Scandal-ridden South Korea wants a piece of the UK nuclear action!
Scandal-hit Korean group makes UK nuclear bid, Ft.com, 19 Nov 13 By Guy ChazanA Korean nuclear company that has been rocked by a domestic safety scandal is close to becoming a major investor in the UK – a development that could hit public confidence in the country’s much-vaunted nuclear renaissance. Korea Electric Power, or Kepco, is in talks to join the NuGen consortium, which has an option to build a reactor near Sellafield in Cumbria……
Some UK industry figures have expressed concern.
“Why would you want anyone with that kind of safety record?” said one person with knowledge of the NuGen negotiations. He said it risked “damaging the public perception of nuclear in the UK”.
But such concerns are likely to grow as more and more overseas state-owned groups enter the British marketplace. “If major pieces of UK energy infrastructure – not just nuclear – are owned by investors from afar, it’s going to give rise to a level of public disquiet that we haven’t seen so far,” said Nick Pidgeon, head of the Understanding Risk Research Group at Cardiff University.
The NuGen development highlights how reliant the UK is on foreign investors for its nuclear renaissance. Continue reading
Russia wants to subsidise Armenian nuclear power plant
Russia Offers to Subsidize Nuclear Plant Asbarez.com, 6 Nov 13YEREVAN (Arka)—Russia is ready to finance 35 percent of the cost of construction of a new power unit for Armenia’s nuclear power plant, Vahram Petrosyan, the secretary of a presidential council on nuclear power safety, said today……On September 3, Russian president Putin said experts from Russian state nuclear company Rosatom and Armenian experts will work to extend the service life of the Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor for another 10 years until 2026.
Petrosyan said the extension of the service life of the facility requires at least $150 million……
he governments of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation will soon sign an agreement on cooperation in the area of nuclear safety, the President said. The agreement will allow Armenia to:
– develop infrastructure for nuclear safety in preparation for the construction of new energy units based on Russian designs.
– train, re-train and upgrade specialists of nuclear safety, taking into consideration IAEA recommendations.
– expand the framework of cooperation in nuclear energy…….http://asbarez.com/115886/russia-offers-to-subsidize-nuclear-plant/
Japan, USA, France, (not India) gain from nuclear sales to India
India shouldn’t buy what Japan is selling, Live Mint, 4 Nov 13, Materials of substandard quality have already been installed in Kudankulam plant, says former chairman of AERB Pankaj Mishra ……… there are also broader political and economic compulsions behind the new proliferation of nuclear technologies.Japan’s conservative leaders want to preserve their nuclear option, even if that risks provoking South Korea and a devastating arms race in north Asia. Worried by Japan’s unused plutonium supply, the US, as the Wall Street Journal reported in May, is pushing to restart nuclear reactors in Japan.
Japan’s Prime Minister energetically marketing nuclear reactors to Asia and Middle East
Under Abe, the government has also agreed to start discussing a nuclear energy pact with Saudi Arabia ….The government hopes that the contract with Turkey will improve Japan’s chances in winning competition for nuclear power projects in Vietnam, India and Russia,
In a speech at an International Olympic Committee meeting in September before the IOC members picked Tokyo to host the 2020 Games, Abe said, “The situation is under control,” referring to the radioactive water problem.
“How dare he sell nuclear power plants abroad when he has not been able to bring an accident under control?”
Abe leads nuclear plant exports while problems pile up at home Asahi Shimbun October 31, 2013 As the Abe administration crows about Japan’s first nuclear plant export after the 2011 disaster, it continues to face the daunting tasks of containing radioactive water at the stricken Fukushima plant and cleaning up contaminated communities.
“I’m delighted that commercial negotiations on a nuclear plant contract have been completed and an agreement has been reached,” a beaming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a news conference in Istanbul on Oct. 29. Continue reading
AREVA joins the pack marketing nukes to Britain
Areva Said Ready to Join Group Building U.K. Nuclear Power Plant, Bloomberg News By Tara Patel and Francois de Beaupuy October 16, 2013 Areva will take a stake in the Hinkley Point project from Electricite de France SA, the people said, asking not to be identified before an announcement is made. China General Nuclear Power Corp. will also become a shareholder, the people said. Areva and EDF’s boards will meet in the next week to approve the deal, they said.
Bringing in Areva and China General as partners will allow EDF to share the expense of a project likely to cost about 14 billion pounds ($22 billion). The EDF-led group, expected to sign an agreement with the U.K. government next week, will build two Areva-designed EPR reactors able to supply about 3,600 megawatts, more than 4 percent of U.K. generation capacity. Officials at EDF and Areva declined to comment. Nobody at China General was available to comment outside office hours……http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-10-16/areva-said-ready-to-join-group-building-u-dot-k-dot-nuclear-power-plant
Nuclear marketing: now USA is selling nuclear technology to China
Chicago Bridge to Build China’s Nuclear Plant by Zacks Equity Research October 04, 2013 “……Chicago Bridge announced on Oct 1 that it has agreed with CPI’s Power Engineering Company, (a subsidiary of China Power Investment Corporation) to form a joint venture to construct nuclear power plants in China…..According to the agreement, Chicago Bridge is required to provide engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning, project management and technical support services for the nuclear plants that are to be constructed.
