U.S. long-range missile launch in the Arctic: “We are intentionally trying to be provocative”
https://archive.ph/ft7i8 Stars and Stripes November 9, 2022
‘Unconventional’ delivery of US airpower in Arctic tailored to serve notice to Russia
U.S. special operations forces flying over the Arctic on Wednesday rolled a long-range missile out the back of a C-130 aircraft, dropping it by parachute before it blasted toward its target in the distance.
The operation marked the first-ever demonstration in Europe of Rapid Dragon, an experimental program that uses standard air drop procedures to launch air-to-surface cruise missiles.
“It puts this thing within range of Russia. We are intentionally trying to be provocative without being escalatory,” Special Operations Command Europe’s Lt. Col. Lawrence Melnicoff told Stars and Stripes….
The missile launch, carried out inside the Arctic Circle at Norway’s Andoya Space Range, also showcases how allies can muscle up by mixing and matching weapons systems in new ways, Melnicoff said.
It was the culmination of the Stuttgart-based SOCEUR’s demonstration of American and allied units’ ability to rapidly mobilize and deliver long-range precision fire over great distances.
…This is the first time Rapid Dragon, a precision munitions capability for medium-sized or larger cargo aircraft that allows U.S. and NATO forces a flexible rapid response option, has been employed in the U.S. European Command theater.
The Norway exercise coincided with drills in Poland and Romania. They’re all part of U.S. European Command’s Atreus program, which aims to expand military options for allies.
Similar missions have been held in the Baltics and Romania involving aircraft loaded with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, which are flown to landing zones and offloaded for quick-strike targeting.
Germany: Pentagon sets up new command to aid Ukraine to “win its war against Russia” — Anti-bellum
Air Force TimesNovember 7, 2022 Long-term assistance command to oversee training mission with Ukraine The Pentagon is standing up a new command devoted to helping Ukraine win its war against Russia. It will oversee not only the billions of dollars in aid that the country has received, but the ongoing U.S. training mission with Ukrainian […]
Germany: Pentagon sets up new command to aid Ukraine to “win its war against Russia” — Anti-bellum
U.S. rotates troops to NATO’s eastern flank to “deter Russia” — Anti-bellum
Stars and StripesNovember 9, 2022 Troops from Fort Carson, Fort Hood and Hunter AAF tapped for deployments to Europe Soldiers from the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division and its 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions will deploy to Europe later this year to replace other U.S.-based units deployed to the Continent…. The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team […]
U.S. rotates troops to NATO’s eastern flank to “deter Russia” — Anti-bellum
U.S. uses COP27 to market nuclear power to Romania, offering over $3 billion funding
Romania Secures $3 Bn US Funding For Nuclear Power
https://www.barrons.com/news/romania-secures-3-bn-us-funding-for-nuclear-power-01668020107 By AFP – Agence France Presse, November 9, 2022,
Romania announced Wednesday that the United States will provide funding worth more than $3 billion for the construction of two new nuclear reactors in the eastern European country, which is expected to commence early next year.
The funding will be granted by the Washington-based Export-Import Bank (EXIM), an export credit agency, enabling Romania to cover “about a third of the amount necessary for the construction of two reactors” at the Cernavoda plant, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said.
The rest of the needed funding will come from other financing, Ciuca added, without giving further details.
Cernavoda is Romania’s only nuclear power plant, which has been operational since the 1990s. Two reactors with a total a capacity of 1,400 MW, it covers approximately one fifth of the country’s electricity needs.
Ciuca hailed the deal signed during the UN climate summit COP27 in Egypt as “an important step” towards the country’s “energy independence” amid global energy uncertainty aggravated by the war in Ukraine.
The construction of two additional nuclear reactors at Cernavoda is slated to start “in March/April 2023” and is expected to be completed in 2030, he added.
EXIM finances exports of US goods and services, but it was not immediately clear which US firm or firms would construct the reactors.
Six European companies — GDF Suez, Iberdrola, CEZ, RWE, Enel and ArcelorMittal — had initially committed to the project in 2008, before pulling out one after another due to uncertainties surrounding the future of the plant.
