0.0523 becquerel/PSL/h (Bq/PSL/h). In soil collected from Nagadoro, Fukushima, Japan, CsMPs were detected in soil sieved with a 114 μm mesh. There was no overlap between the radioactivities of CsMPs and clay particles adsorbing Cs. Based on the distribution of radioactivity of CsMPs, the threshold radioactivity of CsMPs in the size fraction of <114 μm was determined to be 0.06 Bq. Based on this method, the number and radioactivity fraction of CsMPs in four surface soils collected from the vicinity of the FDNPP were determined to be 48–318 particles per gram and 8.53–31.8%, respectively. The QCP method is applicable to soils with a total radioactivity as high as ∼106 Bq/kg. This novel method is critically important and can be used to quantitatively understand the distribution and migration of the highly radioactive CsMPs in near-surface environments surrounding Fukushima.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.7b06693

May 27, 2018 Posted by | Fukushima 2018 | , , , | Leave a comment

Fukushima-Daiichi radioactive particle release was significant says new research

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24 May 2018
Scientists say there was a significant release of radioactive particles during the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident.
The researchers identified the contamination using a new method and say if the particles are inhaled they could pose long-term health risks to humans.
The new method allows scientists to quickly count the number of caesium-rich micro-particles in Fukushima soils and quantify the amount of radioactivity associated with these particles.
The research, which was carried out by scientists from Kyushu University, Japan, and The University of Manchester, UK, was published in Environmental Science and Technology.
In the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, it was thought that only volatile, gaseous radionuclides, such as caesium and iodine, were released from the damaged reactors. However, in recent years it has become apparent that small radioactive particles, termed caesium-rich micro-particles, were also released. Scientists have shown that these particles are mainly made of glass, and that they contain significant amounts of radioactive caesium, as well as smaller amounts of other radioisotopes, such as uranium and technetium.
The abundance of these micro-particles in Japanese soils and sediments, and their environmental impact is poorly understood. But the particles are very small and do not dissolve easily, meaning they could pose long-term health risks to humans if inhaled.
Therefore, scientists need to understand how many of the micro-particles are present in Fukushima soils and how much of the soil radioactivity can be attributed to the particles. Until recently, these measurements have proven challenging.
The new method makes use of a technique that is readily available in most Radiochemistry Laboratories called Autoradiography. In the method, an imaging plate is placed over contaminated soil samples covered with a plastic wrap, and the radioactive decay from the soil is recorded as an image on the plate. The image from plate is then read onto a computer.
“We now need to push forward and better understand if caesium micro-particles are abundant throughout not only the exclusion zone, but also elsewhere in the Fukushima prefecture; then we can start to gauge their impact”. 
Dr Gareth Law
The scientists say radioactive decay from the caesium-rich micro particles can be differentiated from other forms of caesium contamination in the soil.
The scientists tested the new method on rice paddy soil samples retrieved from different locations within the Fukushima prefecture. The samples were taken close to (4 km) and far away (40 km) from the damaged nuclear reactors. The new method found caesium-rich micro-particles in all of the samples and showed that the amount of caesium associated with the micro-particles in the soil was much larger than expected.
Dr Satoshi Utsunomiya, Associate Professor at Kyushu University, Japan, and the lead author of the study says “when we first started to find caesium-rich micro-particles in Fukushima soil samples, we thought they would turn out to be relatively rare. Now, using this method, we find there are lots of caesium-rich microparticles in exclusion zone soils and also in the soils collected from outside of the exclusion zone”.
Dr Gareth Law, Senior Lecturer in Analytical Radiochemistry at the University of Manchester and an author on the paper, adds: “Our research indicates that significant amounts of caesium were released from the Fukushima Daiichi reactors in particle form.
“This particle form of caesium behaves differently to the other, more soluble forms of caesium in the environment. We now need to push forward and better understand if caesium micro-particles are abundant throughout not only the exclusion zone, but also elsewhere in the Fukushima prefecture; then we can start to gauge their impact”.
The new method can be easily used by other research teams investigating the environmental impact of the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
Dr Utsunomiya adds: “we hope that our method will allow scientists to quickly measure the abundance of caesium-rich micro-particles at other locations and estimate the amount of caesium radioactivity associated with the particles. This information can then inform cost effective, safe management and clean-up of soils contaminated by the nuclear accident”.
 
