Congress Restricts Russian Uranium Imports, Unlocks $2.7 Billion for Domestic Fuel
Rifka Handelman, MAY 08, 2024, https://ww2.aip.org/fyi/congress-restricts-russian-uranium-imports-unlocks-2-7-billion-for-domestic-fuel
The bill allows the energy secretary to issue waivers but aims to wean the U.S. off Russian nuclear fuel.
Legislation that restricts imports of unirradiated low-enriched uranium (LEU) from Russia is now headed to the president’s desk after the Senate passed it by unanimous consent last week.
The restriction will take effect 90 days after the president signs the legislation, which is expected to occur.
The act allows the secretary of energy to issue waivers for imports up to certain limits if there is no other viable source of LEU available. As of 2022, U.S. civilian nuclear power plants collectively sourced about 12% of their uranium from Russia.
Once the restriction is in place, the Department of Energy is permitted to spend up to $2.72 billion to support domestic production of LEU and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is a more concentrated fuel intended for use in prospective advanced reactors.
Congress allocated these funds through the final appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2024 but made them contingent on the U.S. restricting imports of Russian uranium.
The funds will specifically go toward implementing the Nuclear Fuel Security Act, which aims to expand U.S. capacity to make HALEU fuel and ensure there is a reserve of uranium that can sustain U.S. reactors in the event of supply chain disruption.
Israel carpet bombs Rafah after Hamas accepts ceasefire proposal, key border crossing with Egypt seized
The Cradle, Tue, 07 May 2024 https://www.sott.net/article/491214-Israel-carpet-bombs-Rafah-after-Hamas-accepts-ceasefire-proposal-key-border-crossing-with-Egypt-seized
An Israeli official said on 7 May that Tel Aviv is carrying out a “limited” operation in Rafah after Israel announced taking control of the southernmost city’s border crossing with Egypt.
This is a “limited operation,” the official told the Times of Israel. “It is being implemented to pressure Hamas” into accepting a ceasefire proposal.
CNN also cited a source saying that the “limited Israeli operation into Rafah is intended to keep pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal.”
Comment: Is this ‘limited operation’, apparently consisting of cowardly airstrikes, because even Israeli officials have admitted that, after their failed ground invasion in Gaza, to attempt the same in Rafah would likely be a ‘disaster‘ for the IDF?
srael announced Tuesday morning that it seized Gaza’s side of the Rafah border crossing.
“IDF forces led by Division 162 began a targeted activity to thwart terrorist targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in East Rafah; As part of the operation, the forces gained operational control over the Rafah crossing on the Gaza side, following intelligence information about terrorists using the crossing for terrorist purposes,” an army spokesman said.
Video footage on social media showed Israeli tanks at the Rafah crossing. The army had begun moving towards the crossing on Monday evening.
The launch of the operation at the crossing was accompanied by heavily intensified Israeli bombardment of Rafah, which has been under continuous Israeli airstrikes for weeks.
The UN warned on 7 May that the Israeli operation at the Rafah crossing poses a threat to aid deliveries into Gaza.
Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, is desperately overcrowded with over one million besieged Palestinians, most of whom were displaced from other places of the strip throughout the war. Israel claims the city is Hamas’ final stronghold and its key to victory in the war, and has for months been promising to invade the city.
Hundreds of Palestinians began fleeing the besieged city on 6 May.
The storming of Rafah came a day after Hamas informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it had accepted an updated proposal for a truce and prisoner exchange agreement. The resistance group had major issues with a previous Egyptian-drafted initiative that failed to guarantee a permanent ceasefire, an end to the war, and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The proposal approved by Hamas includes three 42-day phases, the Deputy Head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, told Al Jazeera, adding that the proposal would see “the complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, the return of the displaced, and a [prisoner-exchange deal].”
“The proposal includes in its second phase the direct announcement of a permanent cessation of military and hostile operations,” the Hamas official said, adding that “the ball is now in the court of the Israeli occupation.”
Sources in Israel told Hebrew Channel 13 on 6 May that Hamas has agreed to a “modified” Egyptian proposal that is “unacceptable” to Israel.
An Israeli official told AP on 4 May that Israel remains committed to attacking Rafah and will not accept a deal that includes an end to the war.
