USA nuclear industry hanging out for State laws to subsidise uneconomic nuclear reactors
Two Federal Courts May Have Just Saved The Nuclear Power 
Industry, Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianpotts/2018/10/15/two-federal-courts-may-have-just-saved-the-nuclear-power-industry/#4802adfa762e, Brian H. Potts
States that want to keep their aging nuclear power fleet from retiring now have a court-approved roadmap for doing so. That’s because two federal courts of appeals last month upheld very similar state laws in Illinois and New York aimed at subsidizing those states’ under-performing and at-risk nuclear power plants.
The current market conditions are, quite literally, killing the nuclear power industry. With natural gas prices low and cheap renewable energy flooding the markets, it’s been virtually impossible for many nuclear power plants to compete.
Some view this as simply the market picking winners and losers. But others see this as a problem. To significantly lower this country’s greenhouse gas emissions, they argue, we’ll need baseload power (i.e., power plants that can run all of the time). And only three current large-scale power sources fit that bill: coal, natural gas, and nuclear. Of those three, only nuclear power can generate energy without carbon dioxide emissions. [ What a lie!!]
Yet in Illinois (and in most other states), nuclear energy does not qualify as a “renewable energy resource,” which means nuclear generation facilities are categorically ineligible to produce and sell renewable energy credits.
That’s why, in response to concerns that two of Exelon Corporations’ nuclear generation facilities were on the brink of closing and that the zero-emission value of nuclear generation was not being recognized, the Illinois legislature passed the Future Energy Jobs Act.
The Act directed the Illinois Power Agency to create a subsidy program requiring generators that use coal or natural gas to buy zero-emissions credits (ZECs) from nuclear power plants connected to the regional grid. The price of each credit was set at $16.50 per megawatt-hour, a number Illinois derived from a federal working group’s calculation of the social cost of carbon emissions. But, to ensure that the new program does not cause power prices to skyrocket, the price of ZECs under the program goes down if average annual energy prices on the market exceed a set cap.
Almost immediately, a group of generation facilities and consumers filed a lawsuit challenging the Illinois law. The group alleged, among other things, that the ZEC program invades the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) exclusive authority over the wholesale sale of electricity in the interstate markets.
Under the Federal Power Act, FERC has sole jurisdiction over the interstate sale of electricity at wholesale; yet states are authorized to regulate energy production within their borders, including the power plants that produce that energy.
The challengers in the case, called Electric Power Supply Association v. Star, argued that Illinois’ ZEC program went too far because it tied the price of ZECs to future wholesale market prices.
On September 13, 2018, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. “The zero-emissions credit system can influence the [market] price only indirectly,” according to the Court, because the value of a credit does not depend on the producer’s bid in the market.
Interestingly, at the Seventh Circuit’s request, FERC submitted a brief in the case, which argued that Illinois’ ZECs program was “not preempted” by the Federal Power Act because it does not expressly require generation facilities to participate in the FERC-regulated markets.
Exactly two weeks after the Seventh Circuit issued its decision, the Second Circuit issued a strikingly similar ruling in a case called Coalition for Competitive Electricity v. Zibelman.
Plaintiffs in the Zibelman case, a group of electrical generators and trade groups, also alleged that the Federal Power Act preempts New York’s ZEC program.
That program subsidizes three specific nuclear plants: FitzPatrick, Ginna, and Nine Mile Point, all of which are also owned by Exelon Corporation. Each of the plants under the New York program will obtain an additional $17.48 per megawatt-hour over the program’s first two years, and then the ZEC price every two years thereafter will be reset.
Brushing aside similar arguments from the challengers as the Seventh Circuit did, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on September 27, 2018 ruled that the ZEC program is not preempted “because Plaintiffs have failed to identify an impermissible ‘tether’ . . . between the ZEC program and wholesale market participation.”
Together, these two decisions won’t just save the specific nuclear power plants at issue. They may give a lifeline to the entire nuclear power industry.
Unless, of course, the U.S. Supreme Court decides to weigh in. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianpotts/2018/10/15/two-federal-courts-may-have-just-saved-the-nuclear-power-industry/#4802adfa762e
France to defend lawsuit over its Pacific nuclear tests- “accepted its nuclear legacy with serenity” (whatever that means!)
