business and costs « nuclear-news

Nuclear industry dead at home, but Japan tries to sell it abroad

Japanese May Invest in U.K. Nuclear, WSJ, By SELINA WILLIAMS, 30 March 12 “……-RWE and E.ON are now seeking to sell their U.K. nuclear joint venture vehicle, named Horizon, that has two sites for new atomic power stations–at Wylfa in Wales and Oldbury in Gloucestershire in central England, as well as grid connections and around 130 employees,
including technical specialists, engineers, and project development specialists….

Japanese nuclear companies such as reactor vendors Hitachi and Toshiba Corp. and nuclear developers Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are seen by many in the nuclear industry as the most likely buyers.

Stymied at home following the Fukushima nuclear disaster last March, these companies are actively seeking new markets elsewhere and the U.K. could be a good base for expansion plans in Europe. “You could see a strong Japanese team coming in–there’s not going to
be building in Japan for the forseeable future, so growth for them can only come out of exports,” said George Borovas, a nuclear lawyer and partner at Pillsbury law firm that specializes in the energy sector…..

Stumping up the billions of pounds investment required to build a new reactor, coupled with the long lead times of construction as well as the cost overruns seen at other similar projects pose a huge challenge for any company seeking the finance, especially now in these
credit-strapped times.

March 31, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Japan, UK | Leave a comment

Costs are killing the USA nuclear industry

”nuclear power is neither affordable nor worth the risk….. the very different natures of nuclear disaster versus coal pollution rightly makes people worried.

Expert: Nuclear Power Is On Its Deathbed A new report from a University of Vermont researcher says the cost of the safety measures needed for nuclear energy will eventually make the power source economically unviable USA News, By JASON KOEBLER March 30, 2012 After the Fukushima power plant disaster in Japan last year, the rising costs of nuclear energy could deliver a knockout punch to its future use in the United States, according to a researcher at the Vermont Law School Institute for Energy and the Environment.

“From my point of view, the fundamental nature of [nuclear] technology suggests that the future will be as clouded as the past,” says Mark Cooper, the author of the report. Continue reading →

March 31, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

No new nuclear power plants says retiring CEO of Exelon nulcear company

Exelon’s ‘Nuclear Guy’: No New Nukes Forbes, Jeff McMahon , C3/29/2012 Nuclear power is no longer an economically viable source of new energy in the United States, the freshly-retired CEO of Exelon, America’s largest producer of nuclear power, said in Chicago Thursday.

And it won’t become economically viable, he said, for the forseeable future Continue reading →

March 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

2 big energy companies pull out of UK’s nuclear power projects

Energy firms abandon nuclear plans, Google News, (UKPA) –30 Mar 12 The Government’s plans for a nuclear-power renaissance are in disarray after two of the “big six” energy giants pulled out of a venture to build new reactors…… The venture was hit by the global economic crisis and Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear power in response to the disaster at Fukushima following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami last year,… as well as the significant costs of the project…… They also confirmed they were committed to investing in energy schemes in the UK, including renewables and gas, which have shorter payback times on capital investment than nuclear build.

The latest withdrawal from nuclear new-build comes after Scottish and Southern Energy announced last year that it was pulling out of the NuGeneration joint venture to build a new plant at a site near Sellafield, West Cumbria….. Gary Smith, of the GMB union, said: “This is a devastating blow which leaves the UK Government energy strategy in tatters.” … environmental groups seized on the news as evidence that nuclear power, which provides just under a fifth of UK electricity supplies, was not a financially-viable option for the country’s future energy mix. They called for the Government to back renewables, which they said had the potential to create thousands of jobs, supply households and businesses with clean, safe and affordable electricity, and tackle climate change.

