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Scotland economist calls for renewable energy funding

“The economics of the renewables industry are  continually changing as new technologies are developed…..Part of this transition requires the end of financing of fossil fuels. RBS themselves need to redirect their own funding from fossil fuels to renewable energies.”..

Economist calls for radical thinking on funding of renewable energy  Scotsman.com News : 27 September 2010 One of Scotland’s top economists has called for “radical thinking” by government and the public and private sectors to create the finance necessary to boost renewable energy potential.
Andrew McLaughlin, pictured, group chief economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Scotland has “more potential renewables resources than almost any other European country”.
………He said: “The economics of the renewables industry are also continually changing as new technologies are developed. These technologies will offer even greater benefits for us in the future, but investment must be channelled into the UK’s research and development establishments, otherwise we risk losing out to others around the world.”

Dan Barlow, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Part of this transition requires the end of financing of fossil fuels. RBS themselves need to redirect their own funding from fossil fuels to renewable energies.”..

Economist calls for radical thinking on funding of renewable energy – Scotsman.com News

September 27, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, UK | , , , | Leave a comment

Indian insurance companies increase mortality charges

Life insurers deal a mortal blow, The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) | Business SRIKUMAR BONDYOPADHYAY Calcutta, Sept. 26: Life insurers have tossed ethics out of the window, and the insurance regulator seems to be looking the other way. Continue reading →

September 27, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, India | , , | Leave a comment

Indian insurance company to cover nuclear accidents?

Irda to allow cover for N-accidents, New Delhi:, 27 Sept 10,  The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has decided to frame guidelines for allowing insurance cover for nuclear accidents.The agency is awaiting the the nuclear liability law to provide framework for the proposed rules. “Insurance companies would be happy in providing cover for nuclear accidents, if the customers show interest,” Irda chairman J Hari Narayan said. India is all set to engage in nuclear commercial trade with various countries following the clearance of a Nuclear Liability Bill in Parliament during the monsoon session. The bill now awaits for the nod of the President before becoming a law.More from News

Irda to allow cover for N-accidents

September 27, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, India | , , , , | Leave a comment

Solar energy electricity getting cheaper than nuclear

The conclusion is that as of 2010, North Carolina is witnessing a historic crossover between the price of nuclear power and that of solar PV….the conclusions of such study are ……..about the final cost to consumers, given the existing incentives.

Nuclear vs Solar: Clash of the Numbers Environmental News Network, 24 Sept 10, A very interesting and controversial study emerged recently, comparing nuclear and solar costs no less.The study, “Solar and Nuclear Costs — The Historic Crossover”, was prepared by John O. Blackburn and Sam Cunningham for NC Warn, a climate change nonprofit watchdog. The paper, focused on the costs of electricity in North Carolina (US), describes the solar photovoltaic (PV) business, summarizing its history of sharply declining prices, along with the very different path taken in recent years by nuclear power, whose costs have been steadily rising. Continue reading →

September 25, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nuclear lobby begging for more money from USA govt

the nuclear renaissance is looking small and slow at the moment….Two other reactors in Texas, four in Florida and one in Missouri have all been moved to the back burner, mostly because of uncertain economics.

Aid Sought for Nuclear Plants – NYTimes.com, September 23, 2010, By MATTHEW L. WALD The federal loan guarantee program and other aid for new nuclear plants may not be enough to induce Constellation Energy to build a third reactor at its Calvert Cliffs site, 40 miles south of Washington, the company’s president and chief executive said on Thursday. Continue reading →

September 25, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Low uranium price stops building of new plant

R3.5bn uranium project hit by price slump., Brendan Ryan , 22 Sep 2010 [miningmx.com] — CONSTRUCTION of the proposed R3.5bn Rand Uranium plant to be built near Randfontein could be delayed because of current low uranium prices
That’s according to Harmony CEO, Graham Briggs, who was replying to a question posed after his presentation to the Denver Gold Forum being held in Denver, Colorado. Harmony holds a 40% stake in the unlisted Rand Uranium into which it injected assets formerly belonging to the Cooke and Randfontein sections of the Randfontein mine including the high uranium grade Cooke tailings dump. Uranium prices have been depressed for the past 18 months….

September 24, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, South Africa, Uranium | , , , | Leave a comment

France’s heavily subsidised nuclear industry – a costly warning to USA

The French nuclear program has been a state-owned monopoly from the outset, heavily subsidized by the government.  It could not survive in a free market.  By copying the French model – both in its energy choices and its willingness to use public funds to subsidize an industry that has never been self-sustaining – the U.S. is heading down a dangerous path of nuclear socialism.