The paper, ‘Novel Method of Quantifying Radioactive Cesium-Rich Microparticles (CsMPs) in the Environment from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant’ has been published in the journal of Environmental Science – DOI:10.1021/acs.est.7b06693
Energy is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons – examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/fukushima-daiichi–radioactive-particle-release-was-significant-says-new-research/

May 27, 2018 Posted by | Fukushima 2018 | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear issue again takes center stage in Niigata election

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The three independent candidates for Niigata governor are, from left: Chikako Ikeda, Hideyo Hanazumi and Satoshi Annaka.
 
May 25, 2018
NIIGATA–The election for a new governor of Niigata Prefecture was triggered by a sex scandal, but the key issue facing voters is where the candidates stand on restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world’s biggest nuclear facilities.
Campaigning officially kicked off May 24.
The outcome of the June 10 vote could have a bearing on the Abe administration’s moves to bring more nuclear plants back online.
Although the candidates are running as independents, two are supported by political parties.
In early speeches, they all outlined their position on the nuclear plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., but residents are calling on them to be less cautious and state where they truly stand.
“Many people are still suffering (because of the Fukushima nuclear disaster), and there are still many people living as evacuees,” said a female resident, 66. “Some kids have even been bullied. So I really want the candidates to state clearly that Niigata doesn’t need a nuclear plant anymore.”
On the other hand, a 70-year-old female resident argued that local people “cannot flatly oppose the restart of the nuclear plant because of the impact it will have on economy.”
For this reason, she said, “I cannot easily say I am against it.”
The election is expected to come down to a battle between Hideyo Hanazumi, 60, a former vice commandant of the Japan Coast Guard, and Chikako Ikeda, 57, a former member of the prefectural assembly.
Hanazumi is supported by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, while Ikeda is backed by five opposition parties.
The other candidate is Satoshi Annaka, 40, a former member of the Gosen municipal assembly.
The election was triggered by the April resignation of Ryuichi Yoneyama after he admitted to paying women for sexual favors.
Yoneyama, 50, had taken a cautious stance on restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex.
Hanazumi declared that he would take over an investigation started by Yoneyama to understand the fundamental cause of the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in 2011, and reach his decision on the issue when the investigation ends in several years.
Ikeda stressed the significance of reviewing the Fukushima nuclear disaster, stating that continuing with the investigation is “the most basic of basics.”
She said the matter must be pursued rigorously.
Ikeda added that she would make a final decision on the restart issue after careful discussions with residents and other parties.
“I will seek a zero-nuclear Niigata Prefecture,” she said.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201805250052.html

May 27, 2018 Posted by | Japan | , , | Leave a comment

Cattle return to graze in Fukushima village for 1st time since nuke plant meltdowns

Soon to reach our tables deliciously hot!!!
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Farmer Takeshi Yamada lets his beef cattle graze in the village of Iitate on May 23, 2018, for the first time since the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
 
May 24, 2018
IITATE, Fukushima — Farmers began tests on having their cattle graze here on May 23 for the first time since the March 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The national government lifted the nuclear evacuation order in most parts of the village at the end of March 2017.
While about 220 farmers bred beef cattle before the nuclear disaster, just five farmers restarted their breeding after the ban was lifted. The test will last over three months, and the farmers will check the level of radiation in the cattle’s blood and conduct other checks with the aim to return to regular grazing in 2019 or later.
Farmer Takeshi Yamada, 69, who had six of his beef cows graze on the green grass, commented, “Grazing is less stressful than breeding in barns. It makes it possible to produce fresh beef.” Yamada will strive to revive the local “Iitate Beef Cattle” brand.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180524/p2a/00m/0na/009000c

May 27, 2018 Posted by | Fukushima 2018 | , | Leave a comment

The week in nuclear, climate, environment news

Back to the brink, as Donald Trump cancels the North Korea-USA Summit? Optimistic commentators rattle on about how this could turn out better. It’s deeply disappointing for South Korea’s President Moon who has tried so hard to defuse the tensions. Trump has been a failure as a negotiator, – seems aimed at wrecking international agreements – climate, Iran, North Korea ….  Meanwhile, all nuclear powers, but America in particular are doing a feeding frenzy on nuclear weapons spending.  USA excels in illogic, with USA National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plan for unsafe and unnecessary production of plutonium pits (nuclear weapons triggers), – of which they already have a glut.

