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Public pays for “rare event” of a nuclear disaster

If TEPCO were to be held fully responsible for the entire long term costs of the disaster, they would probably go insolvent. In a capitalist system, this ought to happen, otherwise we perpetuate the endemic problem of short-term and sociopathic behaviour on the part of corporations who operate in the knowledge that they’ll never really be held accountable for the negative consequences of their operations…..

Probability and responsibility at Fukushima, Crikey, April 14, 2011 – , by John Hepburn In the long run, the least likely event will occur. Such is the nature of probability, and the nature of risk. Continue reading →

April 14, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | Leave a comment

Who should really be doing the risky cleanup work at Fukushima?

what if there was a kind of conscription, where the names of directors and shareholders were put into a hat, to be randomly selected for frontline roles helping to cool the reactor? What about staff at the banks that financed the plant? Should they be in the conscription pool as well?

Probability and responsibility at Fukushima, Crikey, April 14, 2011 – , by John Hepburn “……It seems to me that it is these workers who are actually the ones who are really taking the responsibility for Fukushima. They are the ones who will live with the consequences. And I think it is useful to ask, who SHOULD be doing this dangerous work? Continue reading →

April 14, 2011 Posted by | employment | Leave a comment

In-depth analysis of the Global Investment in Renewable Energy.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5bcf5b/global_investment

Research and Markets: Global Investment in Renewable Energy , | Business Wire, 11 April 11, The world’s hunger for energy and power is growing at a rapid pace. However, conventional fuels such as natural gas and coal only have a limited supply to provide for our insatiable demand for energy. So what happens when these conventional sources of energy run out? The world is going to become more and more dependent on renewable energy resources. Therefore, foreseeing this near future event, governments around the world are already developing and investing in renewable energy sources. Continue reading →

April 13, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, renewable | Leave a comment

Japan’s nuclear industry’s future looking gloomy

The Japanese government last June highlighted exports of nuclear-power plants as a pillar of its economic growth strategy….All that now is in doubt. Interest in the companies’ hardware—and nuclear power in general—has fallen sharply as a result of the Fukushima disaster.

Japan’s Nuclear-Reactor Industry Faces Challenge – WSJ.com, Chester Dawson, 12 April 11, As Japanese manufacturers consider moving some operations offshore, another industry is facing yet another challenge……. Before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Japanese companies had hoped to export ¥20 trillion, or about $230 billion, a year in nuclear plants and other infrastructure-related business, according to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Continue reading →

April 13, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Nuclear ‘renaissance’ turning into nuclear stillbirth

Before Fukushima, a “nuclear renaissance” — as it was termed in the press — seemed well underway, except for this point: Nuclear power, as a total of world energy supply, has been in steady decline for the past decade.

Japan: The ‘nuclear renaissance’ that wasn’t | Finance Business News, CNN) 11 April 11, — A month after a devastating earthquake sent a wall of water across the Japanese landscape, the global terrain of the atomic power industry has been forever altered.The ongoing drama at the power plant in Fukushima — a name now ranked alongside Three Mile Island and Chernobyl as history’s worst nuclear accidents — has erased the momentum the nuclear industry has seen in recent years……

Before Fukushima, a “nuclear renaissance” — as it was termed in the press — seemed well underway, except for this point: Nuclear power, as a total of world energy supply, has been in steady decline for the past decade.

From 2000 to 2008, nuclear energy dropped from 16.7% to 13.5% of global energy production, according to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2009. The 2010-11 preliminary report, expected to be released Wednesday, will show the downward trend has continued, according to study author Mycle Schneider. While nuclear energy production has steadily increased, its piece of the global electricity pie is shrinking compared to traditional sources such as coal and alternatives like wind and solar power…
Japan: The ‘nuclear renaissance’ that wasn’t | Finance Business News

 

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

License application withdrawn for Diablo nuclear plant

PG&E withdraws license renewal application for San Luis Obispo nuclear plant,  PolitiCal | Jack DolanApril 11, 2011 Pacific Gas & Electric asked federal regulators to hold off on granting them a new license to run the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Central California until the company can complete a new round of seismic safety studies.

The company, which runs two reactors at the coastal site south of San Luis Obispo, cited “considerable public concern” about nuclear reactors situated in earthquake zones after a massive quake and tsunami crippled the Fuskushima Daichi plant in Japan last month…….In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey revealed that it had discovered a previously unknown fault less than a mile from Diablo Canyon. Another fault, about three miles offshore, had been discovered in the early 1970s. Geophysicists are concerned that movement of one fault could trigger an earthquake along the other, potentially compounding any damage to the nuclear plant…..PG&E withdraws license renewal application for San Luis Obispo nuclear plant | PolitiCal | Los Angeles Times

 

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

Dangerous nuclear work done by low paid contract workers

thousands of untrained, itinerant, temporary labourers who handle the bulk of the dangerous work at nuclear power plants here and in other countries,….