March 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Price, and politics too, are bringing nuclear power development to a halt

U.K. Feels the Fallout From Nuclear-Industry Woes, WSJ, By ANDREW PEAPLE, 30 Mar 12, Nuclear power has fallen out of fashion fast since last year’s Fukushima accident; now even supportive governments can’t catch a break. German utilities RWE RWE.XE -1.27% and E.ON EOAN.XE -1.79% on Thursday scrapped plans to invest £15 billion ($23.8 billion) building two new reactors in the U.K., …. Continue reading →

March 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

$billions needed from Japanese government to save Tepco from bankruptcy

TEPCO seeks new billions from Japan CNN March 29, 2012 –
*Tokyo Electric Power Co. is asking the Japanese government for about $22 billion
*The company is reeling from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
* Analysts say it the accident may cost up to 10 trillion yen ($120 billion)
Tokyo – Japan’s largest utility asked the government for 1 trillion yen ($12 billion) in fresh capital Thursday to stay solvent as it faces enormous compensation costs for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

The Tokyo Electric Power Co. is also seeking another 800 billion yen ($10 billion) from a government fund to help it compensate people affected by the Fukushima Daiichi accident, including the estimated 100,000-plus people displaced. It has already requested more than 1.7 trillion yen from that fund…. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/29/world/asia/japan-tepco/

March 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Loan guarantees to nuclear power not scrutinised like solar loans

why do we continue to nurture nuclear power so much more generously than safer and less costly sources of electricity?

The Nurture of Nuclear Power, NYT, By NANCY FOLBRE , 27 March 12, Free enterprise? States’ rights? Public opinion? These concepts seem to bounce off the nuclear power industry like a pebble tossed at a reactor containment vessel.

Remember the brouhaha about $563 million in Obama administration loan guarantees to Solyndra , the solar panel manufacturer that went belly up last fall? Neither President Obama nor Republicans in Congress have voiced opposition to an expected $8.3 billion Energy Department guarantee to help the Southern Company, a utility giant, build nuclear reactors in Georgia. Continue reading →

March 28, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

South Korea keen to sell nuclear reactors to India

S Korea offers nuke reactors to India TNN | Mar 26, 2012,“…..South Korea has offered to build nuclear reactors in India and sought land for the project. …. A joint statement said, “The two leaders proposed that the concerned agencies of both countries study the possible cooperation in future space activities, including launching a nano-satellite developed by Korean students on an Indian launch vehicle.”…. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/South-Korea-offers-India-nuke-reactors/articleshow/12408369.cms

March 28, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, India, South Korea | Leave a comment

Appeal of electric car damaged by connection with nuclear power

Is nuclear power damaging electric car image? The Green Car Website, 23 Mar 12, As Japan’s government prepares to restart dozens of nuclear power plants, idled since the Fukushima disaster last year, there is concern that electric cars could become tainted by their association with nuclear generation. Continue reading →

March 24, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Japan, technology | Leave a comment

Malaysia rare earths plant, construction problems as well as political

the opposition had decided not to take part in the committee because the government was using the panel to try to quell public worries……. the government would allow the plant to go ahead regardless of the committee’s findings…..

Political and Construction Hurdles for Malaysia Rare Earths Plant NYT, By LIZ GOOCH and KEITH BRADSHER March 21, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A controversial rare earth metal refinery in Malaysia encountered further obstacles this week, with the country’s political opposition refusing to participate in a parliamentary committee set up to investigate the safety of the plant and with hints that the refinery could face further construction delays. Continue reading →

March 22, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Malaysia, Uranium | Leave a comment

Non nuclear energy strategy would save Ontario $billions

Nuclear power too costly, Ontario Clean Air Alliance argues The Star, John Spears Business Reporter, 20 March 12, Abandoning nuclear power in favour of imported electricity from Quebec and new, high-efficiency natural gas plants, would save Ontario billions, says the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. Continue reading →

March 21, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Canada | Leave a comment

Enormous costs of the global fraud that is nuclear power

The world has since lost over $1,000 billion in subsidies, cash losses, abandoned projects and other damage from nuclear power. Decontaminating Fukushima alone is estimated to cost $623 billion, not counting treatment costs for thousands of likely cancers.

The end of the nuclear illusion, The Daily Star, Praful Bidwai, 20 March 12A year after the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe began in Japan, the world has a historic chance to end one of the biggest-ever frauds played on the public to promote a patently unsafe, accident-prone, expensive and centralised form of energy generation based upon
splitting the atom to boil water and spin a turbine. Candidly, that’s what nuclear power generation is all about. Continue reading →

March 20, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, spinbuster | 1 Comment

In UK, 102 business leaders urge government to back renewable energy

Sir Branson and fellow entrepreneurs ask Cameron to back renewables http://www.eaem.co.uk/news/sir-branson-and-fellow-entrepreneurs-ask-cameron-back-renewables Energy and Envronment Magazine 16 March 2012

Sir Richard Branson is one of 102 top business signatories of an open letter to David Cameron urging him to back wind and other renewable forms of power generation.