Earth’s climate could increase by 4 °C, compared to pre-industrial levels, before the end of 21st century.

I just had to put “environment” in the headline today. Of course, everything is connected anyway, but – what’s happening to the world’s insects? There’s a dramatic decline in insect numbers, the world is losing species. Is it due to climate change?  Is it due to electromagnetic radiation causing disorientation in them?  5 G networks soon, Wow!  Oh heck – insects are only little. They don’t matter. OR DO THEY?

The very real and very serious danger of nuclear reactor accidents in space.   Cosmic radiation will damage the brains of space travellers.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea destroys its nuclear weapons site.

SOUTH KOREA. Korean women lead the peace movement , supported by international delegation of women.

IRAN. Iran negotiating with Europe to stay in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

CHINA.  China lands nuclear strike bombers on South China Sea islands.     Uncertainty about China‘s nuclear power future.

JAPAN. New research reveals significant Fukushima radioactive particle release.  Storage capacity for radioactive water at Fukushima power plant nears limit.  Japan’s government weighs dumping radioactive Fukushima water into the Pacific. Radiation monitors in Fukushima to be scrapped after malfunctioning to the tune of ¥500 million a year.  Hiroshima bomb survivor Setsuko Thurlow continues her fight for a nuclear free world. Air duct corrosion and holes found at seven nuclear plants.

UK. Britain’s big future nuclear power plans hang on government subsidising Hitachi.  UK short of funds for its £51bn nuclear defence programme. Many years before massive nuclear power station could be built at Bradwell.  Hitachi’s build of Wylfa nuclear power station delayed – may never happen.  UK’s contentious new arrangement for nuclear safeguards, following exit from Euratom.   Toxic radioactive mud dumping is a toxic issue for Wales.  Scotland’s ambitious target for 100% renewable energy.

CANADA. Ontario NDP only party speaking out against nuclear waste bunker near Lake Huron.

USA. 

AUSTRALIA. Will Australia’s Prime Minister Turnbull cave in to USA pressure for Australia to join in USA efforts against Iran ?

SAUDI ARABIA. USA’s Pentagon speeds up weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.  Saudi government will not be able to silence courageous women activists. -Saudi Arabia arrests 11 human rights activists as “traitors”.

GERMANY. German government to compensate utilities over the phaseout of nuclear power.

SOUTH AFRICA. Eskom ‘abandoned’ plans to build a nuclear power station in the Eastern Cape – but is paying R16.5 million to keep it alive.

PHILIPPINES. Philippines consider nuclear revival, but active earthquake fault poses danger.

May 26, 2018 Posted by | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

Trump’s incompetence at negotiation, his year of failures, bring the world closer to conflicts

Trump’s nuclear failures from Iran to North Korea

In just over a year, Donald Trump has managed to nudge the world closer to conflict on both ends of the Asian continent. Aljazeera, by Richard Javad Heydarian 25 May 18 

After months of exhilarating anticipation, US President Donald Trump abruptly ditched a scheduled summit with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jung-un.

The American president vaguely cited North Korea’s “open hostility” and “trail of broken promises” as a pretext for calling off the historic meeting. Not short of bluster, he warned the North Korean regime against committing any “foolish or reckless acts”.

Trump has placed the American military on alert, signalling its readiness to engage in another round of brinkmanship with nuclear-capable North Korea.

And just like that, both protagonists are now back to square one. If anything, the American president may have snuffed the life out of an unprecedented opportunity to end the Korean conflict.

Just weeks earlier, the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal – a binding international agreement supported by all major powers, except Trump. To careful observers, both decisions were shocking, yet far from surprising.

The Trump administration simply lacks the basic strategic understanding and diplomatic finesse to cope with perplexing foreign policy challenges. When confronted with difficult geopolitical realities, Trump seems to prefer turning things into reality show episodes.

