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Bulgaria considers abandoning expensive nuclear project

Bulgaria delays Belene nuclear project, Daily Times, 17 March 12

* PM says Belene project cannot go ahead without Western investors

* Final decision on 2,000MW project likely to be delayed

SOFIA: Bulgaria will abandon plans to build a 2,000 megawatt nuclear power plant on the Danube River if it cannot attract sufficient Western funding for the 8 billion euros ($10.5 billion) project, Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said on Friday. Continue reading →

March 17, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE | Leave a comment

Czech Republic’s nuclear power plans unraveling, unaffordable

Stalemate Hits $10 Billion Czech Nuclear Plan on Funding, By Ladka Bauerova on March 15, 2012  The Czech Republic’s $10 billion plan to build two atomic reactors near the German border that could supply electricity to the Bavarian industrial heartland is unraveling over financial and pricing disputes.

CEZ AS (CEZ), Europe’s only utility with an atomic project out to bid, is beset by falling power prices and predictions that its financial muscle is too weak to safeguard investors. Continue reading →

March 17, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE | Leave a comment

No end of problems for San Onofre nuclear power plant

San Onofre’s Unit 3 reactor shut indefinitely while US regulators probe tube problems  Washington Post, By Associated Press,   March 15 LOS ANGELES — A nuclear reactor on the California coast will remain shut down indefinitely while a team of federal inspectors determines why several relatively new tubes became so frail that tests found they could rupture and release radioactive water, a federal official said Thursday….

The Unit 3 reactor at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, located about 45 miles north of San Diego, was shut down as a precaution on Jan. 31 after a water leak from another tube in a massive steam generator. Traces of radiation escaped, but officials say there was no danger to workers or neighbors.

Since then, investigators have been looking into excessive wear found on steam generator tubes in the seaside plant and its twin, Unit 2, which has been off line for maintenance and refueling. The two huge steam generators at Unit 2, each containing 9,700 tubes, were replaced in fall 2009, and a year later in Unit 3 as part of a $670 million overhaul.

The NRC dispatched a special, five-member team to Unit 3 on Thursday after pressure tests showed three of the metal-alloy tubes had become so degraded that they could rupture under some circumstances. Such ruptures can require a plant to shut down, if spewing water reaches 150 gallons a day……
San Onofre’s Unit 1 reactor operated from 1968 to 1992, when it was shut down and dismantled. The utility’s plan to ship the 600-ton reactor vessel on a 15,500-mile voyage around South America to a disposal site in South Carolina was thwarted and it remains at San Onofre, encased in concrete and steel….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/federal-regulators-to-investigate-tube-failures-at-califs-san-onofre-nuclear-power-plant/2012/03/15/gIQAn3lIES_story.html

March 16, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, safety, USA | Leave a comment

Utility losing interest in investing in nuclear power

E.ON says its commitment to nuclear is fading   LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) – German utility E.ON , which together with rival RWE plans to build new nuclear plants in Britain, said on Wednesday its appetite for investing in nuclear power had slowed down.

“Our appetite to boost nuclear with great energy has become smaller,” said board member Klaus-Dieter Maubach during the company’s 2011 results conference….   time and cost overruns at new nuclear plants in Finland and France…..  E.ON posted a net loss of 2.22 billion euros in 2011 as it was hit by Germany’s decision to shut down its oldest nuclear plants in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima accident and losses in its gas business.

March 15, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | Leave a comment

French company EDF gives up on new nuclear power station in Lancashire

Third nuclear power station at Heysham plans on ice, BBC News, Lancashire, 14 March 12,   Plans for a third nuclear power station at Heysham in Lancashire have been put on ice.

French company EDF Energy has cancelled an agreement with the National Grid to set up any new connection to the grid from Heysham. The site was one of eight earmarked two years ago for a new generation of nuclear power stations.

EDF Energy said all its plans for new stations will be focused on their sites at Sizewell and Hinkley Point…. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-17374496

March 15, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Down, down, continues the price of uranium

Spot Uranium Drifts Downward.  by Melissa West, Uranium Researcher, 13 March 12 Uranium Investing News, Platts reported spot uranium prices are continuing to drop at a slightly faster rate than earlier this year. As quoted in the market news:

TradeTech on Friday lowered its weekly spot price to $51 a pound U3O8, a drop of 80 cents/lb from TradeTech’s price March 2. TradeTech said the drop was due largely to a lack of buying interest and “aggressively priced material offered by one motivated seller.” http://uraniuminvestingnews.com/10910/spot-uranium-drifts-downward.html

March 14, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Tanzania’s battle over uranium tax