“March’s budget provides one of the biggest opportunities to tackle climate change in the UK,” the Virgin tycoon says. “We must ensure it encourages investment rather than creates uncertainty and delays further serious investment in the renewable sector. As a country we need to be better prepared to deal with rising energy prices.”

The so-called ‘102 letter’ is conceived partly as a response to the actions of 101 backbenchers who last month wrote to the Prime Minister attacking wind power, and a call to the Treasury to re-establish a stable investment platform for renewable energy as a driver of the recovery out of the recession.

It is published on the website of the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO), the global network of more than 7,500 business owners in 38 countries.

“Cutting support for green energy is a false economy,” comments Dale Vince, Founder and CEO of Ecotricity, one of Britain’s most successful new energy companies trying to muscle in on the territory controlled by the Big Six.

His angle is energy security. “Britain needs to become energy independent once more, and with the North Sea all but depleted of fossil fuels we need to look to other forms of indigenous energy. We have them in abundance, in the wind the sun and the sea, enough to power our country many times over.

“While Britain remains dependent on global energy markets, our bills can only go one way: upwards.”

His analysis is that the level of current support for green energy sources is relatively small in comparison to that for oil and gas.

In the last 12 months roughly £30 of our household energy bills has been spent on green energy support. Of this, the Renewables Obligation (RO) added just £15.15 to the annual energy bill of the United Kingdom’s 26.3 million households, with onshore wind power adding only £4.68, according to Ofgem’s recently published RO annual report for 2010/11and Ecotricity’s analysis.

The RO is the main support mechanism for encouraging the growth of renewable energy in the UK.

Meanwhile, the rising cost of imported gas added around £120 to energy bills last year, according to Ofgem’s Electricity and Gas Supply Market Report.

“We need to reverse those proportions; it’s an incredible false economy to throw money at energy market speculators while penny pinching over the one thing we can do to solve the problem long term: make our own energy,” concludes Mr Vince.

The letter says that “as entrepreneurs, investors, economists, scientists, engineers, energy providers, community builders and Members of Parliaments, we are increasingly concerned about the lack of clarity around the future of government support for land-based renewables, such as solar, wind and biogas.”

March 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, politics, renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Britain’s nuclear power industry has always failed, and will continue to fail

The nuclear industry’s history is one of broken promises. Mrs Thatcher pledged 10 new nuclear plants in 1979 – one reactor eventually sent electricity to the grid in 1995.

Britain’s existing fleet of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors was described by the then Chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board as the worst civil engineering disaster in our history.

The proto-type fast reactor at Dounreay is now being expensively dismantled, having never worked properly. Nor has the THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield

Nuclear power will fail to achieve what George Monbiot wants, Guardian UK 16 Mar 12, Nuclear industry’s broken promises show atomic energy will not help climate efforts, say former directors of Friends of the Earth Deciding on how best to meet the country’s energy needs is difficult. There are no absolutely right answers. But one issue guaranteed to excite personal passions rather than brain cells is nuclear power.

Some solutions are more convincing than others. The best make the most economic, environmental and social sense, based on facts rather than fervent beliefs.

As four former Directors of Friends of the Earth, we wrote to the Prime Minster this week setting out eight major economic and political problems facing a new build nuclear programme in the UK. We have engaged in the nuclear debate for forty years. On the basis of our experience and the evidence, we concluded that the government’s policy will fail…. Continue reading →

March 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear power revival being killed off by cheaper, safer, gas

Cheap Natural Gas Unplugs U.S. Nuclear-Power Revival, WSJ, BY REBECCA SMITH, 16 March 12, The U.S. nuclear industry seemed to be staging a comeback several years ago, with 15 power companies proposing as many as 29 new reactors. Today, only two projects are moving off the drawing board.

What killed the revival wasn’t last year’s nuclear accident in Japan, nor was it a soft economy that dented demand for electricity. Rather, a shale-gas boom flooded the U.S. market with cheap natural gas, offering utilities a cheaper, less risky alternative to nuclear
technology.

“It’s killed off new coal and now it’s killing off new nuclear,” says David Crane, chief executive of NRG Energy Inc http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304459804577281490129153610.html

March 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

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