France to defend itself against nuclear tests complaint, France says it will defend itself against allegations of crimes against humanity for its nuclear weapons tests in the South Pacific. The overseas minister, Annick Girardin, made the comment in the senate two days after French Polynesian opposition politician Oscar Temaru told a UN meeting in New York that a complaint had been lodged in the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Ms Girardin said France would defend itself and restate the facts, adding that it accepted its nuclear legacy with serenity……..https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/368543/france-to-defend-itself-against-nuclear-tests-complaint
Plan to sue France over ‘crimes against humanity’ in nuclear tests in South Pacific
France sued for ‘crimes against humanity’ over nuclear tests in South Pacific https://www.dw.com/en/france-sued-for-crimes-against-humanity-over-nuclear-tests-in-south-pacific/a-45826054
France is being taken to the International Criminal Court for nuclear weapons tests in French Polynesia. France has long denied responsibility for the impacts of the tests and only recently began compensating civilians. France is being taken to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for carrying out nuclear weapons tests in French Polynesia, a Polynesian opposition leader announced on Tuesday.
Oscar Temaru, the archipelago’s former president and current leader of the Tavini Huiraatira Party, announced the move during a United Nations committee dealing with decolonization.
Temaru accused France of “crimes against humanity” and said that he hopes to hold French presidents accountable for the nuclear tests with the ICC complaint.
“We owe it to all the people who died from the consequences of nuclear colonialism,” he told the UN committee.
Maxime Chan from Te Ora Naho, an association for the protection of the environment in French Polynesia, told the UN that there had been 368 instances of radioactive fallout from the tests and that radioactive waste had also been discharged into the ocean — violating international rules.
Three decades of nuclear tests
The French territory, currently home to 290,000 people, is best known for the popular tourist island of Tahiti, but its atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa were used for decades for nuclear tests.
France carried out 193 nuclear weapons tests on islands in the archipelago between 1960 and 1996 until French President Jacques Chirac halted the program.
Around 150,000 military and civilian personnel were involved in France’s nuclear tests, with thousands of them later developing serious health problems.
France has long denied responsibility for the detrimental health and environmental impacts of the tests, fearing that it would weaken the country’s nuclear program during the Cold War.
In 2010, France passed a law allowing military veterans and civilians to be compensated if their cancer could be attributed to the nuclear tests. Out of approximately 1,000 people who have filed complaints against France, only 20 have been compensated.
MOX nuclear fuel plant in South Carolina “on life support”, following court case
Plans for jobs-rich but potentially deadly nuclear fuel plant on life support in SC https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2018/10/10/plans-nuclear-fuel-plant-south-carolina-life-support/1588238002/
In an afternoon ruling, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that had halted the U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to quit building the mixed oxide fuel factory after a decade of construction. The ruling Tuesday sets aside a June 7 preliminary injunction that had stopped government plans to halt construction.
The decision was a blow to advocates of the plant in South Carolina. Key politicians have pushed to keep building the project — known as MOX — because it will be a jobs provider and a way to get rid of surplus plutonium at the Savannah River Site weapons complex near Aiken. At one point, as many as 2,000 jobs were touted for the project.
S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson, who sued to force the government to keep building the plant, wasn’t happy with the ruling Tuesday. Wilson says failing to build the plant would mean plutonium, a deadly nuclear material, would be left in South Carolina.
While the ruling Tuesday lifts the injunction, Wilson’s lawsuit has not been decided.
“I’m disappointed in the Fourth Circuit panel’s decision,’’ Wilson said in a statement. “It is inconsistent with governing law and foreshadows the court’s opinion in the case. The state intends to vigorously contest the opinion when it is issued to protect the State’s interests and prevent the Department of Energy from turning the State into the dumping ground for plutonium.’’
Opponents of the plant, which is at least $12 billion over budget, said the court’s decision Tuesday could be the beginning of the end of the project. They say it is a waste of taxpayer money and is a dangerous way to get rid of surplus bomb-grade plutonium when other means are available.
The DOE, after years of pumping up the plant, now says it isn’t worth continuing. The project has been beset with delays and questionable workmanship.
“This is going to allow (the DOE) to start back up with termination,’’ said one of the project’s harshest critics, Tom Clements, who heads Savannah River Site Watch.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, a national environmental group that opposes MOX, issued a late afternoon statement praising the court’s decision.
Critics say a plutonium fuel factory isn’t necessary because there are other ways of disposing of excess weapons grade plutonium. The government has more recently proposed shipping much of the excess plutonium at SRS to a site in New Mexico.
