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Global nuclear industry slowdown, as investment in renewables grows

The deepening nuclear debate over nuclear energy in France, meanwhile, may have global implications…….Even France’s allegiance to nuclear appears to be loosening…..several candidates vying to take on Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential election next year have called for France to begin shifting from nuclear to renewable energy.China and the U.S. are also showing signs of strain over the issue…..In the U.S., nuclear investment plans are wavering

A Worldwide Nuclear Slowdown Continues – Technology Review,  May 18, 2011, By Peter Fairley“……….The German government has already identified renewable energy as the future, setting plans to boost renewable generation to 50 percent of electrical consumption by 2030 (from 17 percent last year) and to 80 percent by 2050.

….Germany’s accelerated nuclear phase-out may also threaten plans in Eastern Europe by undermining support for subsidies. Continue reading →

May 19, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Flawed analysis of risks of Grand Canyon uranium mining

“There is entirely too much risk, too many unknowns and too many identified impacts to justify threatening one of the most important U.S. landmarks and one of the most world-renowned national parks to justify the relatively small economic benefit associated with mining of uranium in the Grand Canyon region,”

Critics blast report on G. Canyon uranium mining,  NewsTimes , May 15, 2011 FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Conservation groups and officials in a northern Arizona county say there are serious flaws in a new federal analysis of the risks and benefits of uranium mining near the Grand Canyon. Continue reading →

May 16, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Namibia: government and unions waking up to exploitation by foreign miners

“A lot of mining companies are at it to exploit people together with the minerals. They either employ people on fixed term contracts or outsource certain functions of their business simply to reduce labour costs,” he said.
“This practice results in poverty jobs where employees of these contractors sometimes earn as little as 20% of the basic salary offered by the Eastern Platinum (EPL) holder for the same job.

Second mining expo to be held amid fears of ‘nationalisation’ PDF Print E-mail
Namibia Economist,  by Nyasha Francis Nyaungwa   
 13 MAY 2011
The 2011 Mining Expo which kicks off next week in the capital is being held at a time when the mining sector faces uncertainty after government recently declared uranium, copper, coal, diamonds and rare earth metals as strategic minerals.
Last month, government through cabinet endorsed a decision that the right to own licenses for strategic minerals will only be issued to a state company.
The dramatic shift in policy has caught many investors and would-be investors unaware …..“….the mining sector’s contribution to government revenue is not commensurate with its share to the gross domestic product. Such contribution is mainly through royalties levied on the market value of the minerals. This means that Namibia benefits from its natural endowment mainly through rent-seeking. This situation is untenable” the minister said……http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23739:second-mining-expo-to-be-held-amid-fears-of-nationalisation&catid=588:special-focus&Itemid=70


Union calls for a paradigm shift within the mining industry
Namibia Economist,  by Johanna Absalom   
13 MAY 2011

President of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), John Ndeutepo, says that in order to create a conducive labour environment for workers in the mining sector, there is a need for a paradigm shift…. companies try by all means to prevent its employees from being organised. Some even deny them their rights to freedom of association. It is a proven fact that one cannot make people work any longer; you will need to motivate workers in order for them to perform,” Ndeutepo added.

He said that the mining labour sector is faced with great challenges that calls for urgent change. One such challenge is the ability of unions to address labour issues involving contract and agency labour cases.
According to Ndeutepo, this phenomenon is rearing its ugly face again.
“A lot of mining companies are at it to exploit people together with the minerals. They either employ people on fixed term contracts or outsource certain functions of their business simply to reduce labour costs,” he said.
“This practice results in poverty jobs where employees of these contractors sometimes earn as little as 20% of the basic salary offered by the Eastern Platinum (EPL) holder for the same job. Government through beneficiary and empowerment programmes have encouraged outsourcing by multi nationals companies but has not properly legislated this process to prevent ulterior motives. Hence the mineworkers union is fighting a bitter battle to stop this practice. As it stands now citizens of the state are being exploited together with minerals of the state.”
Another concern that Ndeutepo said needs urgent attention is health and safety.
“Quite a significant number of mining companies are paying a lot of attention on legislated safety paperwork but there is no practical attention. A lot of companies boast about their safety systems forgetting that these systems require maintenance and application from the people.”…..

Some multi national companies do not even bother to monitor adherence especially when it comes to contractors and they even end up corrupting compliance officials,” he said.
Ndeutepo also called for the recognition of unions in the sector. He said that a lot of companies cannot yet get any returns from this relationship as they view the union as an enemy.—http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23738%3Aunion-calls-for-a-paradigm-shift-within-the-mining-industry&catid=588%3Aspecial-focus&Itemid=70

May 15, 2011 Posted by | employment, Namibia | 1 Comment

Australian uranium companies take heavy losses

Risk fallout hasn’t left uranium stock, May 13, 2011, SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Australian-listed uranium firms are sporting heavy year-to-date losses after the recent disaster in Japan, and while investors appear to be slowly returning to some shares, analysts say the risks haven’t gone away.

