nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Nuclear plant for sale – but no buyers

Hey, Wanna Buy a Nuclear Power Plant? – The Source – WSJ, 6 April 11, “………Nestled on the bank of the Isar river, there’s an unusual piece of real estate for sale in Bavaria. It’s the Isar II nuclear energy plant, or at least a 25% stake in it, for sale by Stadtwerke Muenchen, Munich’s regional utility.

SWM has in fact been trying to sell its stake in Isar II since the 1990s, but without success. In the early 2000s, the utility published an international call for bids in the Financial Times, a spokesman said, but that also did not end in a sale, and the utility appears to be saddled with the power plant until it becomes obsolete.

“With the future of nuclear energy totally uncertain [in Germany], there’s no buyer who would go into such a deal blind,” said Ingo Becker, an energy analyst at Kepler Capital Markets……investors are unable to assess the potential value of the plant.

On top of that, in the wake of Fukushima, the fact that nuclear power plants can’t be insured has made investors take an even more sober view of the industry…..Hey, Wanna Buy a Nuclear Power Plant? – The Source – WSJ

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

Two days after Fukushima disaster TEPCO planned 2 new reactors there

Tepco announced last week that four reactors at the centre of the crisis will never go back into service. At the same time, however, it submitted a report to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that included a proposed timetable for the construction and commissioning of two new reactors – No. 7 and No. 8 – at the same complex….

Power company back pedals over reactor plans, Sydney Morning Herald, Andrew Higgins April 7, 2011, FUKUSHIMA: Even as it struggled to contain the world’s worst nuclear disaster in a quarter of a century, Tokyo Electric Power Company late last month quietly set out big plans for the future: it proposed building two new nuclear reactors at its radiation-spewing Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Continue reading →

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

Even if people do accept nuclear power, it’s still not affordable

So while nuclear power does return net energy and while it may be true that public opposition to nuclear power will fall, it probably won’t matter – because no society in an energy decline, with declining fossil fuel resources, can afford to front-load a decade or two decades of energy in fossil fuels into a plant.


Fukushima and the Future of Nuclear Power : Science Blogs, Casaubon’s Book, April 1, 2011 , by Sharon Astyk“………More than any other kind of energy generation, nuclear frontloads its energy costs dramatically – reliable estimates vary from as low as 12 years before they produce more energy than went into building them to as high as 20. The upfront plant building costs are also vastly higher than for coal, natural gas or any other source. Continue reading →

April 5, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | Leave a comment

World must “embrace nuclear power” says AREVA

“Nuclear is the cheapest” power source, Besnainou said


Areva Executive Praises Nuclear Power, Urges Loan Guarantees – WSJ.comBy Yuliya Chernova Of DOW JONES  VENTUREWIRE NEW YORK 4 April 11, –-Jacques Besnainou, chief executive of the U.S. arm of nuclear giant Areva SA (CEI.FR, ARVCY), said that the world must embrace nuclear power and advocated the continuation of U.S. federal loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

April 5, 2011 Posted by | France, marketing | Leave a comment

France’s nuclear plant owners not liable for accident costs

Whereas nuclear power plants are liable under German regulations for damages of up to 2.5 billion euros, for example, those in France can be found only liable for just 91.5 million.

“It is unfair that a nuclear power plant only needs to insure itself against a fraction of its risks.” Green European MP Claude Turmes told the business magazine.

Pressure rising on Europe’s nuclear plant owners Reuters Apr 3, 2011 “….. FATAL EXPANSION Separately, WirtschaftsWoche reported Oettinger plans to talk to nuclear power plant operators and insurers in Brussels on Tuesday about harmonising liabilities across the EU, seen as an implicit subsidy for operators in certain countries. Continue reading →

April 4, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Europe’s nuclear plant owners face big obstacles

Pressure rising on Europe’s nuclear plant owners Reuters Apr 3, 2011

Some reactors likely to fail stress test – EU’s Oettinger

* EU plans crackdown on low insurance costs – magazine

* Germany can do without nuclear power before 2020 -Greens

By Christiaan Hetzner BERLIN, April 3 (Reuters) – Some of Europe’s 143 nuclear reactors are likely to fail a test simulating terrorist attacks, an EU Commissioner said, and others will likely see insurance bills soar as politicians try to tighten regulations. Continue reading →

April 4, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE | Leave a comment

As Japan proposes to get bone marrow cells from workers, global nuclear industry prospec ts dim

If the past is any guide, the problems at Fukishima will slow or even freeze the construction of plants in many countries.

Walsh: Fukushima will slow or even freeze building of nuclear plants in many countries – In the Arena – CNN.com James Walsh, 2 April 11, TIME magazine reports that Japanese authorities have proposed, as a precautionary measure, the harvesting and banking of the stem cells from the bone marrow of workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Those cells could be transplanted back in workers who were exposed to too much radiation. How much danger are these workers in? Continue reading →

April 2, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, business and costs | Leave a comment

Investors and power generators turning to non nuclear energy sources

Meanwhile, power generators are turning elsewhere to meet the nation’s growing energy needs.

