Nuclear power promoter DOE to run research into health effects of radiation
House passes bill to study low-dose radiation http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/224411-house-passes-bill-to-study-low-dose-radiationBy Cristina Marcos November 17, 2014,The House on Monday passed legislation by voice vote to authorize Department of Energy research on the risks of low-dose ionizing radiation.
Under the measure, H.R. 5544, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science would conduct research on low-dose radiation. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), the bill’s sponsor, said there isn’t enough scientific data regarding exposure to low levels of radiation.
The director of the Energy Department’s Office of Science would be required establish an agreement with the National Academies on a long-term strategy for low-dose radiation research within 60 day’s of the bill’s enactment. Such a study would have to be completed within 18 months.
The measure encountered no opposition during House floor debate.
Japan’s Prime Minister Abe is banking on getting a new voter mandate
Abe is banking on getting a new voter mandate BY REIJI YOSHIDA, JAPAN TIMES 18 NOV 14 “…….Abe would never admit in public what is widely believed to be the real reason for the snap election: A campaign as early as next month will likely strengthen the ruling camp and Abe himself.
The prime minister plans to submit controversial bills to the Diet in the spring, including those based on his reinterpretation of the Constitution to expand Self-Defense Forces’ missions overseas.
Next year, Abe also plans to reactivate some of the nuclear reactors that have mostly sat idle since the Fukushima meltdowns, a hotly contested move that would likely sap support from the Liberal Democratic Party in a national election next year……..
There is little doubt that the LDP-Komeito ruling camp will retain power, and Abe could even strengthen his political base within the LDP.
“An (early) election will basically give an advantage to the ruling parties,” Sasaki said.
The situation, however, might not be as good as Abe thinks………http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/11/18/national/politics-diplomacy/abe-dissolve-lower-house-friday-dec-14-election/#.VG0mpzTF8nl
Uk’s new nuclear reactor designs likely to become a financial drain, warns Stephen Chu
“Unless we can learn to build nuclear on schedule and on budget it will be a financial drain. ………
“That is true of all industries. If you build exactly the same its get cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. ……..
Atomic plants being built in Finland and France are much more expensive than forecast and are suffering significant delays but EDF, the company planning to build Hinkley Point C reactors in Somerset, says it will learn from those mistakes. While EDF plans to use an “EPR” design at Hinkley and possibly at Sizewell in Suffolk, other developers in Britain are planning different models……….
An embarassment to Shinzo Abe if anti nuclear candidate wins Okinawa election
Anti-nuclear critic of US base set to win key Japan election http://www.euronews.com/2014/11/16/anti-nuclear-critic-of-us-base-set-to-win-key-japan-election/ In Japan a former mayor opposed to nuclear power and the presence of a US military base in his region is on course to win a key local election.
Takeshi Onaba’s likely victory in Okinawa according to opinion polls will embarrass Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s party.
There have been plans to relocate the base on the island but many residents want it removed entirely.
US tax-payer money going to nuclear lobby’s latest gee-whiz gimmick
GE Hitachi Receives Federal Funds To Assess New Nuclear Technology, Wilmington Biz BY JENNY CALLISON, NOV 6, 2014 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) will perform a comprehensive safety assessment of its PRISM sodium-cooled fast nuclear reactor, thanks to a multi-million-dollar federal investment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the company announced Thursday.
GEH officials are not sure yet of the exact amount of federal funds allocated to the project, company spokesman Jon Allen said Thursday…….The technology on which PRISM is based was developed in the 1980s and, unlike other nuclear reactors, it can use spent nuclear fuel and surplus plutonium to generate electricity. Since the early 1990s, however, no risk assessments have been done on the technology……..
Worrying outlok for USA, as Climate Change Denier likely to head senate environment committee
Prominent climate change denier likely to head US senate environment committee, SMH, Tom Hamburger,November 6, 2014If approved, Inhofe would replace Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., an avowed environmentalist, producing one of the most stark post-election changes in the Capitol. Committee assignments will not be made until Senate party caucuses meet in Washington after the election recess………
Republican control of Congress a boost for nuclear power companies
Nuclear Power, Banks Seen Gaining in Republican Congress, Bloomberg, By Todd Shields and Jim Snyder Nov 5, 2014 Republican control of Congress may boost nuclear power and give banks eased enforcement of consumer laws, though it’s unlikely to yield a rollback of Obamacare over objections of a veto-wielding president.
Resolving where the nation sends nuclear waste may be an issue that brings Democrats and Republicans together after Obama and Harry Reid, the Nevada senator and until January majority leader, blocked funding for the proposed nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
Solutions such as promoting on-site storage or establishing regional waste sites may now be possible, said Colin Hayes, a lobbyist at McBee Strategic and former Senate energy committee Republican aide.
