Vogtle new nuclear plant is not signalling a nuclear power revival
Vogtle is progressing but nuclear revival is not ajc By Kristi Swartz, 17 Feb 13, When major construction started at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project near Augusta a year ago, all eyes were on what was supposed to be the rebirth of the nuclear industry after more than a generation without new plants.
The stakes were high for Georgia Power and its parent, Atlanta-based Southern Co., which became responsible for showing the nation that the nuclear industry could build two reactors without major technical problems, delays or cost overruns. Consumers already were on the hook, paying for Georgia Power’s $6.1 billion portion of the project through a fee on their monthly utility bills.
The $14 billion Vogtle expansion in Waynesboro — one of the largest economic development initiatives in state history — is behind schedule, and the nuclear revival hasn’t worked out the way the industry had hoped. Continue reading
France – to phase out nuclear at home, but keen to sell it to India
Trust our nuclear technology: French president to India Deccan Herald, Mumbai, Feb 15, 2013, (IANS) French President Francois Hollande Friday urged India “to trust” his country’s nuclear technology and extended France’s support to the Indian nuclear power generation programme……
France is helping India construct two nuclear power reactors at the proposed 9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Ratnagiri, 400 km south of Mumbai. The project has been facing stiff resistance from locals, NGOs, anti-nuclear groups and some political parties..… Earlier Friday, Hollande met Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan, Industry Minister Narayan Rane, Tourism Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and Protocol Minister Suresh Shetty and stressed the importance of nuclear energy.
UK govt twists and writhes – trying to give the nuclear industry a subsidy that doesn’t look like a subsidy
The government, which has ruled out any public subsidy for nuclear power, is determined to avoid the perception that it will support new nuclear at any price, even at the risk of the talks collapsing.
hangs in the balance amid increasingly fraught talks between EDF Energy and the Treasury over the price of electricity from EDF’s planned nuclear power station in Somerset.The two sides are negotiating over what price EDF should be awarded for the power it generates at Hinkley Point C, set to become the first new UK atomic plant built in a generation. But the gap between them is much wider than many in the industry were expecting. Continue reading
Czech Republic the latest in nuclear industry death agonies across Europe
Nuclear Revival Dying in Europe as Power Prices Slump: Energy Bloomberg, By Ladka Bauerova – Feb 13, 2013 A Czech atomic-plant expansion planned near the German border had been one of the few prizes left for Europe’s nuclear-power industry after the Fukushima disaster stopped projects from Switzerland to Romania.
Russian and U.S. contractors have prepared to bid for the $10 billion contract to build two new reactors, Europe’s largest competitive tender for a nuclear project. Now a combination of cheaper European power prices and carbon credits, falling demand for electricity and concern government support may falter leaves CEZ AS’s project in doubt, analysts and investors said.
“The future of nuclear energy in Europe looks very dim indeed,” said Mycle Schneider, an independent consultant on energy and nuclear power based in Paris. “Nuclear is too capital intensive, too time-consuming and simply too risky.”Abandoning the Temelin project would deal another blow to the foundering nuclear industry in Europe, and to contractors such as Russia’s Rosatom Corp. and Westinghouse Electric Corp., after the 2011 accident at the Fukushima plant in Japan. Continue reading
Many Fukushima labourers cheated out of correct pay
Ministry: Many Fukushima laborers deprived of danger pay
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201302090067 By
TOSHIO TADA February 09, 2013 The Environment Ministry has admitted
danger pay has not been reaching some laborers entitled to a hefty
bonus for their work on decontamination projects near the Fukushima
No. 1 nuclear plant.
Unscrupulous employers likely pocketed the missing cash, but the
ministry says it will neither penalize them nor name and shame them
because that “would have a big adverse effect,” an official in charge
of the matter said. Continue reading
Stories and pictures of abandoned nuclear power plants
iPctures: Gone Fission: 11 Unfinished Nuclear Power Plants http://weburbanist.com/2013/02/10/gone-fission-11-unfinished-nuclear-power-plants/ These 11 unfinished, abandoned, canceled, mothballed and/or suspended nuclear power plants will, for better or worse, never know the warmth of split atoms.
Lemoniz Nuclear Power Plant, Spain Construction of the Lemóniz Nuclear Power Plant, located on the Bay of Biscay on Spain’s northern coast, began in the mid-1970s but was dogged from its inception by violent opposition from ETA, the terrorist organization dedicated to the independence of Spain’s Basque country. The group managed to smuggle bombs into the facility on several occasions in 1978 and 1979 resulting in a number of fatalities and delaying the plant’s construction……
Marble Hill Nuclear Power Station, Indiana, USA (at left) From 1977 to 1984, Public Service Company of Indiana (PSI) spent approximately $2.5 billion to build the Marble Hill Nuclear Power Station near Hanover, Indiana, and by the time the financial tap ran dry it was only half-finished! The political and environmental landscape had changed quite a bit over those 7 years with the biggest speed bump being the Three Mile Island crisis in 1979. With costs spiraling out of control and the state government reluctant to provide funding, PSI abandoned the project and auctioned off most of the salvageable material for a mere pittance.
Equipment and parts from the Marble Hill Nuclear Power Station continued to be sold off in the early to mid-1990s but by the year 2000 everything of value had been sold. Since 2008, slow and steady demolition under the auspices of MCM Management Corp. has seen first the fuel-handling building and then the twin reactor containment buildings gradually reduced to mounds of scrap. The bright side, if any, is that none of the demolished material is radioactive.
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, Philippines Continue reading
Florida nuclear companies got $1 billion from customers, for non existent power plants
Time to repeal nuclear recovery lawhttp://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/fl-sccol-oped0210-20130210,0,5173814.story, By Susan Clary February 10, 2013 With the help of the Florida Legislature, two energy companies have been able to collect more than $1 billion from utility customers for the construction of nuclear power plants with no guarantee they would ever be built. Continue reading
UK’s new nuclear fleet may be simply unaffordable
UK nuclear plans flicker over cost By: Tracey Boles Express UK, February 10, 2013 ENERGY secretary Ed Davey warned yesterday that he will not do a deal to fund new reactors “at any price” as fears mount that interested utilities cannot afford to build them.French state-owned utility EDF Energy and the Government are negotiating a “strike price” for the new reactors, the unit cost of electricity which would underpin investment plans for EDF’s two reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
Keeping the price from being set high would involve taxpayer subsidy. Davey said yesterday he was seeking a “fair price for the consumer”.
Earlier this month, EDF’s partner Centrica withdrew from the UK’s planned nuclear programme because of increasing costs and delays. EDF has also been seeking Chinese state investment to little avail so far…… EDF have always argued that the price must be fair to both sides or it will not be sustainable. “It has to be high enough to encourage investors,” said a source close to negotiations.
Another senior industry source said: “EDF has a huge debt pile in France, and Paris will want to be sure the UK is a good place to put money more than their own market.” …
Japan hoping to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia
Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi‘s visit at the weekend was aimed at securing extra oil from the world’s biggest exporter in case of instability in world supply, Japanese officials had said…….. Saudi Arabia’s plan to build up to 17 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity over the next two decades has offered a possible lifeline to plant builders hit by a lack of demand since the Fukushima disaster….. http://news.yahoo.com/japan-offers-nuclear-help-saudi-free-oil-154800170.html
Exelon nuclear company blaming wind energy for decline in electricity prices
Exelon is merely “looking for a scapegoat” after power prices plummeted following the utility’s “bet on the electricity spot market” with nuclear.
Exelon chief: Wind subsidies could shut down nuclear plants,THE HILL By Zack Colman – 02/08/13
A major utility that was ousted from a wind energy trade group last fall said continued government support of wind power could shutter nuclear plants.
Exelon Corp. CEO Christopher Crane told the Chicago Tribune in comments published Friday that his company might eventually have to close nuclear facilities “if we continue to build an excessive amount of wind and subsidize wind.”
Exelon vocally opposed the extension of the wind production tax credit last year. That led the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) to kick the Chicago-based utility out of the organization.
Exelon will likely try to quash AWEA’s push this year for a phase-out of the 2.2 cent per kilowatt-hour credit for wind power production. Exelon has ties to the White House, as one of its directors is a top fundraiser for and friend of President Obama. Former strategist David Axelrod also consulted for the utility, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as Obama’s first chief of staff, helped create the firm through a merger in 2000 while working as an investment banker. Continue reading
Uranium industry in Australia – not looking good
recent steps by BHP to cuts of its uranium program — from the delay of the uranium production expansion plan at the Olympic Dam project to the selling of a large Yeelirrie deposit located in Western Australia.