Further afield, Canada’s Cameco Corp.   has seen its stock fall 37.1% year-to-date, while Uranium One Inc.  shares are down 19.8% in Toronto. Continue reading →

May 15, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Analysis of the nuclear industry’s future

In his analysis, Abbott explores the consequences of building, operating, and decommissioning 15,000 reactors on the Earth, looking at factors such as the amount of land required, radioactive waste, accident rate, risk of proliferation into weapons, uranium abundance and extraction, and the exotic metals used to build the reactors themselves.

Why nuclear power will never supply the world’s energy needs,(PhysOrg.com)  12 May 11, –”….In an analysis to be published in a future issue of the Proceedings of the IEEE, Derek Abbott, Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Adelaide in Australia, has concluded that nuclear power cannot be globally scaled to supply the world’s energy needs for numerous reasons. The results suggest that we’re likely better off investing in other energy solutions that are truly scalable. Continue reading →

May 12, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | Leave a comment

Nuclear renaissance not viable, say experts, even from Exelon!

Power complexes that combine increasingly plentiful and cheap natural gas with renewable sources like wind and solar power are now seen as a financially viable, safer and cleaner alternative.

Why The Days Of Rampant Nuclear Power Growth Are Over, Business Insider, Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times | May 9, 2011 “……..Experts say the heavy subsidies needed to build new nuclear plants and the increased costs from tougher safety standards are a nonstarter given the nation’s fiscal crisis.  As a result, nuclear is a less competitive option for producing electricity than a mix of cheap natural gas, wind and even solar power, which is rapidly declining in cost. Although prospects for a revival seemed bright only a few years ago, the steep price tag, coupled with the festering problem of disposing of spent nuclear fuel, creates a hostile environment for investing in nuclear power. Continue reading →

May 12, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Northern Japan: bank problems as business clients fear radiation

“This is such a tragedy for the people of Fukushima, particularly our youth,” said Toyo System’s Shoji, who has two children. “Radioactive contamination has literally jeopardized the seeds and soil of our future growth.”

Nuclear Fear Snags Loan Push by Fukushima Banks as Clients Flee Radiation,  Bloomberg, By Shigeru Sato and Shingo Kawamoto – May 11, 2011  “……Daito and larger rivals in the prefecture, Toho Bank Ltd. (8346) and Fukushima Bank Ltd., are three of the worst five performers on Japan’s 83-member Topix Banks Index (TPNBNK) since the March 11 quake and tsunami. They are struggling to keep customers and prevent loans from souring…… Continue reading →

May 12, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Tepco shares plunge, – Fukushima compensation more than $100 billion?

Tepco wants government help for compensation payments BBC News 10 May 11 ……Total compensation claims are yet to be known, but analysts say they may be more than $100bn (£61bn). Engineers are still struggling to contain damage at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan.

The government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan is now under pressure to review Japan’s energy policy, which has been heavily dependent on nuclear power.

…… Shares in Tepco have plunged since the 11 March quake and subsequent tsunami.

Japanese media has reported that Tepco may have to raise electricity prices in order to help pay for payments….. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13330263

May 10, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Duke – Progress Energy a powerful nuclear lobbying merger

At Progress Energy’s final annual meeting, it’s all in for nuclear power, Tampa Bay.com By Robert Trigaux,   May 10, 2011 “…….it’s the latest tale of the bigger devouring the big. In 2000, Progress Energy gobbled up St. Petersburg’s Florida Power, arguing utilities must get larger to compete. We hear a similar message in Duke’s $13 billion-plus purchase of Progress Energy.……..A merged Duke-Progress Energy will lobby aggressively for such pro-nuclear aid as cheaper government loans and energy incentives.

It will seek the power to charge more consumers up front for the expense of building nuclear plants.

Florida lawmakers already allow utilities with nuclear ambitions to charge customers in advance.

Leery of Japan’s predicament, North Carolina legislators recently rebuffed Duke and Progress Energy for seeking similar powers in their home state…. http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/at-progress-energys-final-annual-meeting-its-all-in-for-nuclear-power/1168665

May 10, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

US Japan nuclear marketing scheme, with secret plans for Mongolian waste dump

Negotiations on building the facilities were kept secret as it was feared that if the plans came to light at the negotiation stage, then China and Russia — countries through which the fuel could pass — might interfere and protests could erupt from Mongolian residents.