France’s Nuclear “Miracle” is More Fantasy that Fact,  The Hill, By Mark Cooper – 09/23/10 Among backers of nuclear power development in the U.S., France has long been held out as the model to emulate. Now, as pressure builds on policy makers in Washington to set a new domestic energy course, the French experience once again is being heralded as proof that nuclearpower is the way to go.
Trouble is, France’s nuclear “miracle” is more fantasy than fact.  Continue reading →

September 24, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, France | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium market’s doubtful long term future

..“There are a lot of projects on the drawing board that will have trouble getting into production or will be delayed”…The “long-term” price “is really the more important indicator when it comes to supporting new project development, rather than the spot price,”

Uranium Miners Need 25% Price Advance for Expansion Incentive, Rio Says,  Bloomberg, By Anna Stablum – Sep 23, 2010 Uranium must rise 25 percent to give mining companies an incentive to start or expand projects outside of top producer Kazakhstan, said Clark Beyer, managing director of Rio Tinto Uranium Ltd….. Continue reading →

September 23, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | , , , | Leave a comment

World Nuclear Association admits “Nuclear Renaissance” just isn’t happening

Speaking at a meeting of the World Nuclear Association in London today, Ron Cameron head of the Nuclear Energy Association’s (NEA) nuclear development division said: “The nuclear renaissance hasn’t taken off”

Nuclear resurgence constrained Nuclear may go way of the Asian toaster, tcetoday news, 17 Sept 10, by Adam Duckett“……..PROBLEMS with finance, policy and skills have hamstrung the much-hyped resurgence of the nuclear power sector, experts have said. Continue reading →

September 18, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Drug against ionising radiation- a lucrative business?

appears to strengthen the body’s ability to recover from radiation exposure.

U.S. invests in drug to protect against radiation | Reuters, By Julie Steenhuysen, CHICAGO | Fri Sep 17, 2010 CHICAGO  – Tiny biotech Cleveland BioLabs Inc has won a $45 million contract from the Department of Defense to conduct clinical trials of a drug to prevent cell damage in the event of nuclear attack…… Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear power a goer only in new nuclear weapons states

…….. the nuclear industry, at heart, is a military industry holding up a battered commercial facade.

Nowhere is this more true than in the new markets of China, Russia and India – nuclear weapons states -.

Old-tech nuclear power is not the answer * Scott Ludlam   The Australian * September 17, 2010 LET’S not expect a volatile, antiquated technology to solve any problems “…… All nuclear power stations are based on 1940s-era technology to build nuclear weapons. They are essentially plutonium factories, producing small quantities of plutonium while shedding vast amounts of heat.

In the 50s, Soviet and US engineers realised they could adapt these plants for power generation, hooking them up to steam turbines and promising electricity that was “too cheap to meter”. Now we have more than 400 of these hybridised weapons plants generating a shrinking fraction of electricity across the world. Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | , , , | Leave a comment

Mexico finding that gas is cheaper than nuclear power

Mexico Delays Decision on New Nuclear Plants as Gas Price Falls,  By Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) — Mexico, one of three Latin American nations that use nuclear power, is delaying by as much as two years a decision on building nuclear plants as lower natural-gas prices reduce the attraction of the alternative energy source…

…A final decision on whether to build new nuclear plants and the quantity will be based on cost-effective “technical” factors, including the outlook for gas prices, Kessel said……In the U.S., lower gas prices, combined with less demand for electricity because of the weak economy, has slowed investments in renewable-energy projects and may prevent expansion of nuclear energy, NextEra Energy Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lewis Hay said in a June 23 interview.

September 15, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, SOUTH AMERICA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Looks like Poland can’t afford AREVA”s (or anybody’s) nukes

“Poland’s nuclear target sounds a little bit tough to me as there are few financing opportunities out there right now,”

Analysis: Polish nuclear project faces further delays, By Patryk Wasilewski   Sep 14, 2010 WARSAW (Reuters) – Legal hurdles, funding problems and a lack of skilled workers will likely push Poland’s plans to build the country’s first nuclear power plant beyond 2022, further delaying the some 18-billion euro project…… Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE | , , , , | Leave a comment

In 15 years, America’s nuclear firms will be liable for accident costs!

Indians have little to gain from caving to U.S. pressure….nuclear electricity is still one of the most uneconomical ways for it to meet its near and mid-term power requirements……..

More important, domestic U.S. legal nuclear liability caps will sunset in 15 years and leave firms totally exposed in the case of a nuclear accident…….

India Unmasks America’s Nuclear Liabilities – WSJ.com, * SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 Private companies should insure themselves, not ask Delhi to do it for them. By HENRY SOKOLSKI

India’s parliament last week gave the U.S. nuclear industry the legal equivalent of a Bronx cheer: It passed a law that denied American firms legal immunity from being sued in the event of a nuclear accident. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, India, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s nuclear industry near death – begging for money

As renewables plummet in cost, and private financing stays nil, the nuclear industry is desperate to gouge billions from Congress for loan guarantees to build new reactors. Thus far, citizen activism has stopped them. But the industry is pouring all it has into this fall’s short session, yet again demanding massive new subsides to stay on life support

Is the “Nuclear Renaissance” Dead Yet?, HUFFINGTON POST, Harvey Wasserman: 13 Sept 2010, America’s much hyped “reactor renaissance” is facing a quadruple bypass. In actual new construction, proposed projects and overseas sales, soaring costs are killing new nukes. And the old ones are leaking like Dark Age relics on the brink of disaster. Continue reading →

September 14, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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