Recent Ranger and Olympic Dam issues along with various problems related to notable Australian uranium projects like Angela/Pamela, Kintyre, Oban, Wiluna and Koongarra, amongst others, have also caused concerns about the future development dynamics of the local uranium industry.
Australia’s uranium industry hits turbulence Mining.com, Vladimir Basov | February 8, 2013 Recent news from Australia raises serious concerns about the future development of its domestic uranium industry. While established players are exiting the market, others are lining up to explore new areas and have made some positive moves.
Open-pit mining operations at Ranger mine were terminated at the end of November 2012. Continue reading
Cloudy future for nuclear power in USA
The Nuclear Power and Natural Gas Equation
NYT, By JON HURDLE, 7 Feb 13, Duke Energy is weighing the issue of how to replace the power generated by its troubled Crystal River nuclear plant in Florida, which the company has announced that it will permanently shut down.
One option is the construction of a new plant fired by natural gas, given the low price and abundant supply of that fuel source. Such a plant could come online as early as 2018, Duke said on Tuesday……
In a post-Fukushima world in which regulators are tasked with rigorously policing nuclear safety, ailing plants like Crystal River are less likely to survive than they once were, one analyst suggested on Wednesday. …. even if it had restarted, it would have faced the same regulatory rigor and some local opposition. Similar concerns have arisen about plants like Vermont Yankee, which the Vermont Senate voted to have shut down, a move blocked by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Indian Point in New York, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he wants closed…..
Concern about the age of many American nuclear plants is exacerbated by the fact that 72 of them have had their original 40-year operating licenses extended for another 20 years, Mr. McIntyre of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted. The oldest plant is Oyster Creek in New Jersey, which began operating in 1969; the newest is Watts Bar in Tennessee, which went online in 1996……
the future of nuclear plants is clouded by the abundance of domestic natural gas, which has led many utilities to embrace that fuel for power generators.
Oh dear! a major nuclear accident would damage France’s image!
The bulk of financial losses would come from damage to France’s image
Major nuclear accident would cost France $580 billion: study By Michel
Rose SAINT-PAUL-LES-DURANCE, France Feb 6, 2013 (Reuters) – A
nuclear accident similar to the one at Japan’s Fukushima reactor would
cost France about 430 billion euros ($580 billion), or 20 percent of
its economic output, French nuclear safety institute IRSN said in a
study on the possible financial impact of a nuclear crisis.
A major disaster damaging one of France’s 58 nuclear reactors and
contaminating the environment with radioactive material would displace
an estimated 100,000 people, destroy crops and create massive power
outages, the study said….. Continue reading
France’s nuclear power edge fades, while Germany goes ahead phasing nuclear out
Since the start of the year, France has embarked on a national debate
on energy expected to culminate in a law in October to outline the
country’s future energy mix. Environment Minister Delphine Batho has
said the outcome will reflect Hollande’s promises on nuclear
power.
Forecasts that Germany’s power imports would rise and new power plants
would be built as a result didn’t materialize, according to
Hans-Joachim Ziesing, a member of the independent commission
monitoring the energy transformation in Germany…
Hollande Draws French Industry Ire as Nuclear Edge Fades Bloomberg
News, By Tara Patel February 07, 2013 French industrial groups are
up in arms as their once-celebrated nuclear-energy edge evaporates.
After decades when their factories churned out everything from steel,
glass and chemicals with one of the cheapest power prices in Europe
thanks to the country’s 58 nuclear reactors, French companies’
competitive advantage is being whittled away as the U.S. embrace of
shale gas cuts energy prices there and as Germany gives businesses
fiscal breaks on electricity costs.
Electricite de France SA’s nuclear
reactors, which make France the most reliant on atomic power in the
world, will need billions of euros of upgrades Continue reading
Another nuclear power plant bites the dust in USA
“I believe this is going to be further fuel on the fire for the Legislature, hopefully, to begin to question the wisdom of these high-risk investments in energy,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.”
Florida Progress’ nuclear plant in Crystal River to close By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune February 06, 2013 TAMPA — Progress Energy Florida will permanently shut its damaged nuclear reactor in Crystal River, capping a very public and costly embarrassment that played out over the past three years.
Progress Energy, a subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy, said Tuesday that it will begin decommissioning the Crystal River reactor instead of making repairs, which could have cost billions. Continue reading
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25 June- THE PUKE ON NUKES
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