Bucharest also broke a financing agreement with the China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) group in 2020, against a backdrop of growing mistrust of Chinese investments in Europe.
Finland to continue relying on Russia for nuclear fuel
Fortum set to rely on Russian nuclear fuel until 2030, Reuters, 09 NOVEMBER 2022,
THE USE of Russian nuclear fuel is set to continue for at least a few more years at the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant operated by Fortum, report STT and YLE.
The Finnish majority state-owned energy company has for the past roughly 15 year fuelled the nuclear power plant with uranium acquired from TVEL, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom.
Matti Kattainen, the director of nuclear power at Fortum, stated to STT that the company is operating in line with its supplier contract, declining to speculate on whether and when it could stop the use of Russian fuel. The company has previously stated that it will invite bids from supplier candidates once its operating licences, as well as the current supplier contract, come up for renewal in 2027 and 2030……………
Fortum in March submitted an application for a licence to continue operating the plant until 2050.
Juhani Hyvärinen, a professor of nuclear technology at LUT University, viewed that Fortum is in a difficult position due to the relatively low number of potential suppliers. He added on a general level that the company would likely require a year or two after signing a supplier contract to take the first delivery.
Russian nuclear fuel has accounted for roughly 20–30 per cent of the global market, he estimated in an interview with YLE. The European Commission has reported that Soviet or Russian-made reactors that are fully reliant on Russian fuel remain in use in five countries across the EU: Bulgaria, Czechia, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia.
Hyvärinen stated to both news outlets that there are no insurmountable technical obstacles to replacing the fuel. The Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant, for example, previously ran on fuel from British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL)……
Nuclear fuel is presently not on the sanctions list of the European Union. The possibility of bringing it within the scope of sanctions has reportedly been discussed, but the likelihood of doing so in the midst of the energy crisis appears low. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs told YLE that adding nuclear fuel to the list would require a unanimous decision by the 27-country bloc but declined to comment on the discussions.
Also Hyvärinen refrained from commenting on what he said is a political decision……….
Use of Russia nuclear fuel became a topic of discussion in Finland on Saturday, following the emergence of news reports about police officers overseeing the loading of what turned out to be Russian nuclear fuel onto an aircraft bound for Bratislava, Slovakia, at Lappeenranta Airport………. https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/cop27-nuclear-power-industry-vies-role-decarbonizing-planet-2022-11-09/
France electricity prices surge past €1,000/MWh as more nuclear reactors close for winter
Wholesale electricity prices in France for the middle of winter surged
above €1,000/MWh ($A1,540/MWh) after the operator of the world’s biggest
nuclear fleet revealed more problems, and more outages at its reactors.
The surge in prices for January delivery came after the utility EdF reduced its
forecast output for the fourth time this year, on this occasion due to
extended outages at four reactors and maintenance delays at others caused
by the waves of strikes that have affected the nation this autumn. It also
dramatically reversed weeks of falling spot and futures prices as gas
stocks improved and the weather remained wild.
But as analysts noted in the height of summer, nuclear problems pose just as big a threat to the EU grid
as the gas problems.
Renew Economy 8th Nov 2022
‘It can’t go on like this’: Power restored to Ukrainian nuclear plant but situation untenable, says IAEA
External power has been restored to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) two days after it
experienced a complete blackout amid Russian shelling, the UN’s
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday. Both of the
plant’s external power lines, a 750kV line and a 330kV back-up line, were
repaired on Friday, re-establishing power to the plant’s six reactors by
10pm.
The reactors have been shut down, although reactors 5 and 6 are in
semi-hot shutdown to provide steam to the site, and arrangements are being
made to further heat-up units 5 and 6 to achieve a “hot shutdown”
state. The other four units in Europe’s biggest nuclear plant remain in
cold shutdown. Ukrainian staff have operated the plant under Russian
occupation since March. The IAEA has had four experts embedded among the
Ukrainian staff since 5 September. It rotated a new team in on Thursday.