An unreliable superpower

Trump’s announcement was met by a melange of puzzlement, outrage and profound anxiety across the world. South Korea responded in total confusion, struggling to find a way out of the latest plot twist in the Trump-Kim saga.

South Korean presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom admitted, “We are attempting to make sense of what, precisely, President Trump means.”

The visibly flustered South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who played an instrumental role in facilitating the summit, was confessedly “perplexed“. He described Trump’s decision as deeply “regrettable”.

……. Moon staked his presidency on unlocking the Korean conflict. In an event of actual war, Seoul, which lies within the range of North Korean artilleries, would likely be the first and biggest victim.

…..frustration is running high among allies. In recent days, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the de facto leader of the “free world”, went so far as stating that Europe can no longer rely on the US as a source of protection.

One by one, the US’ most important allies have openly questioned the Trump administration’s capacity for global leadership. For them, Washington is an increasingly unreliable superpower, which is beginning to threaten the existing international order with “Trump-style” leadership.

Edging towards conflict

Interestingly, North Korea responded with uncharacteristic restraint, expressing its continued “willingness to sit at any time, in any way to resolve issues”. All of a sudden, Pyongyang looked like the adult in the room.

Yet, it’s hard to imagine that the regime would maintain its equanimity for long………..

The upshot is that both Iran and North Korea now feel betrayed and increasingly outraged. And they will likely up the ante in response to Trump’s perfunctory decisions.

A year into power, the controversial American president has nudged the world closer to two potential conflicts on the opposite ends of the Asian continent.

More fundamentally, countries around the world, both friends and foes, are wondering whether the US is a country that can be negotiated with at all.  https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/trump-nuclear-failures-iran-north-korea-180525102228377.html

May 26, 2018 Posted by | politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Korean women lead the peace movement , supported by international delegation of women

Seventy Years After Korea’s Division, Women Lead Push for Peace Truthout,  May 25, 2018By Jon Letman,    When scores of Korean women representing a coalition of some 30 peace groups and NGOs entered South Korea’s National Assembly on the banks of Seoul’s Han River, they weren’t alone. This week, the Korean peace makers were joined by an international delegation of women peace activists for a symposium focused on ending the Korean War. A women’s peace walk along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is scheduled for May 26.

For the fourth time since 2015, these activists gathered to strategize how to most effectively advance peace on the Korean Peninsula and support diplomatic efforts to that end. #WomenPeaceKorea delegates’ efforts include engaging with South Korean government officials, foreign diplomats and US embassy officials.

Most of the international delegates are members of Women Cross DMZ and the Nobel Women’s Initiative who have traveled to Seoul to lend their support and raise awareness of the vital role women play in ending conflict.

Multiple studies have shown that when women participate in negotiations, the likelihood of achieving peace increases substantially and that peace lasts longer.

Ahn Kim Jeong-ae, one of the symposium’s organizers, said the diplomatic thaw between North and South Korea makes this week’s events even more crucial.

Ahn Kim noted that 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of separate governments in Seoul and Pyongyang. This spring was also the 70th anniversary of the April 3 incident in which some 30,000 civilians on South Korea’s Jeju Island were massacred over a seven-year period when US military-backed right-wing forces violently purged opponents of a divided and occupied Korea.

“We want to commemorate these historical facts on May 24, International Women’s Day for Disarmament and Peace,” Ahn Kim said, noting that because women suffer disproportionately in war, they have a critical role to play in conflict resolution.

A Change in Tone

Christine Ahn is the international coordinator for Women Cross DMZ, which crossed from North to South Korea in 2015. She said the fact that this year’s symposium was held at the National Assembly (the South Korean equivalent of the US Congress), was “hugely significant.”

Unlike in 2015, when Women Cross DMZ was barely acknowledged by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, this year’s symposium was financed by the South Korean Ministry of Gender, Equality and Family, Ahn said.