That would be a boon for nuclear producers such as Chicago-based Exelon Corp. (EXC)……..http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-05/nuclear-power-banks-seen-gaining-in-republican-congress.html
End failed nuclear loan program – 35 organisations urge USA Dept of Energy
35 clean energy organizations urge DOE to end nuclear loan program Green World, Michael Mariotte November 3, 2014 Today, 35 clean energy organizations from across the country submitted formal comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) urging it to end its nuclear loan program. The comments are in response to a DOE solicitation seeking to revive the failed program which, after seven years, has succeeded only in providing one loan to a nuclear project (the Vogtle reactors in Georgia) whose executives publicly said they didn’t need it and offering a loan to another project (Calvert Cliffs-3 in Maryland) for which it would have been illegal for its principal to receive it.
Given that record, which the 35 groups termed an “abject failure,” DOE is now attempting to reframe its program–in direct conflict with its intent under the 2005 Energy Policy Act that created the program–to allow it to provide loans to “small modular reactors” that don’t yet exist and to bail out uneconomic reactors by providing low-interest loans to nuclear utilities to enable power uprates and to meet NRC-required safety upgrades.
In short, DOE still has $10.2 Billion available in this program that clearly has not worked as either its Congressional or DOE supporters had expected, or at least hoped. At this point, you’d think DOE would just want to cut its losses; instead, like a child with a dollar in a candy store, that money is burning a hole in DOE’s pocket.
The groups, however, were kind enough not to lay the blame on DOE for the program’s inability to spark the “nuclear renaissance” it was intended to do.
Instead, they wrote:
The DOE’s nuclear loan program has been an abject failure, even on its own terms. The reasons for that are many, and for the most part have been out of the control of DOE. They include increased competition in the electricity generation marketplace; the explosive growth in renewables as costs for renewable technology continue to plummet—a trend expected to continue for years if not decades; and, unfortunately, the rise in fracking-produced natural gas…………
The full comments are available here.
http://safeenergy.org/2014/11/03/35-clean-energy-organizations/
Germany to speed up the phase-out of coal, as well as of nuclear power
Germany looks to fast-track exit from coal, as well as nuclear http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/germany-looks-dump-coal-well-nuclear-16716 By Giles Parkinson on 5 November 2014 Germany is looking to achieve exactly what Australia says is not possible – and wean one of the world’s largest manufacturing economies off coal – as well as shutting down nuclear.
The conservative government of Chancellor Angela Merkel last week issued a discussion paper proposing to implement the strictest controls on coal fired generation yet to be seen in Europe, and to redesign its energy system around renewables, which will account for around two thirds of supply within two decades.
The discussion paper has been prompted by the need to deal with massive over-capacity in its energy system, and as Germany commits to phasing out the remainder of its nuclear generators by 2022 and sourcing nearly half of its electricity supply from renewables – hydro, biomass, wind and solar – within a decade.
The government discussion paper said too many fossil-fired power plants are in the system and overcapacities “have to be cut” to help meet climate targets. The response is in stark contrast to the situation in Australia, where the conservative government of Tony Abbott is using the argument of “overcapacity” to shut down the pipeline of new renewable energy projetcs, rather than forcing coal to exit the market. Continue reading
Japan’s community disputes over the planned nuclear restart
Local Rifts on Display in Japan’s Nuclear Restart Which communities are allowed to decide on reactivation is likely to be a long-term issue.The Diplomat By Clint Richards November 05, 2014 “………there is still wide debate across Japan as to what combination of local and prefectural governments should be consulted before restarts are granted, which are currently being done on a case by case basis. The two reactors located in the city of Satsuma-Sendai in Kagoshima prefecture provide a case study for how future restarts may play out, as the governments there are seeking to limit the influence of nearby municipalities.
In the lead up to this week’s events, Yoichi Miyazawa, the industry and trade minister who replaced Yuko Obuchi, visited the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on Saturday. Interestingly, Obuchi said shortly before she was forced to resign over a political scandal that “obtaining consent from local communitiesis not a legal requisite for a restart.” During Miyazawa’s visit, he praised the work of the facility’s employees in the cleanup effort and said it was vital that decommissioning remain on schedule……….
while the governor’s acceptance is key, it is not the only hurdle remaining. The local Satsuma-Sendai municipal assembly approved the restart on October 28, yet the prefectural assembly’s assent is also necessary. However, according to the Asahi Shimbun the votes may already be in hand. There will be assembly deliberations from November 5 to 7, with a plenary session also on the 7th. The Asahi reports that “a majority of the 51-member assembly will approve a petition supporting the resumption of operations of the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors,” with the ruling LDP commanding 35 seats, and several independents and coalition Komeito members expected to also vote in favor.
So while the necessary governmental authorities seem to be in line with the Sendai restart, the debate over exactly how many municipalities and prefectures should be involved in the process is still going strong……..The national government will likely continue to struggle to convince these communities of the benefits of restarting the country’s nuclear reactors. As the majority of voters live outside the communities that are directly allowed to decide on the issue, this is likely to be a long, uphill battle for the government in Tokyo.http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/local-rifts-on-display-in-japans-nuclear-restart/
China’s nuclear power programme has dubious economic future
China’s Risky Nuclear Renaissance http://online.wsj.com/articles/heard-on-the-street-chinas-risky-nuclear-renaissance-1414508639 CGN Power’s Plan to Go Public Could Be Dicey By ABHEEK BHATTACHARYA Oct. 28, 2014
Nuclear energy: It’s risky stuff. Hence, there is often a heavy degree of government control over it—which makes it a doubly risky investment proposition.
Especially when that government is China’s.
A number of Chinese state-owned nuclear companies are going public these days. CGN Power, the country’s largest with 9.4 gigawatts of operating capacity, will likely offer $3 billion worth of new shares in Hong Kong next month, reports The Wall Street Journal. A small affiliate, CGN Meiya Power , raised $262 million in Hong Kong last month and has seen its shares rise by 20% since. Meanwhile, another top operator, China National Nuclear Power, also plans an initial public offering.
Once listed, these will be one of a handful of stocks globally, including the likes of Exelon of the U.S. and EDF of France, offering high or pure exposure to nuclear energy. And while much of the rest of the world is ambivalent about or hostile to nuclear energy, Beijing has big expansion plans. The Chinese government suspended new project approvals after Japan’s Fukushima accident in March 2011. But the need to diversify away from smog-causing coal has put its nuclear ambitions back on track. China now targets nearly tripling the nuclear capacity that’s up and running to 58 gigawatts by 2020. The IPOs will help fund that ambition.
The state’s involvement can cut both ways, though. CGN Power sells most of its output to state-run electricity grids at regulated tariffs. For power plants that began operating before 2013, these tariffs are tailored to yield a “reasonable” profit, according to CGN’s prospectus. Yet its net profit has fallen since 2011 because of either surging costs or weakening sales.
For newer plants, the tariff is supposed to be fixed—except when it isn’t. In a bid to avoid competition, these plants are required to cut tariffs if neighboring coal-fired power is cheaper. That’s quite likely as coal prices spiral downward. Energy prices are heavily regulated precisely because consumers are rather attached to light and heat. That makes them subject to political, as well as economic, forces.
In France, for example, shares in state-run EDF tanked 14% in June when the government scrapped a planned tariff increase. There’s even more reason to worry in China since governments could keep down power prices as a stimulus to troubled heavy industries. Growth prospects are high, which is likely one reason that CGN Meiya already trades at 10.9 times 2013 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. That is far higher than EDF’s 4.8 times or Exelon’s 6.6 times.
Double-digit multiples are no doubt tempting for IPO bankers but look too much for a large nuclear generator carrying this much political risk. Problem is, CGN’s balance sheet means it needs a high multiple, or fast growth in profits, to make its IPO math work.
Net debt as of this March is a hefty 5.1 times 2013 Ebitda, and still high at four times even if related-party loans are excluded. And less than 10% of the IPO proceeds are currently earmarked for paying off borrowings. As if nuclear power wasn’t risky enough
UK’s National Audit Office investigating subsidy price for Hinkley nuclear power electricity
Hinkley C deal goes under scrutiny again Somerset County Gazette, 23 October 2014
ANOTHER investigation into the controversial Hinkley C deal has begun.
Just two weeks ago, the European Commission approved plans for the £16bn nuclear power plant.
They had been investigating whether the subsidy deal between energy company EDF and the Government constituted as illegal State aid.
While the project was approved, the National Audit Office has now begun investigating the deal to make sure the subsidy price of £92 a megawatt hour represented value for money.
The NAO is a financial watchdog which scrutinises public spending on behalf of Parliament……….
The Stop Hinkley Campaign welcomed the news about the investigation. Spokesperson Allan Jeffrey said: “This is an extraordinarily bad deal, locking consumers into high prices until almost 2060.
“Worse still, it will use up most of the money available to subsidise non-fossil fuel energy, leaving almost nothing available for renewables at a time when their costs are plummeting.
“The European Commission’s ill-thought through decision has turned UK Energy Policy into even more of a dog’s breakfast than it was to begin with…….
Energy supplier Ecotricity has said it is considering taking legal action against the deal along with the Austrian Government and Germany………http://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/11554761.Hinkley_C_deal_goes_under_scrutiny_again/
Japan to sign up to convention that removes liability from companies making nuclear reactors
Japan to ratify international convention on nuclear accident compensation pact THE ASAHI SHIMBUN http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201410240041
Japan intends to ratify an international convention that sets a global uniform standard for compensating victims of nuclear accidents.