Last week, shelling damaged the last two high-voltage lines
connecting ZNPP to the country’s grid, putting it in full blackout mode and
necessitating the activation of all 20 of its diesel back-up generators.
The IAEA said the lines were damaged some 50-60 kilometres from the plant
in Ukrainian-controlled territory.
“The repeated power outages all too clearly demonstrate the extremely serious nuclear safety and security
situation this major nuclear power plant is facing,” said IAEA director
general Rafael Mariano Grossi. He continued: “So far, the brave staff of
the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant have always managed to maintain the
safe operation of the six units. But it can’t go on like this. I have
repeatedly called for the urgent establishment of a nuclear safety and
security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant to
prevent a nuclear accident. We can’t afford to lose any more time. We must
act before it is too late.”
Global Construction Review 7th Nov 2022
HMNB Clyde staff ‘moved after serious radiation breach’ at Trident RNAD Coulport nuclear base
Staff ‘moved after serious radiation breach’ at Trident nuclear base. Staff
at the base housing the UK’s nuclear deterrent had to be moved after a
serious radiation breach, a whistleblower has alleged.
HMNB Clyde personnel working in a building at Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) Coulport, where
warheads are managed, had to be shifted recently following the incident.
The base on Loch Long in Argyll is the storage and loading facility for the
nuclear weapons for the UK’s Trident programme.
Neale Hanvey, Alba MP for
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, asked the UK defence secretary Ben Wallace about
the situation in the House of Commons. “A whistleblower has alleged that
HMNB Clyde staff were recently moved from Building 201 at Coulport where
warheads are managed to Building 41 elsewhere due to a serious radiation
breach,” Hanvey said.
He asked Wallace how many such events had been
registered in the past three years and whether they had been reported to
the public. He also accused the Government and other Westminster parties of
“ignoring” the people of Scotland “who are overwhelmingly opposed to
weaponed on mass destruction”. The defence secretary said he would write
to Hanvey to answer the list of claims.
STV 7th Nov 2022
A disaster waiting to happen’: British nuclear-armed sub resurfaces after fire onboard
https://cnduk.org/a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-british-nuclear-armed-sub-resurfaces-after-fire-onboard/?fbclid=IwAR3t-FcdURBZY22Nmf7daG7zZm1F4OTGwxQEQ8hvq0X6RMAt6N9X6OdUgsE A Royal Navy nuclear-armed submarine had to abandon its mission and resurface, after a fire broke out onboard following an electrical fault.
The Ministry of Defence said the incident on HMS Victorious happened six weeks ago. The blaze broke out in an electrical component in one of the submarine’s systems but carbon dioxide injectors built into the module extinguished it. However, all crew were scrambled to tackle the fire and look for others and the sub’s commander had to surface the vessel in the North Atlantic. After the fire was contained, Victorious returned to port at Faslane in Scotland.
Victorious is one of Britain’s four Vanguard-class nuclear-armed submarines with one vessel constantly on patrol ready to launch a nuclear strike. The MoD said the sub wasn’t on patrol during the time of the fire and was en route to the US for wargames.
News of the incident comes after it was revealed in September that another vessel, HMS Vanguard, would remain in dry-dock for the foreseeable future after more technical issues were discovered. Vanguard has been in deep maintenance since 2015 at a cost of £500 million. The delay has compounded problems for the Royal Navy – whose so-called “Continuous at-Sea Deterrence” is reportedly operating at half capacity.
Meanwhile, a whistleblower told STV that staff working at Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) Coulport – the base where Britain’s nuclear weapons are stored – had to be evacuated due to a “serious radiation breach.”
CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said: “The revelations about HMS Victorious further underline the risks that these weapons present – a disaster waiting to happen. The fact that the sub had to surface and expose itself illustrates both how fallible the technology is and how baseless the myth of ‘invisibility’. The news from Coulport reinforces these concerns. Meanwhile, billions of pounds are being pumped into maintaining these vessels and warheads and billions more in developing news ones. It’s time to stop this irresponsible waste before a real tragedy occurs.”