“Using this type of facility to dispose of plutonium that is no longer needed for U.S. nuclear weapons increases the risk that this material could fall into the hands of terrorists,” according to an email from Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist with the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Although the order is only a temporary stay, it indicates that the court will likely rule against the South Carolina in favor of the DOE’s plan to terminate the MOX project and pursue a far superior alternative.”
Belgium plans to sue Google over its refusal to blur sensitive military sites and nuclear power plants
Google Faces Lawsuit In Belgium For Not Blurring Military Sites And Nuclear Power Plants On Maps, Gizmodo, Matt Novak Sep 29, 2018 Belgium plans to sue Google over the tech giant’s refusal to blur sensitive military sites and nuclear power plants on the company’s various mapping platforms. Military leaders in Belgium have not yet filed a formal complaint but confirmed to Reuters that they intend to sue……
US indicts seven Russians for hacking nuclear power firm Westinghouse
Westinghouse, which is located outside of Pittsburgh, provides fuel, services and plant design to customers, including Ukraine.
Three of the seven Russian military officers indicted on Thursday were charged in a separate case brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office for their role in hacking activities designed to influence the 2016 presidential election……..
In the indictment, prosecutors alleged that one of the Russian officers, Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov, performed “technical reconnaissance” of the company as early as Nov. 20, 2014, and got access to IP addresses, domains and network ports. The hackers also researched Westinghouse to learn about the company’s employees and their backgrounds in nuclear energy research.
In December, the Justice Department said, Yermakov and his co-conspirators registered a fake domain and website designed to mimic the company’s website and sent phishing emails to at least five employees. Once people clicked on the spoofed domain and provided their log-ins, they were rerouted to the original network.
On other occasions, according to the indictment, the conspirators also sent spearphishing emails to the personal emails of employees at Westinghouse. Two account users clicked on the malicious links.
The indictment does not clearly explain why Westinghouse was targeted or whether the hackers succeeded, and Justice Department officials declined to comment beyond the indictment.
Westinghouse did not immediately respond to a request for comment. https://www.france24.com/en/20181004-us-indicts-russians-hacking-nuclear-company-westinghouse
Hinkley radioactive mud case in court
Huffington Post 1st Oct 2018 A Cardiff court will play host to a group of activists on Tuesday, as theyfight for an injunction to stop 300,000 tonnes of “nuclear mud” from a
Somerset power station being disposed of just outside Cardiff.
supplier EDF are currently in the process of constructing two new nuclear
reactors. In order to drill the six shafts needed for the reactors, EDF is
clearing 300,000 tonnes of mud and sediment – and planning to dispose of it
just off the Welsh coast, on the Cardiff Grounds sandbank.
excited locals or environmental campaigners, but there’s another factor
causing added concern. For decades, Hinkley Point has been a nuclear power
hub, with its first station – “A” – operating for 35 years before
closing in 2000. Hinkley Point B was opened in 1976 and is still
functioning today.
over whether the mud there is radioactive and when the plans were
announced, various online petitions calling for the Welsh Assembly to look
into the matter were launched online, gathering a total of 100,000
signatures by mid-September. Keyboard player Cian Ciarán has become
something of a spokesperson for the campaign. His worries – shared by his
fellow campaigners – are centred on the validity of the tests carried out.
worry about but I can’t take the nuclear industry’s word for it,” he
told the paper. “The Welsh government has had ample opportunity to stop
it but they haven’t. They’ve put their heads in the mud rather than
sand.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/hinkley-point-c-super-furry-animals-mud_uk_5bb22f81e4b0c75759677a09
Grand Canyon uranium mining ban upheld by Supreme Court
Grand Canyon uranium mining ban upheld as supreme court declines to hear challenge
Court says extraction ban is among cases it refuses to review, in victory for environmental groups and Native American communities, Guardian, Joanna Walters in New York@Joannawalters13 2 Oct 2018 The ban on new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon implemented by the Obama administration was effectively upheld on Monday when the US supreme court declined to hear a challenge from the industry.
AREVA-ORANO corruption scandal – France’s taxpayers could face € 24.1 billion fine
Bad news for the french taxpayer Because, in the event of a lawsuit for corruption in the United States, the rule is that the amount of the fine covers the totality of the financial loss. Admittedly, the prosecutor could simply claim Areva $ 243 million corresponding to the amount of the acquisition of Ausra. But it can also very well demand the reimbursement of all the federal expenses incurred in the case, namely: the $ 7.7 billion invested in the MOX plant ever built, the $ 19.9 billion that will be swallowed up in the management of unprocessed plutonium and the 243 million of the Ausra acquisition, totaling nearly $ 28 billion, or, if you prefer, € 24.1 billion at the current rate.
Needless to say, since Orano does not have a penny in its pocket, the state should go to the cash register. The only way to avoid such a disaster, argue the jurists, would be that the French justice sanctions itself guilty.
AREVA BUSINESS: THE MONSTROUS FINE THAT THREATENS FRANCE ,https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-marches/affaire-areva-la-monstrueuse-amende-qui-menace-la-france-1308725 –(translation Noel Wauchope) THIERRY GADAULT 27/09/2018 The nuclear group could be fined 24 billion euros by the US justice in a corruption case in the United States. A file that could embarrass Anne Lauvergeon but also Edouard Philippe, at Areva at the time of the facts.
· Forget the scandal Credit Lyonnais 1990s and the 15 billion euros it has cost France. The Areva case is about to break all records. According to our information, the US justice discreetly warned the French authorities in early July that it could launch a trial for corruption against the former tricolor nuclear star. And that in case of conviction, the fine could go up to … 24 billion euros, the equivalent of one third of income tax revenue.
· Since then, Areva has been cut in three (since being acquired by EDF) and was renamed Orano, as if to give it a new start. Alas! Now that a possible corruption pact, concluded in 2010 by the company with leaders of the American Democratic Party, threatens to explode for good.
· A case that could also smirch the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, director of public affairs of Areva at the time.
“When, at the beginning of the year, I discovered the scale of this affair, I communicated with the director of the FBI all the information that I had been able to get my hands on”, Marc Eichinger revealed to Capital . This private investigator specializing in the fight against serious international crime and corruption is very aware of the case: it was he who wrote the report submitted in April 2010 to the security department of Areva to denounce the potential fraud related the redemption of Uramin three years earlier.
· Stunned by this new case of corruption in the United States, he also forwarded the whole file to French justice, causing a heating up of the investigation in a summer, already scorching. According to our information, the financial brigade, in charge of Areva’s sprawling affairs, recommended to the National Financial Office (PNF) to open a new instruction for “bribery of foreign public official and trading in influence”. But at the beginning of September, when we wrote these lines, the PNF had still not followed these recommendations.
At the heart of this new scandal, which has not yet erupted in the United States, the conditions in which Areva acquired, in February 2010, is Ausra, an American startup specializing in solar energy. Continue reading
Court action over planned shutdown of Savannah River Site’s MOX project.
WJBF 26th Sept 2018 , A Federal Appeals Court is set to discuss, Thursday, the future of SavannahRiver Site’s MOX project. In a letter sent to a Texas congressman and
filed in court documents, the National Nuclear Security Agency says it
agrees with the decision made by Energy Secretary Rick Perry to stop the
project.
the matter was never considered when Secretary Perry issued the directive
to end MOX earlier this year.
last week that would effectively cut MOX down from over $300-billion to
$220 billon…which is the exact amount of funds it would take to close the
incomplete project safely and in a timely manner.
https://www.wjbf.com/news/south-carolina-news/future-of-savannah-river-site-s-mox-facility-to-be-discussed-in-court/1477008484
UK: Greenpeace legal action against building of Wylfa Newydd B nuclear reactor.
Wylfa no2nuclearpower, 7 Sept 18
Plans to clear a site to build a new £12bn nuclear power station have been approved despite strong opposition. Horizon Nuclear Power will now start the 15-month process to clear an area measuring just over a square mile (740 acres) to build the new Wylfa Newydd B reactor.
U.S. Appeals Court upholds New York program to subsidize nuclear plants
Federal court upholds New York program to subsidize nuclear plants, Washington Examiner, by Josh Siegel, September 27, 2018 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on Thursday upheld the legality of New York’s program that props up struggling nuclear plants to provide electricity without carbon dioxide emissions.
The court said the state subsidy program does not interfere with the power that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has over wholesale electricity markets, as charged by other electricity suppliers who filed suit, including the Electric Power Supply Association.
The three-judge panel acknowledged that New York’s program would keep nuclear plants alive, and raise costs for competitors, but said those effects were “incidental.”
……..The ruling comes a few weeks after the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upheld a similar policy in Illinois………
FERC has filed amicus briefs in the cases affirming the programs do not preempt the agency’s legal authority set by the Federal Power Act.