Japan, U.S. negotiating construction of nuclear waste facility in Mongolia, Mainichi Daily News 10 May 11 ULAN BATOR, Mongolia –“…….the marketing of nuclear plants is big business — a single reactor sells for hundreds of billions of yen. The Japanese government regards the overseas sale of nuclear power plants as a pillar of the nations’ growth strategy. It has already tied a deal with Vietnam and is in negotiations with India and Turkey. However, Russia and other countries have gone a step ahead by marketing their reactors and the collection of spent nuclear fuel together as a set, which has put Japan and the U.S. on the back foot. Continue reading →

May 10, 2011 Posted by | Japan, marketing, USA | Leave a comment

Insurmountable problem of nuclear power’s financial risks

the insurance industry and financial markets still have not altered their long held position that nuclear power poses unacceptable financial risk. 

‘Smart money’ reflects nuclear power risks  Burlington Free Press David R. Abbott, 8 may 11,  Is nuclear power safe? Not surprisingly, the owner of Vermont Yankee is spending heavily in an effort to convince us that it is. Perhaps, instead, we should follow the smart, disinterested money in attempting to answer that essential question because, in the case of the nuclear power industry, an unacceptable financial risk is, at the same time, an unacceptable safety risk.

The smart money here is represented by the insurance industry and the financial markets. Continue reading →

May 9, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry worldwide enjoys the “mother of all subsidies”

Twenty-five years after the disaster at Chernobyl’s reactor number 4, the global community is struggling to find 2.2 billion dollars to build a permanent shelter to replace the collapsing cement and steel sarcophagus hastily built after the accident. 

That 2.2 billion dollars does not include the costs of dismantling the radioactive material nor the costs of building a safe storage facility for the spent and damaged nuclear fuel from the plant. This material will be dangerously radioactive for thousands of years. 

The Nuclear Cost Shell Game, By Stephen Leahy, UXBRIDGE, Canada, May 6, 2011 (IPS) – The nuclear energy industry only exists thanks to what insurance experts call the “mother of all subsidies”, and the public is largely unaware that every nuclear power plant in the world has a strict cap on how much the industry might have to pay out in case of an accident.In Canada, this liability cap is an astonishingly low 75 million dollars. In India, it is 110 million dollars and in Britain 220 million dollars. If there is an accident, governments – i.e. the public – are on the hook for all costs exceeding those caps. Continue reading →

May 8, 2011 Posted by | business and costs | Leave a comment

Projections of costs for nuclear plants leave out full fuel cycle and risks

When comparing energy choices, nuclear versus solar for instance, the full life cycle costs are rarely used. Nor are the financial risks taken into account,

The Nuclear Cost Shell Game, By Stephen Leahy, UXBRIDGE, Canada, May 6, 2011 (IPS)“…….Experts estimate the U.S. nuclear industry’s liability cap of 10 billion dollars amounts to “an indirect subsidy of about 33 million dollars per plant per year over the lifetime of a nuclear plant,” according to a study published in Energy Policy in April.

If that 33 million dollars-per-plant-per-year indirect subsidy was instead used for loan guarantees for solar panel manufacturing plants, the U.S. would gain 5.3 trillion dollars worth of additional electricity over a 100-year time span, the study reported.”Wind might be even better than solar under this scenario,” said co- author Joshua Pearce, a mechanical and materials engineer at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
“We’re wasting money on nuclear energy. It makes no economic sense,” Pearce told IPS. Continue reading →

May 8, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | Leave a comment

Fukushima nuclear accident could cost tax-payer $trillions

“In America, ….. the necessary insurance for nuclear operators is capped at just $375 million by law,

Ultimate costs from nuclear accidents can be difficult to predict, but many estimates place total damages, including economic loss, in the trillions.……

a severe accident at just one of Southern Company’s existing Plant Vogtle reactors in Georgia could cause up to 39,000 immediate injuries and cost over $70 billion (in 1982 dollar and Census figures).

Japan Nuclear Disaster Update, CleanEnergy Footprints   May 5“…….Despite all of the concern over health, radiation and environmental hazards raised by this disaster, Tepco shockingly does not have disaster insurance. Speculations are that the company will be nationalized and that the Japanese government, which likely means taxpayers, will assume the burden of Tepco’s massive liabilities. Continue reading →

May 6, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Grave financial risk for Japanese government if TEPCO insolvent

unlimited liability could push TEPCO into insolvency and force the government to take a majority stake in the company

Japan’s Nuclear Rescue Plan: The Unintended Consequence of Unlimited Liability, BNet, By Kirsten Korosec | May 3, 2011, The Japanese government — once bosom buddies with Tokyo Electric Power — wants the company to face unlimited liability for damages from itstroubled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Continue reading →

May 4, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

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