Barbados PM launches blistering attack on rich nations at Cop27 climate talks
Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados, has criticised industrialised
nations for failing the developing world on the climate crisis, in a
blistering attack at the Cop27 UN climate talks.
She said the prosperity –
and high carbon emissions – of the rich world had been achieved at the
expense of the poor in times past, and now the poor were being forced to
pay again, as victims of climate breakdown that they did not cause.
“We were the ones whose blood, sweat and tears financed the industrial
revolution,” she said. “Are we now to face double jeopardy by having to
pay the cost as a result of those greenhouse gases from the industrial
revolution? That is fundamentally unfair.”
Guardian 7th Nov 2022
Incident at France’s Civaux nuclear reactor adds to EDFs problems of stress corrosion crackingin nuclear plants
Stress corrosion cracking: Assessing and remedying cracking problem in
nuclear plants. The full extent of stress corrosion cracking at EDF’s
reactors in France has still to be determined. Nonetheless, lower
production as plants are re-examined has come at the worst possible time
for the company.
Electricite de France SA is investigating an incident
during a test at a halted nuclear reactor last week, just as a series of
repairs jeopardize the country’s power-supply security for the coming
winter. The utility had to stop a high-pressure hydraulic test of the
primary circuit of its Civaux 1 reactor on Nov. 2 when steam was released
in a room of the reactor building. The reactor wasn’t loaded with nuclear
fuel, no one was hurt nor contaminated, and no radioactivity has been
detected outside the building, according to EDF.
The impact of the incident, which is unrelated to so-called stress-corrosion cracks that have
undermined the French nuclear giant’s reactor availability, still needs to
be assessed, Regis Clement, EDF’s deputy-head for nuclear production, said
at a news conference in Paris Tuesday.
The corrosion cracks hobbling EDF
reactors this year have put a hole in its finances and made France —
typically an exporter of power to its neighbors — a net importer. That,
combined with Russia’s dwindling gas deliveries, has contributed to a spike
in energy prices across Europe and stoked concerns of shortages in case of
a windless cold snap this winter.
Bloomberg 8th Nov 2022
EDF nuclear problems increase risk of winter energy shortages
EDF nuclear problems increase risk of winter energy shortages. French
energy prices surge as EDF scales back electricity output predictions
again. The risk of energy shortages in Britain and across the Channel this
winter is growing as French state energy giant EDF faces fresh problems
with its nuclear power stations.
French power prices for January have
surged above €1,000 (£870) per megawatt hour after EDF scaled back
predictions for its nuclear electricity output for the fourth time this
year. Markets were also rattled further on Tuesday as the company warned it
was “too early to say” whether the Civaux 1 reactor would return to
service on schedule following a radiation leak.
Experts said the
developments risked further squeezing the amount of power available in
January and February, the coldest months of the year when demand is usually
highest. That could spell trouble for France and Britain, which hope to
rely on each other for electricity supplies this winter.
Telegraph 8th Nov 2022
What Could Nuclear War Mean For Wyoming? Pretty Much The Worst Parts Of The Bible
Cowboy State Daily November 9, 2022 By Kevin Killough, State Energy Reporter
Kevin@CowboyStateDaily.com
The last time Americans gave any serious consideration to the prospect of nuclear war, Rocky Balboa was fighting in the fourth installment of the Rocky movie franchise, beating the steroid-injecting Russian heavyweight Ivan Drago.
If the situation in Ukraine escalates, there’s a real concern the world could face a nuclear war. If that terrible situation were to arise, what would happen to Wyoming?
According to modeling by NUKEMAP, a direct hit to Cheyenne — the Cowboy State’s most likely target in a nuclear exchange — would result in more than 30,000 instant deaths.
…………………………………………………. According to NUKEMAP, 31,260 people die instantly. Another 26,390 are hurt, most of which would be severe, including third-degree burns.
A crater 1,000 feet wide and 230 feet deep would open up beneath the blast on land that once held the Capitol. The fireball would be about 2,400 feet wide, which would engulf most of downtown Cheyenne. An area 1.5 miles wide would be hit with radiation doses that would be lethal within a month for anyone in the zone.