China Power Investment Corporation is China’s biggest power generation company, which owns one of the three nuclear power plants in China. These power plants are planned and funded by the China Power Investment Corporation. ….http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/110904/chicago-bridge-to-build-chinas-nuclear-plant
Japanese firm very keen to sell nuclear technology to Britain
Toshiba wants majority stake in British nuclear consortium: CEO By Sophie Knight and Maki Shiraki TOKYO | Thu Oct 3, 2013
(Reuters) – Toshiba Corp wants a majority stake in British nuclear consortium NuGen and aims to decide on the matter before the end of the year, its chief executive said, as it seeks its first order for a nuclear reactor since the Fukushima crisis in 2011.
Hisao Tanaka told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that the company was confident about securing orders for 29 new nuclear reactors by March 2018 and that he sensed post-Fukushima anti-nuclear sentiment had begun to thaw……http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/10/03/us-toshiba-nuclear-idUKBRE99204I20131003
Prime Minister Abe on nuclear marketing visit to India
Shinzo’s Delhi visit is an extension of his 2007 secret deal with Dick Cheney in Tokyo where a quadrilateral alliance in the Asia-Pacific region was sealed with the US, Japan, Australia and India as partners to contain and confront China and its allies North Korea and Russia. The nuclear mafia rules OK!
The Japan-India Nuclear Energy Deal Manmohan Singh’s Atomic Pile May Become Critical after Shinzo Abe’s Deal By Arun Shrivastava Global Research, September 22, 2013 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is coming to India to discuss a ‘range of issues;’ the truth is that he is coming here as chief salesman of global nuclear industry, now collapsing under the collective onslaught of nuclear scientists, nuclear power plant engineers, physicists, investigative journalists and people.
Shinzo is known for many things: dogged attempts at reviving Japan’s nuclear industry, his alleged connections with Japan’s notorious mafia, Yamaguchi-gumi. Continue reading
India’s Dept of Atomic Energy wants help in winning hearts and minds towards nuclear power
More important, DAE touched upon the growing protest against nuclear energy in India and told US industry members they would have to address ideological opposition in this regard and also safety- related concerns and public awareness. US industry would also have to tackle issues relating to land acquisition and resource mobilisation.
DAE invites US firms to be part of India’s nuclear story http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/dae-invites-us-firms-to-be-part-of-india-s-nuclear-story-113092000753_1.html Sanjay Jog | Mumbai September 23, 2013 A high-level delegation of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in Vienna rolled out a red carpet for US industry to invest in the nuclear capacity addition programme. India proposes to increase its nuclear capacity to 63,000 Mw by 2032 from the present level of 4,780 Mw, with a mix of indigenous reactors and also through foreign technical cooperation.
The DAE, however, in no uncertain terms told the US industry delegation the companies would have to meet Indian regulatory requirements. Indian laws would be applicable to them, though the presentation did not make a mention of the civil nuclear liability law.
A couple of global nuclear reactor supplier companies have raised serious objections against our civil nuclear liability law. The DAE team, led by Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chief R K Sinha, was in Vienna to attend the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 57th general conference between September 16 and 19. Continue reading
Japan desperate to sell nuclear reactors overseas
Reactor makers look abroad as home market fizzles , Japan Times, BY KAZUAKI NAGATA 10 Sept 13, The Fukushima meltdowns and the continuing radiation crisis may have turned the public off of atomic energy at home, but it’s full steam ahead for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japan’s heavy industries when it comes to exporting that technology to power-hungry economies abroad.
The marketing push being led by Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party, which brought Japan into the nuclear age, has angered nuclear protest groups, which, like many members of the public, blame the party’s cozy ties with big business for setting the stage for the Fukushima meltdown debacle.
Here are some questions and answers about Japan’s nuclear technology exports: How does the process of exporting nuclear plants work? Continue reading
UK an ‘attractive opportunity’ for Russia to sell its nukes
Russian ambitions to build nuclear reactors in Britain are ‘realistic’, say ministers By Emily Gosdenhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10289525/Russian-ambitions-to-build-nuclear-reactors-in-Britain-are-realistic-say-ministers.html 05 Sep 2013
Ministers have opened the door to Russia building nuclear reactors on British soil, signing an agreement describing it as a “realistic longer-term ambition”.
The memorandum of understanding, signed in Moscow by energy minister Michael Fallon, said that “mutually profitable commercial relationships between Russian and British companies in third markets could form the basis in the longer term of commercial cooperation in the UK”.
This would be achieved through an “incremental, step-by-step approach”. Mr Fallon said: “Inward investment into our energy sector will depend upon all reactor technologies meeting the stringent and independent regulatory standards required in the UK and EU.”
The agreement came as Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear corporation, commissioned Rolls-Royce to prepare the ground for its reactor to seek UK safety approval. Rolls-Royce, which already has a partnership with Rosatom, will “undertake engineering and safety assessment work” ahead of Rosatom’s reactor “potentially entering the first step of the UK’s formal regulatory approval process”.
Reactors have to pass a ‘generic design assessment’ from the Office for Nuclear Regulation before they can be built in the UK. EDF-Areva’s reactor design for proposed use at Hinkley Point in Somerset took five years to approve.
Rosatom said it viewed the UK as “an attractive opportunity” because most of the UK’s existing reactors are due to close in coming years.
Russia has made no secret of its desire to expand in the UK but has to convince politicians it can overcome security fears as well as safety concerns stemming from its role in the Chernobyl disaster. In June ministers agreed to create a joint working group on “cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy between Rosatom and DECC”.
India, Japan, negotiating purchase of nuclear reactors
India, Japan to restart nuclear talks today NEW DELHI, DHNS: Sep 3, 2013 India will continue to stonewall pressure from Japan to convert its unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests into a bilateral commitment, even as the two countries are set to restart negotiations on a proposed agreement for cooperation in civilian use of atomic energy on Tuesday.
Over two years after the accident at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant prompted Japan to pause talks with India for a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement, the process is now set to resume. The negotiations, however, are likely to be tough, as New Delhi will resist Tokyo’s pressure to add a clause to the agreement providing for termination of bilateral cooperation in the event of a nuclear test conducted by India.
Sources told Deccan Herald that India would also insist on protecting its right to reprocess the fuel spent on nuclear reactors to be procured under the agreement with Japan.
Two officials of the Ministry of External Affairs—Joint Secretary (East Asia) Gautam Bambawale and Joint Secretary (Disarmament) Bala Venkatesh Varma—are in Tokyo to restart the talks……. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/354971/india-japan-restart-nuclear-talks.html
America desperate to sell off nuclear technology to India?
Unfortunate that Indo-US nuclear trade has stalled, says Washington NDTV by Pallava Bagla | August 09, 2013 Washington: The Indo-US civilian nuclear deal was billed as the corner stone of the burgeoning strategic partnership between the countries. However, five years later, the deal has not gone according to the script, and the US says the nuclear commerce has not benefitted the Americans who did most of the global diplomatic heavy lifting.
India’s people-friendly nuclear liability regime has reportedly irked the US.
“The nuclear issue is complex. US is not frustrated but India’s nuclear liability law is a concern and it is unfortunate that nuclear trade has not commenced,” said Richard Stratford, director of nuclear energy, safety and security at the US state department….. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/unfortunate-that-indo-us-nuclear-trade-has-stalled-says-washington-403342
USA scrambling to sell off nuclear technology to India
India assures U.S. a share of nuclear pie, THE HINDU, 24 June 13 SANDEEP DIKSHIT India and the U.S. on Monday agreed to set a timeline for operationalising the civil nuclear agreement. The Fourth Strategic Dialogue co-chaired by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid here reviewed several issues ranging from the status of civil nuclear ties between the two countries through defence trade to education and cultural exchanges — through some 30 bilateral panels.
The two ministers felt further high-level meetings should be held to achieve convergence and progress, especially in strategic issues. An example of such meetings will be the visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden scheduled for mid-July………. At the press conference, Mr. Kerry almost let slip America’s chagrin at not having tasted the fruits of the India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement by drawing attention to the enormous domestic political capital invested by Democrats and Republicans to ensure New Delhi was given a special exemption by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
The Kerry-Khurshid meeting set September as a possible timeline for resolving two issues that have thwarted Westinghouse from setting up six reactors in Gujarat. Another company GE will set up an equal number in Andhra Pradesh but its reactor design has not yet been cleared by the U.S. nuclear regulator. India had promised these multi-billion bonanzas in exchange for supporting its case at the NSG and the International Atomic Energy Agency……http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-assures-us-a-share-of-nuclear-pie/article4846708.ece
Japanese PM in Europe to market Japan’s nuclear reactors
Japan PM promotes nuclear exports at central Europe summit Global Post, 16 June 13 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a push on Sunday for his country’s nuclear technologies at a summit in Warsaw with leaders of four ex-Communist European Union countries, as part of his bid to boost the Asian powerhouse’s exports.
Abe recently unveiled plans to treble Japan’s infrastructure exports to 30 trillion yen ($300 billion, 225 billion euros) a year, a target that could not be reached without nuclear reactors.
At Japan’s first summit with the so-called Visegrad Group — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — Abe sought to interest the four in Japanese nuclear technology.
“We stressed the necessity of strengthening cooperation, especially in the area of energy policy,” Abe told reporters.
A joint statement issued after the talks said “Japan welcomed the fact that private sectors of both sides demonstrated keen interest in concrete forms of cooperation in nuclear energy and safety”……
In his first visit to Europe since taking office in December, promoting his country’s nuclear technologies was high on his agenda for boosting overall Japanese exports….http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130616/japan-pm-promotes-nuclear-exports-at-central-europe-summit-0
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