The fierce battle for $205m uranium tax, BY FLORIAN KAIJAGE 11th March 2012  As the Russian firm seeks court order  Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and Russian company JSC Atomredmetzoloto (AMRZ) are in fierce legal battle over the $205.8 million (Sh330billion) that TRA demands from the company as an income tax and stamp duty emanating from thelatter’s purchase of Mkuju River Uranium mining site from Mantra
Resources of Australia in 2011.
The legal battle is before the Tax Revenue Appeals Board that begun hearing of the matter on Monday March 5, 2011 in Dar es Salaam under the chairmanship of Pentarin Kente…. The amount of money involved is staggering; this is a record amount in Africa just on income tax. It
is $196 million that equivalent to Sh320 billion, 2 percent of the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product); it is not a small amount by local or international standards…. http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=39338

March 12, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Iowa residents might have to take the financial risks of planned nuclear power plant

opens the door for MidAmerican to charge customers rather than fund a significant portion of a project with their own capital.

“It shifts the risk from the shareholder to the ratepayer,” 

Lawmakers question if nuclear bill helps customers, The Gazette, 11 March 12,   DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers could take action this week on a bill allowing MidAmerican Energy to seek permission from regulators to move forward with a nuclear power plant, but some are still questioning if the measure would hurt customers.

The measure would allow MidAmerican to ask the Iowa Utilities Board for a rate increase from the company’s customers to fund the cost of permitting, licensing, and building a plant. Costs for such a project have been estimated at $2 billion. Continue reading →

March 12, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Patrick Moore praises nuclear power, but the world does not believe him!

Dramatic fall in new nuclear power stations after Fukushima,   in Brussels,  and n. guardian.co.uk,  8 March 2012 The drop in construction work on new reactors may reflect waning interest in nuclear after the shutdown of the Japan reactor a year ago

The number of new nuclear power stations entering the construction phase fell dramatically last year compared with previous years, in the aftermath of the incident at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan last March.

From 2008 to 2010, construction work began on 38 reactors around the world, but in 2011-12, there were only two construction starts, according to Steve Thomas, professor of energy studies at the University of Greenwich. Continue reading →

March 9, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Plenty of future work for Japan’s nuclear professionals – in shutting down the world’s nuclear reactors

concerns over where Japan’s nuclear professionals will end up. We believe, however, that this concern needs to be reframed. There are more than 430 nuclear reactors in the world, and one by one they will all reach the end of their service lives. Regardless of the future paths of nuclear policies around the world, there will be plenty of reactors that need to be shut down.

Editorial: Time to say goodbye to nuclear power, Mainichi Daily News, 7 March 12,   The illusion of nuclear power safety has been torn out by the root. The Fukushima nuclear disaster that followed the great waves of March 11 last year made sure of that.. Continue reading →

March 8, 2012 Posted by | employment, Japan | Leave a comment

World’s biggest man made hole – BHP ‘s uranium mine, might not go ahead

Reuters report on mining conference in Canada  Mar 6, 2012  By Euan Rocha  TORONTO, March 6  –  The Anglo-Australia mining giant, which already operates an underground mine at the site, has yet to sign off on the budget for
the open pit…. but BHP may opt to delay taking on the heavy financial burden that could easily be in the $10 billion to $20 billion range…..

…. PDAC, the mining industry’s largest annual gathering. The convention, organized by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, opened in Toronto on Sunday.

Even though Olympic Dam, located 550 km (345 miles) north of Adelaide, is one of BHP’s biggest growth prospects, the cost of
digging the massive pit may prove prohibitive.
Last month the company reported a profit decline, and it struck a cautious tone on its expectations for growth in China, one of its
biggest markets. That has led some to speculate that the miner may delay spending on capital-intensive projects such as Olympic Dam and the Jansen potash project in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

In late 2011, BHP finalized state approvals to begin construction work on the open-pit phase of the Olympic Dam project, but the agreement would lapse around December if BHP delays its decision on proceeding.

“We want to see a board decision before the end of the year about substantial works beginning. If not, the approvals run out and BHP know this,” said  Tom Koutsantonis, minister for mineral resources and energy for the state of South Australia.” I’m not in the business, and no government should be in the business, of allowing anyone to have massive tenements that they don’t develop …”-
A spokesman for BHP declined to comment on the remarks.
MASSIVE SCALE The sheer scale of the open-pit project is formidable. BHP will have to shovel rock for five to seven years before it reaches the Olympic Dam ore body, discovered in the mid-1970s….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/06/canada-mining-pdac-olympicdam-idUSL2E8E60E220120306

March 7, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Plan for Mid American to finance its nuclear plans and must then construct them

Lawmaker says deal struck on nuclear power bill CBS News, 6 Mar 12,   DES MOINES, Iowa — A legislator said Tuesday that he had struck a deal on a plan that would give MidAmerican Energy new incentives to build a nuclear power plant in Iowa.