Japan’s two-tiered work force, with an elite class of highly paid employees at top companies and a subclass of labourers who work for less pay, have less job security and receive fewer benefits. Such labour practices have both endangered the health of these workers and undermined safety at Japan’s 55 nuclear reactors

Lured to work with radiation, Hiroko Tabuchi Interviews with past and current workers at Fukushima Daiichi and other plants in Japan paint a bleak picture of what happens on the nuclear circuit. Hiroko Tabuchi The Hindu 11 April 11, “ …. 

Untrained labour Continue reading →

April 11, 2011 Posted by | employment, Japan | Leave a comment

Safety fears stop Turkey-Japan nuclear talks

Turkey, Japan suspend nuclear plant talks amid safety concerns, 11 April 2011, Monday / TODAY’S ZAMAN , İSTANBUL Turkey, Japan suspend nuclear plant talks amid safety concerns

April 11, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Turkey | Leave a comment

Siemens company gets out of nuclear project with AREVA

Siemens exits nuclear joint venture with Areva  The Times of India Apr 10, 2011, BERLIN: Germany’s Siemens AG says it has sold its stake in a joint venture to build nuclear power plants with Areva NP for €1.62 billion ($2.3 billion) to the French firm.

Spokesman Constantin Birnstiel said on Sunday that the company had sold its 34 per cent stake on March 18 to Areva SA which also owns the remaining 66 per cent. He added that court proceedings were ongoing and Siemens could not comment further….

April 11, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | Leave a comment

Japan’s low-skilled, low paid, nuclear workers

The biggest problem is the nuclear one,” said Itsunori Onodera, a lawmaker with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, whose hometown of Kesennuma was ravaged by the tsunami. “If the area of nuclear contamination spreads, people won’t live there and there’ll be no reconstruction.”

McDonald’s Wage For Nuclear Job Shows Japan Towns Fading,  Bloomberg, By John Brinsley and Aki Ito – Apr 11, 2011 A week before becoming ground zero for the world’s biggest nuclear crisis since 1986, the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant offered $11 an hour for full-time maintenance work in an area of Japan that was lagging even before last month’s earthquake and tsunami struck. The wage, the same as McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) pays for part-time work in Tokyo, shows the scale of the northern Tohoku region’s economic blight and indicates towns may never recover from the disaster….. Continue reading →

April 11, 2011 Posted by | employment, Japan | Leave a comment

Nuclear power industry – a sober warning to investors

“New nuclear generation is already more expensive to build than most other sources of electricity,” it continues, “its liability insurance is effectively socialized and material questions are being raised regarding its waste products.”

Investors Warned: Fukushima Could Ignite Backlash Against U.S. Nuclear Power Industry, Forbes, – Osha Gray Davidson -Apr. 8 2011 A new report by Moody’s Investors Service has a title guaranteed to send chills through the nuclear power industry: “Re-evaluating Creditworthiness for Global Nuclear Generators.”

The report warns that “All nuclear operators…will suffer the consequences that emerge from a post Fukushima environment.” Continue reading →

April 9, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Germany’s peak utility organisation calls for swift end to nuclear power

The group called on the government to set everything in motion to speed up the transition toward a stable, ecologically responsible and affordable energy mix without nuclear energy.

Association of German utility companies calls for abolishing nuclear power by 2020, The Washington Post, 9 April 11,  BERLIN — Germany’s utility companies want “swift and complete” abolishment of nuclear power in the wake of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima reactors, says their umbrella organization. The technology should be phased out by 2020 or at the latest by 2023, the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, BDEW, said Friday following a board meeting. Continue reading →

April 9, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | Leave a comment

French nuclear company denied license for Calvert Cliffs reactor

US NRC denies license to build nuclear reactor in Maryland   WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied Unistar a license to build a new reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power station in Maryland due to its foreign ownership, said the watchdog group Nuclear Information and Resource Service.The NRC could not be immediately reached. Unistar is owned by Electricite de France (EDF.PA: Quote)….
US NRC denies license to build nuclear reactor in Maryland | Energy & Oil | Reuters

April 9, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Hitachi nuclear company freezing its proposed new projects

Nakanishi indicated a grim outlook on exports of nuclear power infrastructure to Vietnam, which is being jointly pushed by Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant…..

Hitachi to cut back on new nuclear power projects, asahi.com, BY SATOSHI DAIGUJI , 8 April 11 Hitachi Ltd. will scale back its nuclear power projects following the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Continue reading →

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

Never mind the Fukushima tragedy, it’s the nuclear COST, stupid!

It’s time to let the market pick our winners, not outrageous government subsidies for nuclear power…..we should abandon this costly boondoggle for more cost-effective and renewable energy sources.

Cost, Not Japan Crisis, Should Scrub Nuclear Power, RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD, By John FarrellApril 6, 2011 The plumes of smoke rising, and radiation leaking, from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor provoke a visceral reaction.  But the crisis should not persuade Americans to abandon nuclear power.

Instead, Americans should abandon nuclear power for its prohibitive and un-competitive costs. Continue reading →

April 7, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

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