business and costs « nuclear-news

UK Property prices slump where nuclear reactors planned

Cumbrian property prices hit by nuclear power station plans News & Star By Julian Whittle Political Editor 02 February 2010 Proposals for nuclear power stations at Braystones and Kirksanton in west Cumbria are causing “property blight”, Cumbria County Council believes…….. Continue reading →

February 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, reactor, reactors | Leave a comment

Time to shut down Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor

Former Yankee co-owner says shut it down: Times Argus Online By DANIEL BARLOW VERMONT PRESS BUREAU January 29, 2010 MONTPELIER – One of the former co-owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant called on lawmakers Thursday to vote this year against continued operation of the troubled Vernon reactor beyond 2012. Continue reading →

January 30, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Price of uranium staying down

The term uranium market was even quieter, with no new demand or transactions reported in the term market last week.

Uranium Continues Its Retreat ninemsn Money 27/01/2010 By Andrew Nelson With only a handful of deals reported last week, the uranium spot price continued its new year retreat. Industry consultant TradeTech’s U3O8 Spot Price Indicator showed a decline of US$1.25/lb to US$42.50/lb over the course of last week…………….

It is the discretionary nature of current demand that is encouraging sellers to further discount their material in an effort to generate some turnover. However, the continuing trend of discounting is making a major contribution to the downward pressure on the consultant’s Spot Price Indicator…………

without any real demand currently present in the market, the consultant expects spot uranium prices will remain soft in the weeks ahead.

The term uranium market was even quieter, with no new demand or transactions reported in the term market last week…..the conversion and enrichment markets were similarly quiet last week, with no new activity reported.

Uranium Continues Its Retreat

January 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

Dim future for nuclear industry in Florida

Are dark days ahead for nuclear energy in the sunshine state Florida regulators slam on the brakes over rate increases Idaho Samizdat Nuke Notes 26 Jan 2010

The two major nuclear utilities in Florida, Progress Energy (NYSE:PGN) and Florida Power & Light (FPL) (NYSE:FPL), came away Jan 13 from a meeting with the Public Service Commission (PSC) with a lot less than they asked for to build new nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

January 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Is the tide turning against nuclear power?

Nuclear power licensing requests flood federal offices McClatchy By Judy Pasternak | Investigative Reporting Workshop 24 Jan 2010
“………..But is the tide turning again? David Matthews, who oversees safety reviews, got an unexpected call last February. A vice president of Exelon, the Illinois utility, told Matthews to put his company’s application for a new project in Victoria County, Texas, on ice. Continue reading →

January 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Waste problem unsolved, but US to pour money into new nukes

Lobbying, global warming portend nuclear comeback

McClatchy By Judy Pasternak | Investigative Reporting Workshop January 24, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration soon may guarantee as much as $18.5 billion in loans to build new nuclear reactors to generate electricity, and Congress is considering whether to add billions more to support an expansion of nuclear power.

These actions come after an extensive decade-long campaign in which companies and unions related to the industry have spent more than $600 million on lobbying and nearly $63 million on campaign contributions, according to an analysis by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University………… Continue reading →

January 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

UK tax-payer might have to fund new nuclear power

there was no guarantee that government will not have to step in at some point to help pay for the construction and decommissioning costs……..

UK new nuclear build will not get government subsidies The Energy Collective 22 jan 2010 Taxpayers off the hook for cost of new plants The British government will not use taxpayers’ money to subsidize the construction of new nuclear power plants, Philip Hunt, (right) minister of state at the Department of Energy and Climate Change said Jan 21. Continue reading →

January 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

Revival of the nuclear industry too costly

(USA) Fortunately, there are viable alternatives to nuclear power, including efficiency, wind, biomass and geothermal, which are not only more environmentally friendly and cheaper, but could be built much more quickly and at much lower risk to investors and taxpayers. And recent changes in the long-term outlook for U.S. natural gas supplies make nuclear power look even more uneconomical.

Nuclear Power: Too Costly to Revive Is nuclear power a solution we can afford? The short answer is no.