The difference reflects a dramatic change from the administration of deposed South Korean President Park Guen-hye to the progressive administration of current President Moon Jae-in, who favors engagement with the North.……..http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/44590-seventy-years-after-korea-s-division-women-lead-push-for-peace

 

May 26, 2018 Posted by | politics international, Women | Leave a comment

Britains big future nuclear power plans hang on government subsidising Hitachi

UK nuclear plans ‘risk collapse if Hitachi talks fail’https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/25/new-uk-nuclear-power-plants-hinge-on-deal-between-hitachi-and-government–    Adam Vaughan 

Japanese group believed to be demanding direct financial support with consumers making up the difference. 

Britain’s hopes for a number of new nuclear power stations could collapse if the government and the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi fail to make a breakthrough on talks for a plant in Wales, a top nuclear lobbyist has warned.

Hiroaki Nakanishi, the firm’s chairman, met Theresa May earlier this month, to press the prime minister for financial support for two reactors at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey.

The company’s board is understood be meeting on Monday to decide whether it can proceed with the UK’s subsequent offer, believed to include a multibillion-pound loan.

Tim Yeo, chairman of the industry-backed group New Nuclear Watch Europe, said the outcome of the negotiations had huge consequences for other international firms hoping to build reactors in Britain.

“If Hitachi walk away from Wylfa that probably spells the end of new nuclear in the UK,” he said.

The 3GW plant at Wylfa by the Hitachi subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power would be the UK’s second new nuclear power station after EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point C, under construction in Somerset.

More are planned: EDF wants to build at Sizewell on the Suffolk coast, South Korea’s Kepco at Moorside in Cumbria and China’s CGN at Bradwell in Essex, with EDF’s help.

Hitachi wants to build abroad because of a moribund home market,

while the UK government sees nuclear as an important source of low-carbon power.

Despite the protracted discussions between the two parties, London appears to still be committed to making the economics of nuclear work.

“I sense there’s still a lot of political will to make new nuclear happen from government, and backbenchers seem to want it in their areas,” a Whitehall source said.

An industry source said the deal would work if the government offered some form of financial support directly, while energy bill payers footed the rest through a subsidy known as a contract for difference.

That would mean Hitachi receiving a guaranteed price of power, likely to be around £80 a megawatt hour, lower than Hinkley’s £92.50 but still nearly twice the wholesale cost of electricity.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is understood to be enthusiastically backing the project, while the Treasury, which would have to see an equity contribution or loan for the construction period on government books, is more sceptical.

Paul Dorfman at the Energy Institute at University College London said: “This would mean the hardworking UK taxpayer and energy consumer, who are labouring under ramping austerity, are being asked to stump up for an extraordinarily expensive nuclear plant just at the time that renewable costs are plummeting.”

Japanese media have reported the UK government’s loan for the project could be as much as £13bn, and put the total cost of the plant at more than £20bn, even more than Hinkley Point C. The details are understood to have been leaked by the Japanese government, not Hitachi, and the UK government has said it “does not recognise” the reports.

Greenpeace said the UK was wrongly pursuing a “dinosaur” technology and should focus on renewables, batteries and interconnectors to other countries.

Kate Blagojevic, the group’s head of energy, said: “It’s unacceptable the Japanese public are hearing about this before the British public, if what we’re hearing is true that over £13bn of British taxpayer money is going to a Japanese company to build a plant in Wales.

“It’s pretty outrageous the government hasn’t been upfront about what they’re proposing and why.”

A spokesperson for BEIS said: “These discussions are commercially sensitive and we have no further details at this time.”

A Horizon spokesperson said: “It’s no secret we’re in discussions with the UK and Japanese governments, and have been for some time, over support for our project. With these discussions still ongoing it is too early to comment on the specifics of what a future deal may look like.

“We’re confident, given the strategic importance of our project to both nations, we’ll reach a successful conclusion to these discussions in the near future.”

 

May 26, 2018 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Iran negotiating with Europe to stay in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

Iran asks Europe what it can offer to keep it in the nuclear deal after U.S. pullout, WP, By Michael BirnbaumMay 25  Email the author

VIENNA — Iran will decide within weeks whether to stay in a faltering deal to restrain its nuclear program and is pressing Europe to compensate for President Trump’s decision to reimpose sanctions, a senior Iranian official said Friday.

The official warned that Tehran could also pull out from a separate treaty that limits the spread of nuclear weapons.