Sen. Matt McCoy, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said his panel will approve the compromise Thursday. The compromise would require that MidAmerican, Iowa’s largest utility, have financing in place before beginning construction of a nuclear power plant. Once
state regulators approve a new plant, the utility would have to carry out construction.

Some legislators had worried earlier versions of the measure would allow the utility to raise rates to pay for the plant, without being committed to actually building the facility. They said consumers could end up with higher rates, and no new power plant to show for it.

Lawmakers reached the agreement even as opponents held a Statehouse news conference, where they argued that nuclear plants are inherently dangerous….. Francis Thicke, a farmer and environmental activist from Fairfield, said the compromise backed by McCoy only dealt with the potential financial risks of the proposed nuclear plant. “My concern is the whole environmental issue and they are not addressing the environment,” Thicke said. ….
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57391792/lawmaker-says-deal-struck-on-nuclear-power-bill/

March 7, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

‘Outing’ the financial firms that fund nuclear weapons

The institutions most heavily involved in financing nuclear arms makers include Bank of America, BlackRock and JP Morgan Chase in the US, BNP Paribas in France, Allianz and Deutsche Bank in Germany, Mistubishi UFJ Financial in Japan, Credit Suisse and UBS in Switzerland, and Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland in Britain.  

Over 300 financial institutions funding nuclear firms: NGO ,Economic Times, 5 March 12,  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/over-300-financial-institutions-funding-nuclear-firms-ngo/articleshow/12151557.cms NEW DELHI: A foreign NGO today claimed that more than 300 financial institutions, including some Indian firms, have exposure to 20 major nuclear weapons companies across the world and urged them to stop these investments.

The NGO, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), has also named Indian conglomerate Larsen and Toubro (L&T), which has done some work for Indian Navy and the missile system, in a report released today.

“L&T is involved in the design and construction of five nuclear-armed submarines for the Indian navy, each of which will be equipped with 12 missiles. The company has also tested a launch system for India’s nuclear missiles,” it said. Continue reading →

March 6, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | 1 Comment

Scotland’s renewable energy will mean cheaper electricity by 2020

Renewable energy cheaper, Scotland says, Outcome, March 5, 2012, EDINBURGH, Scotland, March 5 (UPI) — Energy bills for consumers in Scotland could be as much 7 percent higher if the government didn’t pursue its renewable energy strategy, a minister said.

Scotland has some of the most ambitious renewable energy targets in Europe. The government aims to meet 100 percent of the electricity demand through renewable energy resources by 2020.

A report from the Scottish government concludes that consumers would pay around $2,035 per year for energy bills by 2020 under the low-carbon policies. If the government pursues a “business as usual” model, bills would be around $2,182 per year.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said there are some doubts as to whether the government can meet its renewable energy targets but they are achievable. “We know there is doubt and skepticism about our 100 percent renewables target and the financial and engineering challenges required to meet it,” he said in a statement.

“But we will meet these challenges. I want to debate, engage and cooperate with every knowledgeable, interested and concerned party to ensure we achieve our goals.” Ewing added renewable energy targets would be met without the need for new nuclear power stations. http://outcomemag.com/science/2012/03/05/renewable-energy-cheaper-scotland-says/

March 6, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear power industry in meltdown

Why nuclear is in meltdown, Telegraph UK, Britain’s atomic plants will be cut from 10 to just one in little more than a decade. By Geoffrey Lean  02 Mar 2012 This week the world’s longest-running nuclear power station ran out of steam. At 11am on Wednesday, the appropriately named Oldbury in Gloucestershire – once a location for a Doctor Who storyline – was switched off after 44 years, as part of a wider shutdown that will cut Britain’s 10 atomic plants to just one in little more than a decade.

That same morning, just down the Severn Estuary, protesters were evicted from a deserted farmhouse on the site of the first of the new reactors designed to replace them. But the original start-up date for the plant – to be built by the French firm EDF at Somerset’s Hinkley Point – has already slipped by two years, from 2017 to 2019, and this week it emerged that the Office for Nuclear Regulation is delaying its safety approval.

It’s an ominous picture as next weekend’s anniversary of the Japanese tsunami and the disaster at Fukushima approaches – yet Britain is supposed to be one of the world’s few nuclear bright spots……
Elsewhere, the “nuclear renaissance” before Fukushima – which saw more than 400 reactors in construction or in the pipeline – has gone into reverse. Continue reading →

March 3, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

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