Venezuela loses its last glacier as it shrinks down to an ice field
Scientists reclassify Humboldt glacier, also known as La Corona, after it melted faster than expected
Neelima Vallangi, 8 May 24
Venezuela has lost its last remaining glacier after it shrunk so much that
scientists reclassified it as an ice field. It is thought Venezuela is the
first country to have lost all its glaciers in modern times. The country
had been home to six glaciers in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida mountain
range, which lies at about 5,000m above sea level. Five of the glaciers had
disappeared by 2011, leaving just the Humboldt glacier, also known as La
Corona, close to the country’s second highest mountain, Pico Humboldt.
France’s mini nuclear reactor plan – Nuward, gets another financial handout from the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) has approved, under European Union (EU) state
aid rules, a €300m ($320m) French measure to support Electricité de
France’s (EDF) subsidiary Nuward in researching and developing small
modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). The EC said the measure will contribute to
the achievement of the strategic objectives of the European industrial
strategy and the European Green Deal.
France notified to the Commission its
plan to grant €300m to Nuward to support its research and development
(R&D) project on SMR technology. The project aims to develop processes for
the design and construction of SMRs based on a simple and modular design
and with a power output equivalent to or less than 300 MWe. The front-end
design is the third phase of the overall Nuward project, which contains
five distinct phases.
In December 2022, the Commission already approved a
€50m French measure to support the second phase of the project, aimed at
acquiring new knowledge for the design and construction of SMRs. The aid
will take the form of a direct grant of up to €300m that will cover the
R&D project until early 2027. The measure will support Nuward in sizing the
modules and components of the SMRs and validating their integration in the
SMRs by means of numerical simulators and laboratory tests. Nuward will
also carry out industrialisation studies relating to the modular design and
mass production of SMRs. Finally, the measure will also support Nuward in
the preparation of the required safety demonstrations for the approval of
the project by the national nuclear safety authorities.
Nuclear Engineering International 1st May 2024
https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newseuropean-commission-approves-state-aid-for-nuward-smr-11725920
Hinkley Point C: New public inquiry planned over environmental impact
New saltmarshes could be created to mitigate the power station
Somerset Live, By Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter, 8 May 24
The environmental impact of Somerset’s new nuclear power station will be the subject of a new planning inquiry which could be held in the next 18 months. Around 11,000 people are currently working at the Hinkley Point C construction site near Stogursey, with this number expected to rise to 12,000 in the coming months.
EDF Energy secured planning consent for the power station back in 2013, with construction beginning three years later – a consent which include a number of measures to offset the environmental impact of the new facility. The company is seeking to make a number of changes to the agreed measures, which will require the approval of the Planning Inspectorate – resulting in a new public inquiry where residents can have their say.
The new inquiry was confirmed in a recent report by Councillor Ros Wyke, Somerset Council‘s portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets. She said: “EDF Energy is proposing to make some material (and non-material) changes to the development consent order (DCO) for the Hinkley Point C project.
“As a DCO, any material changes will need to be authorised by the relevant secretary of state. EDF Energy expect to submit proposals to the secretary of state in the spring of 2025.
“This is likely to result in a public examination, which would begin by the autumn of 2025.” DCOs are detailed planning consents which are issued by central government for major infrastructure projects, such as the dualling of the A303 between Podimore and Sparkford.
EDF is proposing to make the following changes to the current DCO:
- Removing the need to install an acoustic fish deterrent in the Bristol Channel
- Providing ecological mitigation to counter the potential loss of fish stocks from this deterrent – taking the form of new saltmarshes near the River Parrett
- Changing the agreed interim spent fuel store from a wet store to a larger dry
store…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Councillor Leigh Redman, who is standing for Labour in the new Bridgwater constituency, said that he had serious concerns about the saltmarshes proposal, including how effective it would be given the other environmental factors at play. Mr Redman (who represents the Bridgwater North and Central division on the council) said: “The Bristol Channel and Severn estuary are hugely important habitats for species including salmon and eel.
“According to the government’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, between 18 and 46 tonnes of fish could be lost a year if the acoustic fish deterrent plan is abandoned. Saltmarshes are vulnerable to erosion caused by factors, such as stormy conditions, wave action, and human activities, particularly in this area of the tidal River Parrett.
“This erosion can lead to habitat loss and a decrease in the protective function of the marsh against flooding and coastal erosion. I really do feel that we must listen to local people that know their area.
I feel that this particular element of the mitigation needs much more thought before any decision can be made, particularly in this area of the Parrett.” Councillor Claire Sully – who is standing for the Liberal Democrats in the same constituency – has been fighting against the new saltmarshes as part of the Save Pawlett Hams campaign.
The action group held a ‘Run the Hams’ event on Sunday (May 5) to raise awareness of the issues, following a ‘Rock the Hams’ concerns held at Pawlett Pavillion at the end of April. Ms Sully – who represents the Mendip South division on the council – claimed that the new nature reserve would cost up to £50m to deliver, arguing the acoustic fish deterrent was “essential” to preventing damage to the Severn estuary.
………..Pawlett Hams is well known in aquatic beetle circles and the EDF proposals would certainly lead to a serious diminishing of freshwater aquatic biodiversity for little seeming biodiversity gain, and a huge loss of fish from the Severn estuary.
“Other wildlife that could be lost include great crested newts, water voles in the ditches, and hares.” The Planning Inspectorate will confirm the precise dates of the public inquiry once EDF has formally submitted its plans to alter the DCO for the power station.
Hinkley Point C is currently expected to be operational by 2031, following EDF’s announcement in January 2023 that it would not meet its then-target date of 2027.
https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/hinkley-point-c-new-public-9268906
—
Sizewell C in Suffolk granted nuclear site licence
Campaigners ‘appalled’ as French energy company EDF gets go-ahead for next stage of project
Jillian Ambrose, 8 May 24, https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/07/sizewell-c-suffolk-granted-nuclear-site-licence-edf
A planned nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk has been granted the first site licence in more than a decade as investors and government officials race to finalise a deal for the multibillion-pound project this year.
The licence from the nuclear regulator is considered a milestone for EDF, which plans to build Sizewell C as a replica of its Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, which has been dogged by delays and cost overruns.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has granted only two site licences to build new nuclear plants in more than 35 years: the first for Hinkley Point C in 2012, and the second for Sizewell.
It was granted as EDF works to reach a final investment decision on the Sizewell C project by the end of this year, depending on a government framework to finance the project and fresh investment to cover its construction costs.
EDF holds just under 50% stake in the project, while the UK government holds just over 50%. They are searching for further investment after EDF’s partner at Hinkley Point, China’s CGN, was barred from the successor project over security concerns.
Mina Golshan, a director at Sizewell C, said the licence was a “show of confidence” from the UK’s nuclear regulator that the company had a suitable site and was ready to begin large-scale construction work on a safe design replicated from Hinkley Point C.
“It’s a huge milestone and demonstrates that this project is firmly on track,” Golshan said.
EDF has blamed inflation, Covid and Brexit for a four-year delay and cost overruns at the Hinkley Point C site. It believes that by learning the lessons from Hinkley it will be able to build Sizewell C in about nine years.
Mark Foy, the ONR chief nuclear inspector and its chief executive, said the licence was granted after “extensive engagement and review” by the ONR team and would allow the regulator to take greater regulatory oversight and challenge the company as it progressed its plans.
“The licensing process is fundamental in confirming that operators of a nuclear site are ready and able to meet their obligations under the nuclear site licence, to protect their workforce and the public,” Foy said.
A group campaigning against the nuclear plant, Stop Sizewell C, said it was “appalled that a nuclear site licence has been issued when matters critical to the future safety of the site remain unresolved.
“There isn’t even a final design of the sea defences, which will be necessary to keep this vulnerable site safe for the next century and a half, at the very least. This seems to us like kicking the can down the road, on the assumption that some future generation will be able to clear up the mess,” the group said.
Government asks Genkai mayor to accept site survey to host nuclear waste
Industry minister Ken Saito has asked the mayor of the town of Genkai in Saga Prefecture to accept a so-called literature survey, as part of the process for selecting a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants.
Saito sought understanding from Genkai Mayor Shintaro Wakiyama at a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, saying that “the literature survey is not directly connected to the selection.”
Last month, the Genkai town assembly approved a petition submitted by local business groups asking for the literature survey request to be accepted.
“I’m torn between the town assembly’s decision and my thinking,” Wakiyama told reporters after the meeting with Saito. The mayor said that he will make a decision by the end of this month.
A literature survey is the first of three stages in the selection process for disposal sites, and involves the condition of geological strata being examined on paper, based on maps and other data.
So far, a literature survey has been accepted only by the town of Suttsu and the village of Kamoenai, both in Hokkaido.
For a literature survey to be conducted, a local government must apply for or accept a central government request.
Fusion reactors could create ingredients for a nuclear weapon in weeks.
Concern over the risks of enabling nuclear weapons development is usually focused on nuclear fission reactors, but the potential harm from more advanced fusion reactors has been underappreciated
By Alex Wilkins, 8 May 2024
Fusion reactors could allow a country to accelerate its development of nuclear weapons, producing the necessary radioactive ingredients in as little as a few weeks.
Nuclear weapons need specific radioactive isotopes, normally uranium-235 or plutonium-239, that can be easily split and start a chain reaction. This so-called fissile material is rare in nature, but can be produced artificially by a source that produces a lot of neutrons, such as a nuclear fission reactor of the kind in use today.… (Subscribers only) more https://www.newscientist.com/article/2430012-fusion-reactors-could-create-ingredients-for-a-nuclear-weapon-in-weeks/
Report: Private US Security Firm To Take Control of Rafah Border Crossing!
This is an outrage!! The US is in this war!!
According to Haaretz, Israel, Egypt, and the US have agreed on the plan
by Dave DeCamp May 7, 2024, https://news.antiwar.com/2024/05/07/report-private-us-security-firm-to-take-control-of-rafah-border-crossing/
Haaretz reported on Tuesday that the US, Israel, and Egypt have agreed that control of the Rafah border crossing that connects Egypt and Gaza will be handed over to a private American security firm.
The report came after Israel captured the border crossing in an operation that was approved by the Biden administration. The private American firm was not named, but Haaretz said that it employs veterans of elite US Army units and has been employed in several Middle Eastern and African countries to guard sensitive sites.
State Department spokesman Matt Miller was asked about the report and said he wasn’t aware of any plan for Israel to transfer control of the border crossing.
Under the reported arrangement, American mercenaries would take responsibility for overseeing the border crossing, which would include monitoring goods coming into Gaza and preventing Hamas from taking control. Vital deliveries have been cut off since Israel took control of the crossing early Tuesday.
The Haaretz report said the arrangement was part of an effort by Israel to “win agreement” from the US and Egypt for a Rafah operation. The report said Israel had given assurances that it would limit its attack on Rafah to securing the border crossing, although Israeli bombs have been pounding the city.
Students Demanding Divestment: You’re on the Right Side of History
SCHEERPOST, By Marjorie Cohn, May 7, 2024
Note: The following are remarks I delivered on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at the 55-year reunion of the Stanford University antiwar movement, in which I participated. On April 3, 1969, an estimated 700 Stanford students voted to occupy the Applied Electronics Laboratory (AEL), where classified research on electronic warfare was being conducted at Stanford. That spawned the April Third Movement (A3M), which holds reunions every five to 10 years. The sit-in at AEL, supported by a majority of Stanford students, lasted nine days. Stanford moved the objectionable research off campus, but the A3M continued with sit-ins, teach-ins and confrontations with police in the Stanford Industrial Park.
his reunion comes at an auspicious time, with college campuses erupting all over the country in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Once again, 55 years later, Stanford students are rising up for peace and justice. They have established a “People’s University” encampment and they are demanding that Stanford: (1) explicitly condemn Israel’s genocide and apartheid; (2) call for an immediate ceasefire, and for Israel and Egypt to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza; (3) immediately divest from the consumer brands identified by the Palestinian BDS National Committee and all firms in Stanford’s investment portfolio that are complicit in Israeli war crimes, apartheid and genocide.
At this moment in history, there are two related military occupations occurring simultaneously – 5,675 miles apart. One is Israel’s ongoing 57-year occupation of Palestinian territory, which is now taking the form of a full-fledged genocide that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians. The other is at Columbia University, where the administration has asked the New York Police Department to occupy the school until May 17. Both occupations are fueled by the Zionist power structure. Both have weaponized antisemitism to rationalize their brutality.
The students at Columbia are demanding that the university end its investments in companies and funds that are profiting from Israel’s war against the Palestinians. They want financial transparency and amnesty for students and faculty involved in the demonstration. Most protesters throughout the country are demanding an immediate ceasefire and divestment from companies with interests in Israel. More than 2,300 people have been arrested or detained on U.S. college campuses.
Israel has damaged or destroyed every university in Gaza. But no university president has denounced Israel’s genocide or supported the call for divestment.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement was launched in 2005 by 170 Palestinian civil society organizations who described BDS as “non-violent punitive measures” to last until Israel fully complies with international law………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
On April 3, 1969, 700 Stanford students voted to occupy the Applied Electronics Laboratory (AEL), where classified research on electronic warfare was being conducted at Stanford. That spawned the April Third Movement (A3M), which holds reunions every five to 10 years. The sit-in at AEL, supported by a majority of Stanford students, lasted nine days. Stanford moved the objectionable research off campus, but the A3M continued with sit-ins, teach-ins and confrontations with police in the Stanford Industrial Park. https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/07/students-demanding-divestment-youre-on-the-right-side-of-history/
Ghent students occupy university building in climate and Gaza protest
More than 200 expected to join protest calling for climate action and to cut ties with Israeli institutions
Arthur Neslen, Tue 7 May 24 https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/06/ghent-students-occupy-university-building-in-climate-and-gaza-protest
More than 100 students have occupied Ghent University in the first European protest to fuse demands about Gaza and the climate crisis.
Ghent’s centrepiece UFO building was peacefully taken over by students calling for concrete action to meet the university’s 2030 climate plans, and asking the university to cut ties with institutions connected to the Israeli military.
Tents were erected inside the building, which contains all of the university’s administrative functions. Its 1,000-seater “guillotine wall” lecture hall was given over to an impromptu workshop on “how we can find hope in a world full of genocide and global warming”.
More than 200 Ghent students were expected to join the three-day protest as anger rose ahead of an expected Israeli assault on Rafah, while students at Amsterdam University also staged an occupation.
A spokesperson for the Ghent students who gave her name as Joelle said their action had grown out of an occupation last year by End Fossil Gent, and student rage over events in Gaza. A joint mobilising leaflet with Gent Students for Palestine used the theme of “free Palestine is a climate justice issue”.
“We realised that both our struggles were against the university’s failure to commit to values they claim to hold,” Joelle said.
“We can see that the struggle for Palestine is also a struggle for climate justice. The Israeli occupation force is committing an ecocide in Gaza, destroying all elements of life and nature.
“Israel’s settler ‘green colonialism’ destroys indigenous land and plants non-indigenous trees over ethnically cleansed villages.
“There are also issues of toxic pollution by settlers and the allocation of water and land. The two struggles are interconnected so climate activists are in solidarity with us on Palestine, and we realise that this is also a climate issue. Our demands go hand in hand.”
An open letter from the students says they want the university to publish a time-linked action plan for cutting ties with what they call “Israeli institutions complicit in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”.
Ghent University has links to a number of Israeli institutions that are said to provide “material” support to the war in Gaza or Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
Tel Aviv University, with which Ghent has most partnerships, has drawn particular ire from students due to its role in Israel’s defence against genocide charges at the international court of justice in The Hague, and its academic support for soldiers in Gaza.
Equally, the students want “effective and binding action” to urgently implement the university’s 2030 climate transition plans, which they say would mean putting sustainability goals at the heart of budgetary and educational decisions.
Ghent University is committed to becoming progressively fossil fuel free, cutting its energy consumption by 2.5% each year and becoming climate neutral by 2050.
It also has a policy to achieve 80% “sustainable mobility” by 2030, in part by boosting bicycle infrastructure on campus. But students say that too little has been done.
The university did not respond to a request for comment but its director, Rick Van de Walle, posted a statement saying it had decided that its ethical policies would not change and that “no deviation from the existing human rights policy will be used with regard to one particular country, in this case Israel”
Biden Gave Netanyahu the Green Light To Capture Rafah Crossing
Axios reports that Biden and Netanyahu discussed the plan on Monday
by Dave DeCamp May 7, 2024 https://news.antiwar.com/2024/05/07/biden-gave-netanyahu-the-green-light-to-capture-rafah-crossing/
President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Israel’s plans to capture the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza before the Israeli military launched the operation, Axios reported on Tuesday.
The report said that the operation didn’t cross Biden’s “red line,” although it’s unclear if the US has actually set red lines for Israel. US officials have said they’re opposed to a “major operation” in Rafah since it would incur huge civilian casualties. But the capturing of the border crossing will have a devastating impact on civilians since it cut off vital aid deliveries, and it’s unclear when or if they will resume.
A senior Israeli official told Axios that during the call with Netanyahu, Biden didn’t “didn’t pull the hand break on the capture of the Rafah crossing during the call.” Two US officials said Biden didn’t view the current Israeli operations as a “breaking point” in relations.
On Tuesday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the US was not opposed to the operation.
“We’ve been very consistent about our concerns of a major ground operation in Gaza that would put at great risk the refugees that are still there, and nothing’s changed about that,” Kirby said. “The Israelis have told us … that that’s not what this is.”
He said that Israel assured the US that the operation was “of limited scope, scale, and duration, and aimed at cutting off Hamas’ ability to ship arms across the Rafah border.”
Israeli tanks and soldiers took the border crossing as Israeli strikes pounded the city of Rafah, killing at least 23 Palestinians, including five women and six children.
Climate change: World’s oceans suffer from record-breaking year of heat
Fuelled by climate change, the world’s oceans have broken temperature
records every single day over the past year, a BBC analysis finds. Nearly
50 days have smashed existing highs for the time of year by the largest
margin in the satellite era. Planet-warming gasses are mostly to blame, but
the natural weather event El Niño has also helped warm the seas. The
super-heated oceans have hit marine life hard and driven a new wave of
coral bleaching. The analysis is based on data from the EU’s Copernicus
Climate Service. Copernicus also confirmed that last month was the warmest
April on record in terms of air temperatures, extending that sequence of
month-specific records to 11 in a row.
BBC 8th May 2024
12 years behind schedule, EDF’s Flamanville 3 nuclear plant gets regulatory approval for trial period
Electricite de France SA got regulatory approval to start up its new
nuclear reactor 12 years behind schedule after the utility faced
construction problems ranging from concrete weakness to faulty pipe welds.
The green light for commissioning of the Flamanville 3 nuclear plant
located in Northwestern France allows EDF to load the fuel in the reactor,
proceed with trials, then begin operations, the Autorite de Surete
Nucleaire said in a statement on Tuesday.
Further approvals will be
required when reaching key milestones during the trial phase, the regulator
added said. Once connected to the grid, the 1.6-gigawatt plant called a
European Pressurized Reactor will join EDF’s fleet of 56 reactors in
France, which accounted for about two-thirds of the country’s power
production last year.
Bloomberg 7th May 2024
How long does it take to build a nuclear reactor? We ask France
Sophie Vorrath, May 8, 2024, https://reneweconomy.com.au/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-a-nuclear-reactor-we-ask-france/
A short answer to this question might be, it depends who you ask. Ask Australia’s Opposition leader Peter Dutton, for instance, and he will tell you a federal Coalition government under his leadership could have a nuclear power plant up and running in Australia within a decade.
Ask the highly experienced French state-owned nuclear power giant EDF, which manages 56 reactors in the world’s most nuclear dependent country, and you would get rather a different answer.
Bloomberg reports that EDF this week got regulatory approval to start up its newest nuclear reactor, the 1.6GW Flamanville plant in France’s north west – a milestone that is 12 years behind schedule and more than four times over budget, thanks to a range of construction problems including concrete weakness and faulty pipe welds.
The green light allows EDF to load the fuel in the reactor, proceed with trials, then begin operations, the Autorite de Surete Nucleaire said in a statement on Tuesday. Further approvals will be needed upon reaching key milestones during the trial phase, the regulator said.
According to other reports, EDF said last month it hoped to connect the Flamanville pressurised reactor to the national grid by the European summer and reach full power by the end of the year.
But it will not be smooth sailing from there. A faulty vessel cover still needs replacing at the plant, with reports suggesting this has been pushed out to 2026, when the plant would be shut down for up to a year.
Meanwhile, EDF in March raised its cost estimate for the construction of six new nuclear reactors to €67.4 billion ($A102.5 billion), Reuters has reported, up from the company’s first estimated their cost of €51.7 billion.
So, how long does it take to build a nuclear reactor?
Kobad Bhavnagri, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s energy expert and global head of strategy says the long delay and cost blowout at Flamanville 3 is not an isolated incident.
“Very similar delays and multifold cost blowouts have occurred with recent reactor builds in the UK, Finland and USA,” Bhavnagri writes on LinkedIn.
“Countries with well established nuclear industries.
“The lesson here? Don’t believe anyone who says they know how much it will cost and how long it will take to build a new nuclear plant (unless they are in China).”
1 This Month
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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