According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. added 23,144 megawatts of non-nuclear power generating capacity in 2009, the equivalent of about 23 atomic reactors.

Nuclear industry’s other big hurdle: finance NRG put brakes on new plant; industry aims at loan guarantees By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch, 1 April 11, “……..with the cost of a plant reaching $6 billion or more, and its income stream years away, the payoff for investors is not terribly appealing, Dobson said. Safety concerns and regulatory scrutiny resulting from the Fukushima accident merely add to a murky financing mix, he said. Continue reading →

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

Money, not Fukushima, is nuclear industry’s biggest hurdle

Nuclear industry’s other big hurdle: finance NRG put brakes on new plant; industry aims at loan guarantees By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch, 1 April 11,

NEW YORK — While public outrage over radiation seeping from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant is a huge setback for proponents of nuclear power, securing financing for new reactors poses perhaps an even bigger challenge in the United States….. Continue reading →

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

The uranium boom- over before it’s begun

virtually impossible to get new financing to develop projects for which there will be no economic justification. This will all be reflected in a slow, inexorable decline in share prices

The bull market in uranium is over, – MoneyWeek. By Dominic Frisby Mar 31, 2011 “The worldwide backlash against the nuclear power industry is only beginning to be felt and promises to deal a devastating blow long-term to the uranium stock sector. The catastrophic events in Japan were followed by a precipitous drop in uranium share prices, which have just had their obligatory dead cat bounce. Continue reading →

April 1, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear energy not safe for USA, but fine to export to ‘developing’ countries

For the United States, nuclear power has become an export industry….“Most of the action that one can really care about, frankly, is in the developing world,”

Nuclear Industry Thrives in the U.S., but for Export – NYTimes.com By MATTHEW L. WALD March 30, 2011 THE American nuclear renaissance is going strong, even if hardly any nuclear reactors are being built in the United States.

Japan’s continuing nuclear calamity has heightened concerns about the future of nuclear power and its safety, Continue reading →

March 31, 2011 Posted by | marketing, USA | 1 Comment

Solar energy stocks up, as Germany turns against nuclear power

Solar Stock Winners: German Elections Propel Stocks by Eric Rosenbaum  03/29/11 – NEW YORK (TheStreet) — Solar stocks experienced a surge on election results in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party suffered big losses, and with the German electorate citing anti-nuclear energy policy as a primary issue. The long-term implications of the Green Party election victories in Germany have to be viewed as a positive for green energy,…..All solar stocks, from the German solar manufactures to the Chinese and U.S. solar companies, rallied on Monday after the German election results. German solar companies Conergy, Q-Cells, Solon and Solarworld were all up on Monday, with one-day returns between 8% and 12%, and Conergy leading the way..”

March 31, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | Leave a comment

Entergy can’t sell its Vermont nuclear power plant

Entergy Abandons Bid To Sell Vermont Nuclear Power Plant, WSJ.com By Naureen S. Malik  MARCH 30, 2011 NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Entergy Corp. (ETR) ended a bid to sell its Vermont nuclear power plant Wednesday after failing to find a buyer for the reactor, which may be required to shut down next year.

The second-largest U.S. nuclear-power generator put the Vermont Yankee plant up for sale last November amid strong opposition in Vermont to it operating for an additional 20 years. The reactor’s operating license expires in March 2012.Opposition to the plant grew after the New Orleans-based company reported several leaks of radioactive material from underground pipes. State officials said Entergy had told them the piping didn’t transport radioactive materials…..Entergy Abandons Bid To Sell Vermont Nuclear Power Plant – WSJ.com

 

March 31, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

AREVA’s nuclear plant could cost Ameren $10 billion

Expert: New Ameren nuclear plant cost could balloon to $10 billion St. Louis Business Journal – by Kelsey Volkmann, March 30, 2011, The cost of Ameren’s proposed second nuclear plant in Callaway County could balloon to more than $10 billion, an energy expert said Wednesday. Continue reading →

March 31, 2011 Posted by | business and costs | Leave a comment

Bill Gates marketing small nukes to China, where nuclear industry is less regulated

“right now the regulatory environment here in the United States means it would take decades just to certify. By partnering with the Chinese, they can move ahead and commercialize the technology around the world when it’s proven.”

Nuclear Industry Thrives in the U.S., but for Export – NYTimes.com By MATTHEW L. WALD March 30, 2011 “……At a clean energy conference in Washington in January, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., then the American ambassador to China, said that he had recently run into Bill Gates in China. Mr. Gates is an investor in a new kind of reactor, part of a class called “small modular reactors,” Continue reading →

March 31, 2011 Posted by | marketing, technology, USA | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »