In Belgium nuclear power to be taxed during process of shutting it down
Belgium to Phase Out Nuclear Power WSJ, By FRANCES ROBINSON, OCTOBER 31, 2011 BRUSSELS—Politicians negotiating the next coalition government of Belgium have agreed to phase out nuclear power in line with a 2003 law, while increasing taxes on the industry, a person familiar with the discussions said Monday.Belgium agreed to exit nuclear power generation in 2003, but successive governments—or lack of them—meant this law was never enacted. The law planned for all seven Belgian nuclear reactors to be closed by 2025, with the process planned to start in 2015 when reactors at Tihange and Doel reach 40 years of service…..There are also plans to increase the “rente nucléaire,” a tax levied on producers of nuclear power, and to spend part of the receipts on investing in renewable energy sources in the North Sea… http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204394804577009971447347782.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Taiwan presidential candidate promises a nuclear free Taiwan
The DPP presidential candidate, who is on a two-day campaign trip to Hualien and Taitung, also reiterated her initiative to achieve a “nuclear-free homeland” by 2025.
Tsai apologizes for nuclear waste woes, Taipei Times By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter, in TAITUNG COUNTY 1 Nov 11 LOCAL SOLUTION:If elected, Tsai pledged to improve infrastructure on Orchid Island and let residents reach their own consensus on how to handle the waste there
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday apologized to residents of Orchid Island (蘭嶼) over the government’s “outrageous” decision in 1982 to store nuclear waste on the island, Continue reading
USA Republicans – strict standards for solar loans, but easy ones for nuclear
After Calling Energy Subsidies ‘Wrong,’ Boehner Wants $2 Billion Loan Guarantee For Ohio Nuclear Plant, Think Progress By Pat Garofalo , Oct 28, 2011 Back in September, as the GOP was getting all riled up over the faux Solyndra scandal, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said that “for the federal government to be out there picking one company over another, one type of energy source over another, I think is wrong.” Evidently, though, his attitude toward energy subsidies does not extend to nuclear plants in his home state of Ohio. Continue reading To avoid TEPCO bankruptcy, Japanese government will pay up
The government’s objective is to keep the company afloat. Without public funds, Tepco would have to report a capital deficit for the July-September quarter, results of which are due by Nov. 14. Even the slightest hint of bankruptcy of a company with ¥13 trillion in liabilities could trigger major financial turmoil. Public assistance is expected to sustain Tepco in a state of positive net worth of about ¥700 billion at the end of the current business year in March, even after booking an expected annual net loss of about ¥570 billion.
But if the bleeding continues at the current pace, much of the capital would be lost in the next business year. This makes it crucial for Tepco to secure either an electricity-rate increase or an early restart of idled nuclear reactors to deal with the cost increases resulting from the prolonged stoppage of nuclear power plants and greater reliance on expensive thermal power, a government official familiar with the matter said….Public funds will be provided via the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund, an organization set up jointly by the government and power companies last month to provide insurance for nuclear accidents.
Under the interim plan, a supervisory committee comprising the top executives of the fund and Tepco will monitor cost-cutting progress. Tepco is required to produce a more comprehensive business plan in March, when there should be more clarity on rate hikes and reactor restarts…
CHOGM initiative to limit Australian uranium miners from exploiting African peoples
We have long needed greater assurances that Australian mining companies are adequately meeting their responsibilities in the developing countries in which many of them operate….
a focus on revenue transparency is long overdue…..Relying on companies to do the right thing is not enough. These initiatives will send a positive international signal,
Timely move to make miners more responsible for damage they cause, The Age Andrew Hewett October 28, 2011 Poor countries can expect greater control of mining companies. With two-thirds of the world’s poorest people living in resource-rich countries, too often the extraction of those resources contributes to poverty, corruption and conflict. Australian mining companies have become embroiled in damaging behaviour far from our shores and attention.
This week at CHOGM, the federal government announced initiatives aimed at ensuring the mining sector is better able to contribute to community Continue reading
Japanese govt’s costly, desperate measures to save TEPCO from bankruptcy
Stopgap measures for TEPCO / Utility’s liabilities may exceed assets without government’s help, Kunihiko Yasue and Chiaki Toyoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers, 29 oct 11, Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s application Friday for more than 1 trillion yen in government funds was meant to help the utility swiftly compensate people for damage caused by the crisis at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
TEPCO has already started making full-fledged compensation payments, and without the government’s assistance its liabilities could exceed its assets. Continue reading
Japan ceases policy of promoting nuclear energy
Japan drops nuclear promotion, Today, Oct 29, 2011 TOKYO – Japan’s government abandoned its policy of promoting atomic power, saying it will reduce reliance on the sector in its first annual review of energy since the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Continue reading
A stop to new uranium mines near Grand Canyon
Obama to block new uranium mine claims near Grand Canyon, Miami Herald, 26 Oct 11, BY RENEE SCHOOF, WASHINGTON – New uranium mining claims on 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon will be blocked for 20 years under a decision the Bureau of Land Management announced Wednesday.
The announcement confirmed that the Obama administration was proceeding with a plan that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced in July and is expected to make final in 30 days. The decision withdraws a right to Western public lands that mining companies otherwise would have under the 1872 Mining Law. Continue reading
USA Republicans scrutinise solar energy loans, but not nuclear loans!
House Dems to Republicans: What about nuclear loan guarantees?, THE HILL, By Andrew Restuccia – 10/26/11 Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee pressed Republicans Wednesday to broaden their loan guarantee investigation to include investments in nuclear energy projects.
Republicans are “picking oversight targets based on which administration approved the loan or loan guarantee or on whether [they] approve or disapprove of the type of energy produced,” the Democrats said. Continue reading
South Korea’s nuclear regulator serving the industry rather than safety
concerns that this organization created to regulate nuclear power plant safety will merely serve to bolster the industry and serve as its shield
A conflict of interest in nuclear safety oversight, THE HANKYOREH , 26 oct 11, Today sees the launch of a presidential commission on nuclear safety and security. It was established to assume the safety regulation duties of nuclear power promotion organizations and conducting proper examinations of nuclear power safety so that citizens can rest easy. But the commission has gotten off on the wrong foot.
The individual appointed as the commission’s chair, a position comparable Cabinet minister, is Seoul National University Emeritus Professor of Nuclear Engineering Kang Chang-soon, a leading figure in the nuclear power industry. Kang reportedly held the post of vice chairman of the Korea Atomic Industrial Forum, an organization of nuclear power industry figures, only to resign that post just after his nomination. He previously served as an outside director for Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, a firm that builds nuclear power plants, and as an advisory committee member for the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company, which manages them. He has taken on numerous projects commissioned by nuclear power companies and stated his belief that South Korea should increase its reliance on nuclear power to 70%. Continue reading
Where Occupy & No Nukes merge & win!!!,
In the United States, the key is to deny the nuclear industry the federal funding without which it can’t build new reactors. …
Atomic energy is, after all, a means of centralizing power in corporate hands. But there is only so far the one-percenters can ride a dead horse, especially if it’s radioactive. ..
we want to guarantee our energy supply—even if it’s driven by the wind and sun—is controlled by the community, not the corporations.
And here is where Occupy/No Nukes can jump the power of democracy to a whole new level.
Where Occupy & No Nukes merge & win!!!, Harvey Wasserman October 23, 2011
The global upheaval that is the Occupy Movement is hopefully in the process of changing—and saving—the world. Through the astonishing power of creative non-violence, it has the magic and moxie to defeat the failing forces of corporate greed.
A long-term agenda seems to be emerging: social justice, racial and gender equality, ecological survival, true democracy, an end to war, and so much more. “When the power of love overcomes the love of power,” said Jimi Hendrix, “the world will know peace.”
Such a moment must come now in the nick of time, as the corporate ways of greed and violence pitch us to the precipice of self-extinction. At that edge sits a sinister technology, a poisoned cancerous power that continues to harm us all even as 3 of its cores melt and spew at Fukushima.
Atomic energy, the so-called “Peaceful Atom”, has failed on all fronts. Continue reading
Florida residents will fund nuclear power’s future, or lack of future!
the users pay upfront, make the investment and yet somehow the shareholders end up getting the profits
FPL rates will rise to pay for nuclear projects, State utility regulators rejected arguments from consumer advocates and agreed to allow utility companies to charge customers so they can invest in plans for nuclear power. MIAMI HERALD, BY MARY ELLEN KLAS, TALLAHASSEE , 24 oct 11, — Florida Power & Light got the go-ahead Monday to tack a new charge to the average household electric bill that will go towards investing in nuclear energy — even if the utility never ends up building any new nuclear power plants. Continue reading
Germany putting serious money into renewable energy
Germany sets aside $130 billion for renewable energy, Online Opinion, By John Daly -, 24 October 2011 German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on 30 May that Germany, the world’s fourth-largest economy and Europe’s biggest, would shutter all of its 17 nuclear power plants between 2015 and 2022, an extraordinary commitment, given that they currently produce about 28 percent of the country’s electricity.
Underlining the government’s seriousness in changing the country’s energy matrix, Germany’s Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (German Development Bank) is to underwrite renewable energy and energy efficiency investments in Germany with $137.3 billion over the next five years, Germany Trade and Invest reported. Overall, the German government’s 6th Energy Research Program has made an extraordinary $274.6 billion available for joint funding initiatives in energy storage research over the next three years. Continue reading
Florida consumers, led by mayors, oppose nuclear power companies’ bailout
Fla. Mayors Oppose Nuclear “Cost Recovery” Bailout Why the Outrage? Florida Ratepayers Would Have To Pay Additional Hundreds of Millions of Dollars In Advance for New Nuclear Reactors That May Never Be Built Clean energy.org, Miami, Fla. (October 20, 2011) — The mayors of South Miami and Pinecrest are leading the Florida consumer opposition against the most recent cost recovery request for new nuclear power, which would allow state utilities Florida Power & Light (FPL) and Progress Energy Florida (PEF) to collect more than a third of a billion dollars from Florida families and businesses, including senior citizens, in 2012 for developing new nuclear reactors and expansion of existing nuclear plants. Continue reading
China to cut back its nuclear power plans
China nuclear targets to be cut after Fukushima -industry, Oct 21, 2011, HONG KONG Oct 21 (Reuters) – China’s 2020 nuclear capacity targets are likely to be scaled down after the country imposed a moratorium on new project approvals following the Fukushima disaster in Japan in March, industry officials said on Friday.
China was originally scheduled to release a revised blueprint for its nuclear sector this year, with many predicting a new 2020 target of 86 GW, up from the previous 40 GW….. In March, the government ordered a nationwide inspection of existing plants and construction sites in order to allay public disquiet about the safety of nuclear power…..
Areas of concern included the safety of the many “second-generation” reactors set to go into operation, the shortage of qualified safety and operational personnel, and the possible construction of nuclear projects in seismically vulnerable provinces like Sichuan.
Officials have suggested that no new second-generation reactors will be approved, leaving the way clear for third-generation models designed by France’s Areva and U.S.-based Westinghouse, owned by Toshiba …. “We should ensure the safety of nuclear energy before coming up with new projects,” said Zhao Chengkun, vice-chairman of the CNEA….. http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL3E7LL0EM20111021
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Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
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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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