That zone would go nearly as far as Dell Range Boulevard. About 15% of those who survive in the zone would likely die of cancer eventually.
The zone that would produce third-degree burns would go about 3 miles in all directions. The fallout corridor, in which people would get severe radiation exposure — potentially lethal over time — would go nearly as far as Casper.
The mushroom cloud would rise 10 miles over Cheyenne and be more than 12 miles wide.
By most estimates, the Red Desert would be the safest area from the impacts of nuclear blasts and the subsequent fallout.
………………. besides eliminating Americans, bombing population centers destroys the nation’s infrastructure. That means no electricity, no internet and no basic services, such as clean drinking water and medical care.
Wyoming would have a lot of coal mines and farms, and if it did get passed over by the bombs, survivors may have a safe zone from which America would rebuild.
Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, a senior fellow for Defense Priorities, a military think tank, told Reason that Biden’s stated policy to help Ukraine no matter what until Russia withdraws to its former borders risks dragging the United States into a very high nuclear risk. …………
EDF Nuclear Reactor Has Test Incident, Deepening Supply Concerns
EDF Nuclear Reactor Has Test Incident, Deepening Supply Concerns, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-08/edf-nuclear-reactor-has-test-incident-deepening-supply-concerns#xj4y7vzkg By Francois De Beaupuy, November 9, 2022,
Electricite de France SA is investigating an incident during a test at a halted nuclear reactor last week, just as a series of repairs jeopardize the country’s power-supply security for the coming winter.
The utility had to stop a high-pressure hydraulic test of the primary circuit of its Civaux 1 reactor on Nov. 2 when steam was released in a room of the reactor building. The reactor wasn’t loaded with nuclear fuel, no one was hurt nor contaminated, and no radioactivity has been detected outside the building, according to EDF.
The impact of the incident, which is unrelated to so-called stress-corrosion cracks that have undermined the French nuclear giant’s reactor availability, still needs to be assessed, Regis Clement, EDF’s deputy-head for nuclear production, said at a news conference in Paris Tuesday.
The corrosion cracks hobbling EDF reactors this year have put a hole in its finances and made France — typically an exporter of power to its neighbors — a net importer. That, combined with Russia’s dwindling gas deliveries, has contributed to a spike in energy prices across Europe and stoked concerns of shortages in case of a windless cold snap this winter.
The French nuclear giant so far is keeping the Jan. 8 restart date for Civaux 1 unchanged. It aims to have about 42 of its 56 reactors online in December as repairs at a dozen sites affected by cracks progress, up from 30 on Tuesday morning, Clement said. That number is due to rise to 46 in January.
At Civaux, where heavy repairs of corrosion cracks have been completed, an inner insulation tube of a pipe used to introduce sensors in the reactor vessel was ejected in a room beneath the reactor during the pressure test, Clement said. That’s because equipment installed specifically for the test phase broke, he said.
EDF will send a robot in coming days to put the long radioactive tube in a container, he said. Employees will then be able to access the room, close a valve, and assess damage caused by water that’s still flowing into the room and into a special drain, Clement added.
“It’s way too early to say” how that will affect the restart of the reactor, he said.
Sweden’s Biggest Nuclear Reactor Shut Down by Turbine Fault
By Lars Paulsson November 10, 2022,
Sweden’s biggest nuclear reactor has unexpectedly shut down after suffering a fault on its turbine.
The shutdown of Oskarshamn 3, which is operated by Uniper SE and is vital to power supplies in southern Sweden, makes an already strained supply situation even worse — though demand is temperated by unseasonably mild weather.
Uniper SE’s 1,400-megawatt facility halted completely at 10:43 a.m. local time after earlier running at slightly reduced capacity, according to a filing with power exchange Nord Pool.
“We’re carrying out searches to see what the fault is,” said Uniper spokesman Torbjorn Larsson.
The firm aims to update the market within 24 hours, according to the filing. ……… https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/cop27-nuclear-power-industry-vies-role-decarbonizing-planet-2022-11-09/
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