The caution came ahead of the first talks involving all the remaining parties to the landmark 2015 deal since the United States pulled out this month.

An official report Thursday declared that Iran is still in compliance with the stringent controls on its nuclear program.

Iran has long declared that its program is limited to the peaceful generation of nuclear energy and production of medical isotopes. If it were to pull out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the 1970 Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and seek nuclear weapons, it could spark an arms race in the already volatile Middle East.

The United States and Israel have also warned that an Iranian nuclear weapons program would be countered with force……….https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/iran-asks-europe-what-it-can-offer-to-keep-it-in-the-nuclear-deal-after-us-pullout/2018/05/25/f0e8be70-6011-11e8-8c93-8cf33c21da8d_story.html?utm_term=.74b34870a29f

May 26, 2018 Posted by | EUROPE, Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Solar and Wind Subsidies  are a Clear Success. The Coal and Nuclear Industries Just Aren’t Ready to Admit it.

https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/05/solar-and-wind-subsidies-are-clear-success-coal-and-nuclear-industries#.Wwh8jTSFPGg By Grant Smith, Senior Energy Policy Advisor  25 May 18 

The coal and nuclear industries criticize subsidies for solar and wind power based on their belief that the subsidies distort the market.

However, a closer look shows the coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear sectors enjoy substantial subsidies, and federal outlays for solar investments are decreasing as the price of solar declines. Wind costs have also dropped significantly over the last decade.

All sources of energy receive subsidies. The question is why continue to throw money at the dying coal and nuclear power industries, whose costs continue to rise despite subsidies.

Meanwhile, the solar and wind industries saw significant growth only in the last decade. It stands to reason that these sectors would receive taxpayer support – they generate well-paying jobs and reduce pollution.

These technologies also continuously become more efficient, while their prices steadily decline. In fact, according to Lazard, unsubsidized utility-scale wind and solar farms are now cheaper than new coal power plants and are competitive with natural gas power plants.

This month, solar developer John Weaver provided an analysis of a recent Energy Information Administration report, which described 2016 federal direct spending, research and development, and tax expenditures on energy technologies.

Solar power is subsidized by the federal government with the 30 percent investment tax credit, or ITC, Weaver explained. Both large and small solar arrays qualify. The credit is based on the costs of a solar project. He notes that the outlays for this credit have dropped by half since 2013.

“This speaks specifically to the falling price of solar power as the tax credit is directly based on project costs, and not system sizes,” Weaver said.

According to EIA, just over $1 billion in subsidies leveraged up to $30 billion in investment. Weaver suggests a higher number for subsidies, but, anyway you look at it, the solar ITC in 2016 leveraged much more investment than it cost.

Data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission show that since 2009, solar power capacity has multiplied by more than 89 times and wind power capacity has increased sixfold.

New coal and nuclear construction hasn’t seen the same success. The recent foray into new nuclear construction is reminiscent of the old days of construction delays and multi-billion-dollar cost overruns. Of new nuclear plants, one has been cancelled – the other is dependent on ratepayer support to get completed. Only one new nuclear unit has come online in the last 20 years. The new coal plants recently under construction or completed were total boondoggles.

But Congress is still dumping money into these technologies. According to EIA, the total combined tax expenditures for coal and nuclear power for years 2010, 2013 and 2016 were well over $4 billion combined. This doesn’t include the pay-as-you-go subsidy dumped on ratepayers at the state level to essentially force construction of these financially risky projects.

In addition, fossil fuels receive significant subsidies for development, extraction, investment and processing. A collaborative effort by Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense and the R Street Institute, known as the Green Scissors campaign, tracks federal tax expenditures for the energy sector. An analysis by the group concluded that fossil fuels received nearly $11 billion in subsidies in 2016.

The only reason nuclear power became a viable option in the first place was because Congress passed the Price Anderson Act in 1957 to shift the bulk of the costs of a major nuclear accident onto the public. These costs could come close to $1 trillion, according to CNN.

By contrast, subsidizing wind and solar investment has yielded very positive results. Any complaints from the fossil fuel and nuclear industries about those subsidies are hypocritical at best.

May 25, 2018 Posted by | politics, renewable, USA | Leave a comment

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