GreenTech Media Elliott Negin 01 21 10

“…..Even discounting nuclear power’s security and safety problems, the cost of construction could be the industry’s Achilles’ heel…….the industry has benefited from considerable federal and state government subsidies that mask the true cost of the technology, including staggering capital costs and the risk of catastrophic accidents, by shifting these burdens onto taxpayers and ratepayers. The industry is now seeking to shift even more costs and risks onto the public as part of pending climate and energy legislation. In 2005, Congress authorized $60 billion in loan guarantees for new energy technologies. Of that amount, the Department of Energy (DOE) allocated $18.5 billion for new nuclear plants. But the industry wants more — a lot more. The Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s lobbying arm, says it needs a “permanent financing platform” to provide the industry a minimum of $100 billion in additional loan guarantees on top of the billions it already has been allocated. Continue reading →

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | 1 Comment

South Korea’s push to lead in nuclear reactor sales

South Korea Making Major Nuclear Power Plant Push in Middle East ONLINE BUSINESS NEWSPAPER January 20, 2010 EIN PRESSWIRE/ South Korea and its corporations are making major inroads in the Middle East to build nuclear power plants in the region. Continue reading →

January 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, South Korea | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment

Sarkozy focused on promoting France’s nuclear sales

President Nicolas Sarkozy is hoping to use France’s nuclear expertise as a platform to project the country’s political and economic influence around the world

Areva and EDF spat shows nuclear tensions FT.com By Peggy Hollinger: January 19 2010 There has always been some sniping between EDF and Areva, France’s two state-owned nuclear champions…..

Yet there was a degree of hostility in the latest round of guerrilla warfare that was surprising even to the most hardened observers of the two companies. Continue reading →

January 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Doubts on future for Taiwan nuclear plant

Doubt cast on new nuclear plant Taiwan News Central News Agency By Chou Pin-chun and Elizabeth Hsu Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) The Automatic Energy Council (AEC) , the highest authority of nuclear power management in Taiwan, has expressed doubt that the newly built Fourth Nuclear Power Plant can start full operations in late 2011 as scheduled, a spokesman for the council said Tuesday…………… Hsu, however, also pointed out that the planned schedule for full operations could be delayed by many factors, including possible glitches in the digital control equipment and generators.

Doubt cast on new nuclear plant – Taiwan News Online

January 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Taiwan | Leave a comment

France has always been secretive about nuclear power costs

it is hard to say how successful the French were. The French national utility, Électricité de France, has never been open about what the plants cost to build.

A Nuclear Critic Draws a Lesson from France’s Success The New York Times January 19, 2010 By MATTHEW L. WALD

A new statistical analysis of an almost-secret topic — what it costs to build nuclear reactors in France — may have some lessons for a “nuclear renaissance” in the United States. Continue reading →

January 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment

Florida nuclear project slowing down

Progress: Expects Slower Schedule For Florida Nuclear Project – WSJ.comNEW YORK (Dow Jones) 19 Jan 2010 -Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) said it expects to slow down the schedule of a nuclear power plant it is planning in Florida, following a recent decision by state regulators not to increase electricity rates.Executives from the company said they are looking to slow down and spread out spending on a dual-reactor nuclear power plant in northern Florida’s Levy County. Continue reading →

January 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

France’s nuclear industry: AREVA and EDF locked in dispute

Bitter row throws French nuclear industry into turmoil Times Online January 18, 2010 Adam Sage, Paris

The French nuclear industry is in turmoil as uranium supplies have dried up and the treatment of spent fuel has been blocked amid an increasingly bitter row between the heads of its two main state operators.

EDF, the electricity group that runs 58 reactors in France, said that Areva, the nuclear energy group, had stopped uranium deliveries on January 4 and was refusing to take away spent fuel for reprocessing.

”The transport of combustibles isn’t working at the moment,” Anne Lauvergeon, the chairwoman of Areva, said. Continue reading →

January 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, climate change, France | antinuclear, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Future uncertain for USA’s nuclear industry

US govt says loans for nuclear plants complicated REUTERS Jan 15, 2010 Loan guarantees may be enough for only 2 new reactors
* Chu says reactors can store spent fuel on site 50 years

* Utilities should not complain about waste storage costs

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Friday that the process for approving federal loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants has become “complicated,” Continue reading →

January 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment