Burdened by the failure of AREVA, Electricite De France struggles for survival
French Mastery of Nuclear Power at Stake in U.K. Reactor Project, Bloomberg Francois De Beaupuy March 4, 2016
-
EDF faces dilemma of whether to proceed with $26 billion plant
-
Unions argue for a delay because company’s future is `at risk’
Electricite de France SA, the world’s largest operator of nuclear power plants, is stuck in a multibillion-dollar quandary that will shape its future.
Going ahead with new EPR atomic plants in the U.K. would strain the limits of its balance sheet as slumping electricity prices across Europe reduce cash flow. Dropping the Hinkley Point venture in southwest England would further damage the image of a new French-designed reactor, already tarnished by delays and cost overruns at projects elsewhere…….
The EPR reactor design from French nuclear group Areva SA was once a symbol of the nation’s engineering prowess. EDF’s former Chief Executive Officer Pierre Gadonneix predicted it would sell “like hotcakes” around the world. Project setbacks and the safety fears following the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011 stymied those plans, while a flood of competing energy supplies from solar and wind has left one of the nation’s most important industries in distress. - The two 1,600-megawatt plants at Hinkley Point would cost about 18 billion pounds ($26 billion), with China General Nuclear Power Corp. paying for a third. Standard & Poor’s is threatening to downgrade EDF’s credit rating if the U.K. project, which has been planned for more than eight years, goes ahead……
- EDF shares, 85 percent of which are owned by the French state, have lost as much as 89 percent of their value since peaking in 2007 and hit a record low on Feb. 25. French year-ahead wholesale electricity prices dropped 60 percent over the same period…….
-
Areva Burden
Areva has complicated matters for EDF, accumulating 5.5 billion euros of losses on the construction of an EPR in Finland that’s already seven years late. Areva was due to take 10 percent of Hinkley Point, with EDF taking 45 percent to 50 percent and two Chinese partners holding the remaining 40 percent. As Areva’s finances worsened, it withdrew, forcing EDF to raise its stake to 66.5 percent. To make matters worse, EDF was called to rescue Areva by the French government by taking a majority stake in its troubled reactor unit.
EDF has its own problems with the EPR it’s building in Flamanville. Costs have more than tripled to 10.5 billion euros and construction is now six years behind schedule. The French nuclear watchdog has expressed concerns about the strength of the reactor vessel, forcing EDF and Areva to conduct tests to prove its safety.
“EDF is vulnerable to events over which it has no control: falling power prices following deregulation, and the balance sheet knock-on impact from Areva’s financial troubles,” said Adam Dickens, an analyst at HSBC Holdings Plc, in a March 1 report.
The company is borrowing money to pay its dividend and plans to sell assets to finance new developments. It cut annual operational expenditures by 300 million euros, or 1.4 percent, last year and plans to reduce them by a further 700 million euros by 2018. On Feb. 16, it reduced its estimate for how much it will spend to extend the life of its French reactors by 5 billion euros to 50 billion euros.
“Risks are way too high, ” Francis Raillot, a representative of the CFE-CGC union at EDF, said on Feb. 29. “We want the final investment decision to be delayed. The future of the company is at stake.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-03/french-mastery-of-nuclear-power-at-stake-in-u-k-reactor-project
This year, France will close Fassenheim, its oldest nuclear power station
France’s oldest nuke plant ‘to close this year’ , The Local 7 Mar 16, France is to close down its oldest nuclear power plant, at the centre of a row with neighbouring Germany and Switzerland, by the end of this year, a green minister said Sunday.
- Germany demands France shut old nuclear plant (04 Mar 16)
- Swiss sue French over ‘dangerous’ nuclear plant (03 Mar 16)
”The timeline is one the president has repeated to me several times, it’s2016,” said Emmanuelle Cosse, who was named to President Francois Hollande’s cabinet last month, referring to the Fassenheim plant.
Cosse was speaking to French media after a row sparked Friday when Germanydemanded that France close down Fassenheim following reports that a 2014 incident there was worse than earlier portrayed……..
On Sunday, Cosse said that to reach its target, the government would have”to close other nuclear plants, other reactors, obviously, over several years.”
Hollande named Cosse, a member of the French Greens Party (EELV), housingminister as part of a reshuffle seen as a bid to broaden his appeal ahead of a re-election bid next year. http://www.thelocal.fr/20160306/frances-oldest-nuke-plant-to-close-this-year
Japan’s tax-payers up for $100bn bill for Fukushima disaster
Japan taxpayers foot $100bn bill for Fukushima disaster, Ft.com Robin Harding in Tokyo 7 Mar 16 The Fukushima nuclear disaster has cost Japanese taxpayers almost $100bn despite government claims Tokyo Electric is footing the bill, according to calculations by the Financial Times.
Almost five years after a huge tsunami caused the meltdown of three Tepco reactors by knocking out their supply of power for cooling, the figure shows how the public have shouldered most of the disaster’s cost.
It highlights the difficulty of holding a private company to account for the immense expense of nuclear accidents — a concern for countries such as the UK that are building new nuclear power stations.
The Financial Times used Ritsumeikan University professor Kenichi Oshima’s estimate that the disaster has cost Y13.3tn ($118bn) to date relative to the loss of equity value for Tepco shareholders.
“The underlying cost is mainly being paid by the public, either through electricity bills or as tax,” said Mr Oshima.
Japan’s government gives no single figure for the cost of the disaster, but Mr Oshima estimates the biggest cost to date is compensation to businesses and evacuees of Y6.2tn, followed by decontamination of the Fukushima area at Y3.5tn, and decommissioning of the reactor site at Y2.2tn.
Cash for compensation and decommissioning comes from Tepco but it gets grants from the government to keep it solvent. In theory, this cash will come back via a levy on Tepco and other nuclear operators — but this is ultimately be paid by electricity users, making it a tax by another name…….http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/97c88560-e05b-11e5-8d9b-e88a2a889797.html#axzz42AZmNd2J
Japan’s nuclear industry remains in crisis, as criminal prosecution of Tepco executives proceeds
TEPCO Prosecution: A Sign That Japan’s Nuclear Industry Is in Free Fall http://thediplomat.com/2016/03/tepco-prosecution-a-sign-that-japans-nuclear-industry-is-in-free-fall/ The criminal prosecution of TEPCO is another step in the process to end nuclear power in Japan. By Shaun Burnie March 04, 2016 The decision this week to indict executives of Japan’s largest energy utility, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), for their failure to prevent the meltdown of three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi is a major step forward for the people of Japan.
The fact that this criminal prosecution is taking place at all is a vindication for the thousands of citizens andtheir dedicated lawyers who are challenging the nation’s largest power company and the establishment system. It is a devastating blow to the obsessively pro-nuclear Abe government, which is truly fearful of the effects the trial will have on nuclear policy and public opinion over the coming years.
For the eight other nuclear power companies in Japan, including their executives, the signal is clear – ignore nuclear safety and there is every prospect that when the next nuclear accident happens at your plant you will end up in court. For an industry that disregarded safety violations and falsified inspection results through its entire existence, the prosecution of TEPCO will be shocking.
But it would be naive to think that profound behavioral change will inevitably follow. In fact, in the five years after the accident, Japan’s nuclear industry has not just failed to learn the lessons of the accident, it is still actively ignoring them. In the three years since nuclear plant operators applied to restart their shutdown nuclear fleet, the evidence shows that when it comes to nuclear safety the bottom line is not safety, but money.
Leaving aside the inherent risks of another severe nuclear accident, the new safety agency in Japan, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) is overwhelmed, incapable and inadequate.
Back in 2008, TEPCO produced an internal report that predicted a maximum credible tsunami of 15.7 meters, but continued to insist that it would not reach the nuclear plant at Fukushima, which sits at a height of 10 meters. The cooling pumps for the reactor cores and spent fuel pools were located at just four metres above sea level.
Historical evidence that a major tsunami would impact the eastern Pacific coast of Ibaraki, Fukushima and Miyagi was well known. Modelling suggested that the next major tsunami was overdue and would inundate the coastal plain about 2.5 to 3 km inland. In 2009, Japanese nuclear regulators questioned the vulnerability of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors to a large-scale tsunami and asked TEPCO to “consider” concrete steps against tsunami waves at the plant. TEPCO responded: “Do you think you can stop the reactors?”
This relaxed attitude is not just limited to TEPCO. In recent weeks, Kyushu Electric informed the NRA that the emergency seismic proof isolation building that they committed to build by March of this year would not be built after all, despite being a condition to secure approval to restart the two Sendai reactors. The NRA expressed its disappointment, but the Sendai reactors restarted in August and continue to operate.
At the Takahama nuclear plant, owned by Kansai Electric the NRA admitted in the last month that they do not know if the reactors comply with fire safety regulations requiring essential electric safety cabling to be adequately separated and protected.
The loss of safety cable function sounds mundane, but the risks are considered more severe than all other failures at a nuclear plant combined. Without electricity, vital safety systems do not work and control of the reactor is lost. A severe accident at Takahama would threaten millions of residents of Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and the wider Kansai region.
Nonetheless, the NRA granted Kansai Electric an exemption to avoid delaying restart. Takahama reactor-3 resumed operation in late January, while Reactor 4 at Takahama resumed operations for less than three days before shutting down again on 29 February due to an electrical failure.
These examples are the tip of the atomic iceberg that threatens the next nuclear disaster in Japan. With three reactors now operating, the industry remains in crisis. Having sat on idle assets for the last few years, the utilities are desperate to resume operations, while the nuclear obsessed Abe government is happy to support them. It’s time to put people first.
Nuclear power is a financial disaster which will only get worse as the electricity market opens to new suppliers and renewable energies out-price them. And the vast majority in Japan realize this: 60 percent of Japanese are opposed to the phase-in of nuclear, and there are more than 300 lawyers fighting reactor by reactor to prevent restart on behalf of citizens. At this rate, the Abe government and the nuclear industry will never see the target of 35 reactors restarted by 2030.
The criminal prosecution of TEPCO, long in coming, is another step in the process to end nuclear power in Japan and for a transformation of its energy system to renewables.
Shaun Burnie is a nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Germany, currently working as part of a Greenpeace radiation survey team in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Fukushima
The horrendous truth about just how big a mess nuclear corporation EDF is in
EDF’s leaked Board Agenda: Zombie nuclear projects and ‘beyond the grave’ reactors http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/Blogs/2987305/edfs_leaked_board_agenda_zombie_nuclear_projects_and_beyond_the_grave_reactors.html Jonathon Porritt 29th February 2016 
French nuclear parastatal EDF is facing problem after problem – zombie nuclear projects in the UK, Finland, China and France, a fleet of ‘beyond the grave’ reactors, a dropping share price and its drooping credit rating. But is it really as bad as all that? Jonathon Porritt has exclusive access to the leaked Agenda of its latest board meeting. And the answer is – no. It’s even worse.
You seriously wouldn’t want to be a Director of EDF at the moment. The agenda for an average Board Meeting must be seriously gloomy on each and every occasion.
And thanks to an EDF mole (and to judge by the number of leaks to the French press and the UK’sFT there’s a lot of them) I can now state this as fact, not mere opinion.
An annotated copy of the Agenda items for their last meeting on 16th February mysterious showed up in my email today, helpfully summarised byAlexandre Perra, EDF’s Executive Committee Secretary.
Item 1: Existing EPR construction projects
1.1 Olkiluoto (Finland)
Continuing, horrendous cost overruns, leading to ongoing legal stand-off with Finnish partners. Already delayed by seven years, but (hopefully!) could be finished by 2018.
1.2 Flamanville (France)
Continuing, horrendous cost overruns. Already delayed by nine years, but (hopefully!) could be finished by 2018.
1.3 Taishan (China)
Serious problems with both reactors under construction, but, this being China, everything’s shrouded in secrecy. WARNING: This could be much worse than we currently understand.
1.4 Pressure vessels
Still waiting for final safety assessment from French regulators. WARNING: There could be really serious problems here, despite our best efforts to ‘work with’ the regulator.
1.5 Deadlines/UK Treasury
These deadlines are now CRITICAL – as in EXISTENTIAL.
UK Treasury’s loan guarantees are linked to Flamanville operating successfully. And if it is not working properly by 2020, loan guarantee will be completely withdrawn.
Item 2: New reactors at Hinkley Point, Somerset
2.1 Final investment decision
Postponed again – for the eighth time. Still unable to raise the €23.3bn (£18bn), despite our Chinese backers agreeing last year to provide one-third of the total sum, and despite the UK Government offering all but limitless subsidies.
CAUTIONARY NOTE: The true cost is of course much closer to €31 (£24.5bn) taking into account both the cost of construction and the costs of finance. This has been recognised by the EU Commission.
Have just released new announcement: construction will now not start until 2019. We should know by then whether the EPR will ever produce any electricity, with Olkiluoto and Flamanville both due to come on stream in 2018.
2.2 Media strategy
Must keep up a good front: have blamed the latest delay on the Chinese New Year. Crucial that CEO maintains the line: “We estimate the investment decision is very close.”
‘Stop Hinkley Point’ protesters occupied our offices in Bridgewater yesterday. Need to handle with care. Negative coverage increasing all the time, and people have started to talk about our ‘zombie reactors‘ at Hinkley Point.
Regrettably, our cohort of ‘green ambassadors’ (led by renowned UK environmentalist George Monbiot) has fallen silent. Very few advocates now for EPR. Even the FT has now joined the ranks of the critics stating “Politically painful it may be, but the case for halting Hinkley Point C is becoming hard to refute.”
Item 3: Extending the life of our UK reactors
3.1 Some good-ish news: we’ve negotiated extensions for four of our eight reactors in the UK: Heysham 1 and Hartlepool, through to 2024, and Heysham 2 and Torness through to 2030. There will be a significant financial outlay here, which has not yet been properly accounted for, but still relatively ‘small beer’ (as the English say) when looking at our overall finances.
3.2 The longer we keep these reactors ticking over, more or less safely, the better it will be. As soon as they come offstream, all the liabilities associated with decommissioning kick in. Reminder to the Board: managing our rising liabilities is now our most critical priority!
Item 4: Extending the life of our French reactors
Current operating fleet: 58 reactors. The Board has already signed off on a major life extension programme, with an estimate of €55bn of costs. Recent external assessments have put total costs at €100bn. Crucial to hold the line in the media at €55bn. In reality, we have no idea what the total outlay will be.
Item 5: Energy Transition Law (France)
5.1 This now represents A MAJOR RISK, with a direct mandate from our principal shareholder (the French Government) that the country must reduce its dependence on nuclear generation from 75% to 50% of total electricity demand by 2025.
5.2 The Cour des Comptes (state Audit Office) has just issued a new report challenging our long-held expectation that demand for electricity in France will continue to grow significantly through to 2025. If they are right, the energy transition law will mean:
- Worst-case scenario: 20 reactors (35% of the fleet) will need to close.
- Best-case scenario: 17 reactors (29% of the fleet) will need to close.
5.3 Lobbying relevant Ministers and Prime Minister to amend the Energy Transition Law now a TOP PRIORITY.
tem 6: Financial position
- Current share price: down 50% on January 2015 position.
- Current market cap: €22.5 (symbolically and very uncomfortably, less than the total projected costs of the Hinkley Point project).
- Our €37bn net debt load also dwarfs our €18.5bn market capitalisation.
- Current credit rating still at risk. Standard & Poors and Moody’s both looking wobbly.
- Growing concern about perceived splits on the Board, especially as regards increasingly forceful hostility from our Trade Union representatives to Hinkley Point.
Merde alors! And now the FT reports that they have two EDF sources telling them that the final investment decision will be delayed until 2017! Nous sommes trahis! It will be soon! Very very soon! Call security!
The Champagne has lost its fizz
See what I mean? Not exactly a cheery occasion, even with the best of French lunches, and it must be a bit like that Board meeting after Board meeting.
So now shift the focus to London, to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Imagine for a moment the Permanent Secretary, metaphorically shitting himself as the single biggest element in the UK’s future electricity supply slides, slowly but ever more inexorably, down the pan. Wouldn’t he just love to get access to the (real) Minutes of EDF’s Board meetings!
The implications of all this for the UK couldn’t possibly be more severe. Initially, Hinkley Point was meant to be on stream by 2025, generating a whacking great 7% of total electricity supply. Earlier delays meant that this had already slipped to 2030. Now that the start date has slipped again, to 2019, at the earliest, that 2030 date looks insanely optimistic.
And that’s just the start. EDF’s meltdown at Hinkley Point is already having a significant knock-on impact on other would-be nuclear prospects in the UK – with Horizon, NuGen and even China General Nuclear Corporation beginning to get cold feet.
If Hinkley Point does go down the pan, a project that has been given every conceivable financial inducement by both the UK and the French Government, who the hell is going to invest in different but equally dodgy reactor designs?
If the Permanent Secretary isn’t shitting himself about such a state of affairs, one has to ask where he’s getting his metaphorical Imodium from.
Jonathon Porritt is Co-Founder of Forum for the Future, and a writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. He is also Trustee of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, and is involved in the work of many NGOs and charities as Patron, Chair or Special Adviser.
This blog was originally published on Jonathon’s website.
The Suspected Syrian Nuclear Reactor
Red Teaming Nuclear Intelligence: The Suspected Syrian Reactor, Council on Foreign Relations by Micah Zenko March 1, 2016 In former CIA and NSA director Gen. Michael Hayden’s new memoir,Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, he describes the case of Al Kibar, in which Israeli officials informed the United States in 2007 about a building under construction in Syria that they thought was a nuclear reactor. Hayden writes, “Then we gave the data to a red team, dedicated contrarians, and directed they come up with an alternative explanation. Build an alternative case as to why it’s not a nuclear reactor; why it’s not intended to produce plutonium for a weapon; why North Korea is not involved.” (p. 258)
For the full story of the red teaming of Al Kibar, read this excerpt from my book—based upon interviews with senior Bush administration officials—Red Team: How to Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy.
Red teaming is not only about using a devil’s advocate to scrutinize and challenge day-to-day operations. For institutions facing a significant decision, red teaming may also be a one-time effort. We can see how a properly administrated red team can help ensure that a crucial decision is the right one by studying the following example found in recent national security decision making.
In April 2007, Israeli national security officials surprised their American counterparts by informing them about a large building under construction at Al Kibar in a valley in the eastern desert of Syria. In oneon- one briefings, the Israeli officials provided dozens of internal and external color photographs dating back to before 2003. The evidence strongly suggested that the building was a nuclear reactor, remarkably similar to the gas-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor in Yongbyon, North Korea. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert then delivered his request to President George W. Bush: “George, I’m asking you to bomb the compound.”………http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2016/03/01/red-teaming-nuclear-intelligence-suspected-syrian-reactor/
Big win for Rouhani and Reform in Iran elections
While gains by moderates and reformists in Friday’s polls were most evident in the capital, where they won all Tehran’s 30 seats according to early results, the sheer scale of the advances there suggests a legislature more friendly to the pragmatist Rouhani has emerged as a distinct possibility.
A loosening of control by the anti-Western hardliners who currently dominate the 290-seat parliament could strengthen his hand to open Iran further to foreign trade and investment following last year’s breakthrough nuclear deal.
A reformist-backed list of candidates aligned with Rouhani was on course to win all 30 parliamentary seats in Tehran, initial results released on Sunday showed. Top conservative candidate Gholamali Haddad Adel was set to lose his seat.
“The people showed their power once again and gave more credibility and strength to their elected government,” Rouhani said, adding he would work with anyone who won election to build a future for the industrialised, oil-exporting country.
“The competition is over and the phase of unity and cooperation has arrived,” state news agency IRNA quoted his key ally, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as saying. “The time after elections is the time for hard work to build the country”.
There was silence from the conservative camp.
The polls were seen by analysts as a potential turning point for Iran, where nearly 60 percent of its 80 million population is under 30 and eager to engage with the world following the lifting of most sanctions…..http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rouhani-and-reformers-wins-big-in-first-irans-post-nuclear-deal-election_us_56d2e76ce4b0bf0dab326d46
Radioactive leak – but Japanese nuclear reactor still to restart
Japan nuclear reactor to resume operations despite radioactive leak. UPI.com By Elizabeth Shim TOKYO, Feb. 25 –– A Japanese nuclear power plant reactor that had shown signs of radioactive leaks is to resume operations.
Takahama nuclear power plant’s No. 4 reactor is scheduled to return online Friday, the Asahi Shimbun reported, following the return of two reactors at the Sendai plant in southern Japan, and the resumption of operations at the Takahama plant of reactors No. 1, 2 and 3. The No. 4 reactor was suspended in July 2011 after a regular inspection and is returning online after four years and seven months.
But prior to the announcement, the plant’s parent company Kansai Electric Power had said 36 quarts of contaminated water had been found in a structure next to the No. 4 reactor……….Reactors No. 1 and 2 at Takahama have been operating for more than 40 years. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/02/25/Japan-nuclear-reactor-to-resume-operations-despite-radioactive-leak/6581456422419/
New Canadian govt still backs nuclear industry
She was speaking on behalf of Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr yesterday.
The federal government has asked for more information about the planned underground nuclear waste storage site in Kincardine before giving final approval…….https://blackburnnews.com/midwestern-ontario/midwestern-ontario-news/2016/02/26/federal-support-confirmed-for-nuclear-industry/
Gloom in USA nuclear industry: claim they’re ignored in Clean Power Plan
Nuclear industry bemoans Clean Power Plan stay, Power Source, February 23, 2016 For an industry that said it was ignored by the Clean Power Plan, nuclear interests sure took it hard when the Supreme Court halted the rule earlier this month.
Existing nuclear power plants didn’t get any credit for being the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the country, advocates said. There are no direct incentives built into the rule to subsidize new nuclear plants or keep existing ones from retiring early, as more than half a dozen have done or plan to do.
And yet, when the Supreme Court stayed the rule while its merits are hashed out in a lower court, it sent shockwaves through the industry that was counting on the states’ compliance plans to give nuclear energy the credit that the federal government didn’t…….
Across the country, five nuclear plants have already shut down or been put on the early retirement list…..
the nuclear renaissance that the industry banked on, that federal nuclear regulators staffed up for, didn’t happen. ….
Trouble brewing in South Africa over nuclear energy programme
Storm brewing over nuclear energy programme, My Broadband, 23 Feb 16 A storm that has been brewing over the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy programme and PetroSA could erupt, reports News24. By News24 Wire – February 23, 2016 A storm that has been brewing over the Department of Energy’s (DoE) nuclear energy programme and PetroSA could erupt at its portfolio committee meeting on Tuesday, after Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson snubbed the session last week.
“Tomorrow’s (Tuesday) committee meeting will present the minister with a real opportunity to deliver on her promise of transparency and provide the South African public much needed and vital information on South Africa’s proposed nuclear deal,” according to Democratic Alliance MP Gordon Mackay on Monday.
Last week, the committee asked Joemat-Pettersson to explain the implications of President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation (Sona) address in which he cautioned that the country would “only procure nuclear on a scale and pace that our country can afford”.
“The minister, who arrived an hour late, dodged addressing the issue by saying she is going to be part of a parliamentary debate on Wednesday and couldn’t pre-empt this in a portfolio committee meeting,” according Liz McDaid, spokesperson for environmentalist group Safcei.
“The chair then promised that the committee would hear what the minister planned to do given Sona and also for her to account for her own parliamentary comments,” she said. “This is all meant to take place on Tuesday 23rd”.
During her Sona debate on February 17, Joemat-Pettersson said the country had to go nuclear because of the water situation in the country.
“We simply have to go the nuclear route,” said Joemat-Pettersson, “because we don’t have enough freshwater. Koeberg recycles 22bn litres of seawater, while Medupi (coal-fired) power station uses 17bn litres of freshwater.”
Gordon, who heads up the DA’s energy portfolio, told Fin24 that the committee has been clear.
“We want all pertinent documentation relating to SA’s proposed nuclear new build programme,” he said. “Specifically, the Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Programme (an assessment of SA’s readiness for civil nuclear expansion), all financing options and economic impact assessments.”
“Without these documents any decision to proceed with nuclear must be seen to be irrational,” he said.
McDaid said Parliament has failed to hold Joemat-Pettersson to account. “At one stage, the chair told the public that there would be a discussion on the nuclear deal, but it never happened,” she said. “Then last year, the minister arrived at the meeting with a classified document, which could not be discussed.”
Nuclear train steams ahead
“At the end of last year, during the budget review process, the DoE failed to account for Necsa (SA Nuclear Energy Corporation), which did not report and asked to be exempt from reporting to parliament.”
“Necsa has major liabilities for its failure to address nuclear contamination,” she said. “There is no information on the extent of the contamination, the amount of the liability and the timeline to fix this. Now Necsa is saying that the government must pay and that it is not liable.
“Despite the lack of the accountability, the nuclear train steams ahead.”…….. http://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/156097-storm-brewing-over-nuclear-energy-programme.html
USA Presidential candidates: their policies on nuclear power
Here’s Where The 2016 Candidates Stand On Nuclear Power ANDREW FOLLETT, The Daily Caller 21 Feb 16 Energy and Environmental Reporter “……..Here’s a breakdown of what all the major presidential candidates think about nuclear power:Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: The former Secretary of State claimed to be “agnostic about nuclear power” in the 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate. As a result, she rarely directly discusses nuclear energy, though one of her campaign fact sheet claims she favors “advanced nuclear,” which requires “expand[ing] successful innovation initiatives, like ARPA-e, and cut those that fail to deliver results.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders: The Vermont senator vehemently opposes nuclear power. He opposes the construction of new nuclear reactors “when we do not know how we get rid of the toxic waste from the ones that already exist.” Sanders’ campaign website states “Bernie has called for a moratorium on nuclear power plant license renewals in the United States.”
Donald Trump: The real estate mogul has made strong public statements supporting nuclear power, but tends to favor further development of natural gas.
In the aftermath of the 2011 Japan Fukushima nuclear disaster, Trump told Fox News “nuclear is a way we get what we have to get, which is energy.”
The permitting process for nuclear power needs to be reformed, Trump nuclear is a way we get what we have to get, which is energy.”
The permitting process for nuclear power needs to be reformed, Trump explained. He qualified this statement saying “we have to be careful” because nuclear power “does have issues.” Trump specified that he favored the development of natural gas over nuclear energy in the same interview: “we’re the Saudi Arabia times 100 of natural gas, but we don’t use it.”
Sen. Ted Cruz: The Texas senator has not said much about nuclear power, and also lacks a substantive voting record on the issue.
Cruz’s website states he wants an “all-of-the-above” energy approach that adopts “an energy plan that embraces the Great American Energy Renaissance.” It does not specifically mention nuclear energy. Cruz has also repeatedly stated he opposes all energy subsides.
Cruz’s campaign declined comment to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Sen. Marco Rubio: The Florida senator has received praises for his energy policy. The National Review claimed “Rubio has the best and most serious energy plan” last November. Rubio also has a history of supporting nuclear energy.
Rubio’s campaign website says he will help nuclear power by “modernizing regulations and permitting processes will help develop both traditional and alternative energy sources and encourage energy diversity.”
When Rubio was running for Senate in 2010, his campaign website stated he supported “a comprehensive energy plan that encourages nuclear energy.” The Senator also wrote in a 2006 that “[c]lean, safe nuclear energy is another promising option to diversify Florida’s energy portfolio.”
Gov. John Kasich: As Ohio’s governor, Kasich hasn’t said much on nuclear energy, but is a firm supporter of green energy mandates that benefit solar and wind power.
Kasich has been embroiled in a fight with his own party over Ohio’s green energy mandate. Republican state legislators have threatened to gut a law mandating Ohio get 25 percent of its power from green energy by 2025. Kasich threatened to veto any legislative efforts that tamper with his green energy goals.
The Kasich campaign did not respond to request for comment.
Dr. Ben Carson: Not only is Carson a famed neurosurgeon, but he’s also a strong supporter of nuclear power.
“I think it is a huge mistake that we are not developing the next generation nuclear power plants faster,” Carson wrote in an August Facebook post. ……..
need to figure out how to build them with even more safety and expedite the process to lower the cost of construction. As I have said here before, we need to ignite the fire of the American economy and low-cost power is a critical ingredient to gaining a rebirth of manufacturing jobs in this country.”
Former Gov. Jeb Bush: Florida’s former governor is a strong supporter of nuclear power. Bush authored a pro-nuclear power opinion piece in a Florida newspaper in 2008, and was a member of the pro-nuclear Clean and Safe Energy Coalition. As governor, Bush encouraged the use of federal funds for nuclear cleanup. http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/20/heres-where-the-2016-candidates-stand-on-nuclear-power/#ixzz40pvjfPza
Japanese govt Environment Minister’s blunder over nuclear radiation
Sex, Graft, Racism and Radiation: Japan’s Political Year of Scandals Isabel Reynolds IsabelRTokyo Takashi Hirokawa February 19, 2016 —For three years, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration has seemed immune to the scandals and gaffes that helped cut short his first term as premier in 2007 after less than a year. That may have changed with a recent spate of blunders……..
Minister says ‘biased’ broadcasters can be shut down
Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi told a parliamentary committee this month that the government could order broadcasters to suspend operations if they ignore official warnings to ensure political neutrality.
Opposition Democratic Party lawmaker Soichiro Okuno said in a blog entry that such pressure would prevent freedom of reporting, and local media also criticized her comments. Government spokesman Suga defended Takaichi, saying her remarks were “a matter of course.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-18/sex-graft-slaves-and-radiation-abe-hit-by-slew-of-scandals
Former television news anchor Marukawa, 45, apologized and withdrew the comments, but has rejected calls for her resignation…… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-18/sex-graft-slaves-and-radiation-abe-hit-by-slew-of-scandals
Britain’s nuclear project Hinkley Point C staggers again
U.K.’s Nuclear Project Falters Again http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/uks_nuclear_project_falters_again_20160219 Feb 19, 2016 By Paul Brown / Climate News Network This Creative Commons-licensed piece first appeared at Climate News Network.
LONDON—The future of the nuclear industry in Europe took another blow this week when the French state-owned power company EDF again postponed a final decision on whether to build two large nuclear power stations in the UK. Construction will now not start before 2019, the company said.
This is the eighth time a “final investment decision” on building two European Pressurised Water Reactors (EPRs) has been postponed because the company has still to secure enough backing to finance the £18 billion (€23.26 bn) project.
The excuse this time was that the Chinese New Year celebrations had held up negotiations with the Chinese backers, who have agreed to put up one-third of the money.
Preparation of the site at Hinkley Point in the west of England was stopped last year while EDF sought partners for the project. Each time there has been a postponement the company has issued a statement saying it remains “fully committed” to building two 1,650 MW reactors (1 MW is enough to power 750-1,000 average US homes).
Decision close
This week was no different. “We have the intention to proceed rapidly with the investment decision for Hinkley Point,” EDF’s chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy told reporters. Adding that EDF had not yet finalised talks with its Chinese partners, he said: “Today we estimate this final decision is very close.”
Levy said it would take about three years, possibly a bit more, of study and work with sub-contractors before EDF will begin building the first permanent structures on the Hinkley Point C site, though it will do preparatory work between now and then.
“Definitive construction of what will be built on the site, what we call the first concrete, is on the horizon for 2019,” Levy said.
This date is a year after the reactors were originally due to be completed. The timetable has gradually slipped backwards. Last year the date for power to start being generated was put back to 2025, but this new date for pouring concrete makes 2030 more likely—if the reactors are built at all.
Problematic record
The new proposed start date of 2019 is very significant for reasons the company dare not spell out. This is because there is no evidence yet that these so-called Evolutionary Power Reactors will operate effectively. Four are under construction, but are years behind schedule, and costs have tripled. In Europe their earliest proposed start date is 2018—so it looks as though EDF is being careful not to begin building another one until it can prove the design actually works.
The EPRs are “third generation European Pressurised Water Reactors”—the largest nuclear plants in the world. They have a chequered history, even before any has actually produced a single watt of electricity. Construction of the first prototype began in 2005 in Finland: expected to be finished in 2009, it is still under construction.
The same is true of the second, at Flamanville in France, where construction began in 2007. It has also hit delays and cost over-runs of staggering proportions. It too is due to start in 2018.
The other two EPRs are being built in China. Both should have been in operation by this year, but both also have undergone unspecified delays.
Safety question
The biggest problem for EDF, which owns and is building the Flamanville reactor, is that there are safety issues over the strength of the steel used to build the pressure vessel. It contained too much carbon and is undergoing stress testing to see if it is safe. While the outcome of these tests remains unknown, a question mark hangs over the station’s future.
This, plus the vast amount of remedial safety work required by the French safety regulators from EDF on its fleet of 58 ageing reactors in France itself, has put the company under severe financial strain. It needs to find €100 bn for repairs, and to improve safety following the Fukushima disaster in Japan, to keep the plants operating until 2030.
As a result of fears that the company might overstretch itself and jeopardise jobs in France the six trade union representatives on EDF’s board have expressed opposition to the company going ahead with building reactors on British soil.
Unfilled gap
This further postponement of a start date for the new reactors leaves the UK government with a gaping hole in its energy policy, despite it offering to pay double the existing price of electricity for the output from Hinkley Point, a subsidy that will continue for 35 years.
The Conservative government has been relying on nuclear energy to replace fossil fuels from 2025, when it plans to phase out all its coal stations. Some renewable energy subsidies have been scrapped to make way for new nuclear stations.
In all, the Conservative government wants ten new nuclear stations in the UK—four EPRs and the rest from Japan and the US. None of these now seems likely to be built before 2030, if at all.
Perhaps to divert attention from the postponement of the new reactors, EDF announced that it was going to extend the life of four of the nuclear power stations it already operates in Britain. It bought eight ageing stations of British design in 2009 for £12.5 billion.
Longer lives
Some were already due to close in 2018 but have had their lives extended. Now another four will be kept open to bridge the gap left by the failure to build the new stations at Hinkley Point.
These are the Heysham 1 plant in northwest England and another at Hartlepool in the northeast, both of which had been due to be switched off in 2019 because of their advanced age. They will be allowed to keep producing electricity for another five years.
Two other reactors, Heysham 2 and Torness in Scotland, have been granted extensions of seven years to 2030. There is no reason—as long as the stations are deemed safe – why further life extensions should not be applied for, and granted.
Continuing to apply for life extensions for old nuclear stations also saves the company from technical bankruptcy. Once a station is closed its decommissioning costs become company liabilities. With the company’s debts already high, it would not take many closures for EDF’s liabilities to exceed its assets.
Paul Brown, a founding editor of Climate News Network, is a former environment correspondent of The Guardian newspaper, and still writes columns for the paper.
Summary of Australia’s Nuclear Fuel Chain Royal Commission Report
the waste-to-fuel fantasies of Senator Edwards and Ben Heard are dead and buried.
[Wastes storage] timeframes – 150 years in the U.S. report and 120 years in the Royal Commission study – are nothing compared to the lifespan of nuclear waste. It takes 300,000 years for high level waste to decay to the level of the original uranium ore. The Royal Commission report notes that spent nuclear fuel (high level nuclear waste) “requires isolation from the environment for many hundreds of thousands of years.”
the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in the U.S. state of New Mexico. WIPP was closed in 2014 because of a chemical explosion which ruptured a nuclear waste barrel and resulted in 23 workers being exposed to radiation. Before WIPP opened, the government estimated one radiation release accident every 200,000 years. But there has been one radiation release accident in the first 15 years of operation of WIPP.
The Royal Commission’s report is silent about WIPP. It is silent about the Asse repository in Germany, where massive water infiltration has led to the decision to exhume 126,000 barrels of radioactive waste. The report is silent about the fire at a radioactive waste repository in the U.S. state of Nevada last year. And the report is silent about many other problems with the nuclear industry that it should have squarely addressed
Summary of ‘Tentative Findings’ of SA Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission Friends of the Earth Australia, by Jim Green, national nuclear campaigner, Friends of the Earth 20 Feb 16 What does the report say?
In a nutshell, the Royal Commission is negative about almost all of the proposals it is asked to consider – but positive about the proposal to import high-level nuclear waste from nuclear power plants for disposal in South Australia. Continue reading
1 This Month
22 June – Virtual Event –Climate Change: New Data, New Debate
Monday, June 22, 2026 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. CT
YouTube. Register here
Protect Sazan Island from the Trump family! https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/protect_sazan_island_from_the_trump_family_loc/?bqFCVab&v=174511&cl=22707147157&_checksum=5e9dde668860e8231c33699735e16a1fbf22ab2cb01da50c999fe8732b9775ef&utm_source=email&utm_medium=blast_email&utm_campaign=174511
25 June- THE PUKE ON NUKES
Thursday, June 25, 2026
7pm Central Time (8pm ET, 6pm MT, 5pm PT) UTC – 5
From NRC & DOE Deregulation to Techno-Fascist Billionaires Going Nuclear, Plus a Few Songs from Atomic Cabaret REGISTER
26 June – Radiation Trainwreck at the NRC / Join the Protect Better Campaign – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/4ZlZ5_qLSHGiLSCg8FF6Bg#/registration
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- June 2026 (193)
- May 2026 (306)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
-
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 