The move is in line with fears of an increasing risk of a nuclear accident abroad with developing nations accelerating their efforts to construct nuclear power plants.
The convention limits responsibility for nuclear accidents to the operator of the nuclear plant, meaning companies that manufacture nuclear plant equipment would not be liable. That provision would make it easier for Japanese manufacturers to export nuclear technology.
However, critics charge that Japan has not yet adequately assessed the reasons for the catastrophic triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2011 and that it is wrong to join a convention that would promote nuclear technology exports.
The Abe administration will submit a bill to the extraordinary Diet session now in progress to ratify the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). Currently, five nations, including the United States, have ratified the treaty, which was adopted in 1997.
However, the treaty has still not entered into force because one provision has not been met–that the total installed nuclear capacity of the ratifying nations be at least 400,000 megawatts.
If Japan ratified the convention, that provision would be cleared. The United States has been lobbying Japan to join the pact. Continue reading
France and nuclear power: the end of the affair is coming?
Is France’s Love Affair with Nuclear Over? Oil Price, By Chris Dalby | Sun, 19 October 2014 French President Francois Hollande has promised to limit the growth of the country’s nuclear power, many older reactors have been targeted for decommissioning, and Greenpeace and other environmental groups have been relentless in their anti-nuclear campaigning. But until now, it seemed unlikely that France would ever truly rethink its love affair with nuclear power.
Last week, it did. On Oct. 10, France’s parliament voted to begin moving to undo decades of nuclear growth and to reduce its importance to the country’s energy mix. Over the next 11 years, France will reduce the amount of electricity coming from nuclear by one-quarter — from 75 percent to 50 percent. To do that, estimates are that as many as 20 of France’s 58 reactors would have to be closed.
The vote was part of a package of legal reforms in France’s long-awaited energy transition law, a main pillar of which was slowing nuclear power production and then maintaining it at the new lower level before progressively lowering it over the next 10 years.
The second pillar was removing bureaucratic hurdles that prevented renewable energy projects from getting off the ground. A trial period will see wind, solar, bio-gas and small hydro projects receive streamlined authorization in seven French regions.
A comparison of the contribution of renewables versus nuclear in France’s energy mix shows the massive disparity that the government is seeking to address. In June, France had 8,592MW of onshore wind installations and 5,095MW of PV, translating to 3.8 percent and 1 percent of the country’s energy needs. This compares to 63.2GWe of nuclear capacity.
The energy transition law aims to erase this imbalance. At 50 percent of national energy production, nuclear will remain the biggest source, but will be supported by a boosted renewables sector, with wind and solar levels similar to Germany’s…………
In March, around 60 Greenpeace protesters managed to spectacularly infiltrate Fessenheim in northeastern France, the country’s oldest nuclear power plant, which is set to be decommissioned in 2016. The activists deployed a huge banner on one of Fessenheim’s reactors, reading “Stop Risking Europe”, in support of their argument that France’s aging nuclear installations put all of Europe at risk, much like Chernobyl. Europe-Ecologie Les Verts (EELV), backed the protest at the time, widening a rift with Hollande’s Socialist Party that the energy transition law hopes to close……..
the pressure is on. Germany, Belgium and Switzerland are all abandoning nuclear power. Flagship nuclear firm Areva, which builds nuclear plants around the world, is not the profit-making juggernaut it once was. Nuclear is no longer as cost-competitive as it used to be compared to natural gas, wind and PV…….http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Is-Frances-Love-Affair-with-Nuclear-Over.html
Handicaps to Japan’s nuclear power restart
Japan’s nuclear restart unlikely this year, local vote expected in December http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/72335 16-Oct-14 JAPAN Kentaro HamadaAs Japan pitches an unpopular nuclear restart to residents near Kyushu Electric Power Co’s Sendai plant, local politicians say approval is unlikely until December, delaying an already fraught process to revive the country’s idled reactors.
More than three years after the nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, the worst disaster since Chernobyl, Japan’s nuclear plants remain offline nationwide even as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushes to restart reactors that meet new safety guidelines set by an independent regulator.
The focus has switched to townships located near the Sendai reactors, the nation’s first to receive safety clearance from regulators. The debate over restarts pits host communities that get direct benefits from siting reactors against other nearby communities that do not reap the benefits but say they will be equally exposed to radioactive releases in the event of a disaster. Continue reading
1 This Month
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
1st July – Webinar Waste of Space: The Environmental Harm of Military and Civil Space Activity st July, 7 pm
Report Launch Online: We are seeing an increasing exploitation of space for military and commercial purposes. This must change.
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
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
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