Critics say the programs bailout failing nuclear plants in the state, that are struggling to compete with lower cost natural gas and renewables.
The Trump administration is considering a bigger, widely contested plan, on a national scale, to require grid operators to buy power from a select list of coal and nuclear plants.
Environmentalists cheered the state court rulings as a signal that courts consider states to have broad power to set clean energy goals, and to impose policies to achieve them. For example, many states have renewable portfolio standards requiring generators to obtain more and more of their electricity from clean sources.
“The 2nd Circuit’s decision rejecting a challenge to [New York’s] ZEC program may be narrowly covered as a decision affecting nuclear resources, but the much bigger reason it is major news is because it eliminates legal uncertainty for states in designing clean energy programs,” said Miles Farmer, a clean energy attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a Twitter post. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/federal-court-upholds-new-york-program-to-subsidize-nuclear-plants
Kavanaugh Confirmation Fight Has Consequences for Climate Law
|
The Supreme Court could hear cases related to the EPA’s climate obligations and other environmental issues, Scientific American, By Mark K. Matthews, E&E News on September 27, 2018
If Senate Republicans plow ahead and confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the longtime jurist could have near-term impact on a slew of environmental cases. Among the disputes the high court has agreed to hear this fall: a case that pits villagers from India against the World Bank in a fight over a coal plant. If the villagers prevail, it could have worldwide economic and political repercussions. Several other climate-related issues have a decent shot, too, of getting a future date with the Supreme Court, including one closely watched fight—the “kids’ climate case”——that makes the far-reaching argument that the government must take action on global warming so as not to imperil future generations. Kavanaugh—currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit—would replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired in July after three decades of service and dozens of landmark decisions. Kennedy was often a swing vote on the ideologically divided court, and he played a key role in several major environmental cases. There’s a lot at stake for domestic and international efforts to address climate change. Here are five brewing legal fights in which the future justice could play a role. ……..https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kavanaugh-confirmation-fight-has-consequences-for-climate-law/ |
|
|
Japan’s push for nuclear energy – court allows a reactor restart, but other legal actions are pending.
Japan Court Allows Nuclear Reactor to Reopen in Boost to Abe’s Energy Push, Bloomberg, By Stephen Stapczynski and Chisaki Watanabe, September 25, 2018,
Shikoku Elec.to restart Ikata No. 3 reactor on October 27 Government seeks to restore industry after Fukushima disaster
A Japanese court paved the way for the nation’s ninth nuclear reactor to restart, boosting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to bring dozens of plants back online following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
The Hiroshima High Court on Tuesday removed a temporary injunction against Shikoku Electric Power Co.’s Ikata No. 3 reactor, the company said in a statement. While the injunction ordered in December would end this month — meaning the utility could have restart the plant from Oct. 1 — the ruling is a symbolic victory for the government, which has often seen the courts stymie efforts to accelerate nuclear restarts.
Policy makers are seeking to restore the nation’s nuclear industry amid efforts to reduce reliance on costly fossil-fuel imports and cut carbon emissions. The battle in Japan over nuclear power has moved mostly to the courts, which have been used by groups opposed to the technology to keep plants shut. Seven of the nation’s 39 operable nuclear units are currently online, while one is under planned maintenance.
…….. There are roughly three dozen lawsuits pending against Japan’s nuclear facilities and the decision in favor of the utility may have some influence on future rulings, according to Datsugenpatsu Bengodan, a group of lawyers who oppose nuclear power. A nationwide survey by Mainichi Newspaper in February show the restart of nuclear reactors was opposed by almost half of the respondents, while about a third of them approved.
Last year, in a separate case, a Japanese high court overturned an injunction in place since March 2016 that barred Kansai Electric from operating two reactors at its Takahama facility in western Japan. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-25/japan-court-rules-shikoku-electric-can-restart-nuclear-reactor
Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge is now open, but radiation fears remain.
1 This Month
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com/
29 Jan. Thursday 7-8 p.m. Webinar – World’s Largest Nuclear Station in Port Hope, ON?
31st January – Challenging the War Machine – a DECLASSIFIED UK SUMMIT
Website of the Week
Now until to February 10, 2026 Radioactive waste storage in France: the debate is finally open! How to participate?
-
Archives
- January 2026 (271)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (258)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
- May 2025 (261)
- April 2025 (305)
- March 2025 (319)
- February 2025 (234)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 