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Robot boats, drones, artificial intelligence to repair Britain’s repair offshore wind farms

Times 29th May 2019 Robot boats with drones guided by artificial intelligence will take to
Britain’s seas to repair offshore wind farms within two years, a coalition
of arms makers, space scientists and green energy experts said yesterday. A
£4 million project funded by the government will develop an autonomous
mothership that will transport a fleet of self-piloting drones, which will
carry a swarm of six-legged, insect-like robots known as Bladebugs. These
will use suction pads to cling to the blades of wind turbines and assess
them for wear and tear. They should also be able to carry out basic repairs
such as sanding and repainting damaged areas. The system will also make use
of artificial intelligence techniques pioneered by Nasa to run unmanned
space missions. It will be tested at Levenmouth in Fife using a wind
turbine owned by a renewable energy research facility funded by the
government.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/182d58a8-817f-11e9-bb89-165499dc1684

May 30, 2019 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Armenia’s aging nuclear reactor, vulnerable in an earthquake zone

May 28, 2019 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | Leave a comment

Climate change protest action growing

Climate change protests held worldwide to call for government action

A fight for the future as climate change school strikes grow for fourth month running An estimated 4,000 teenagers and young people turn out in Manchester – and another 1.5m around the world – to demand they inherit a planet that is not dying, The Independent, 27 May 19,  Colin Drury, Manchester @colin__drury I t is a hot, sunny day in Manchester and 14-year-old Carmen King is dressed in full black funeral garb, complete with veil and thick white face paint.

“It’s pretty warm,” she says of her outfit. “But then, if adults don’t get it sorted, it’s only going to get hotter anyway.”

The year nine student was one of some 4,000 children, teenagers and young people who flooded into the city centre on Friday to protest against climate change.

They themselves were among an estimated 1.5 million-plus youngsters doing the same in hundreds of towns and cities across the world: in London, Paris and Berlin, of course, but, crucially, in the provinces too, in places – like Manchester – where the battles for hearts and minds are often truly won.

They went on strike from school classes and university lectures, as they have done one Friday a month since February, to demand adults do just one thing: save the planet and their futures…….

Nationally the strikes have been coordinated by the UK Student Climate Networkand come partially in response to a UN report in October, which stated the world’s carbon emissions needed to be halved within 12 years to prevent some of the severest effects of global warming – flooding, droughts, mass displacement – becoming inevitable.

But, because this month’s protest coincided with exam season, there were some expectations that numbers may be down. They decidedly were not……

In conversation, many offered considered and thought-out policies, which they believed would help decarbonise the UK economy: subsidies for renewable energy companies, integrated public transport with Europe to reduce flight numbers, citizens’ assemblies and the reversal of Brexit (inevitably mentioned) were all among ideas suggested.  ……. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/youth-strike-4-climate-manchester-climate-change-global-warming-uk-student-climate-network-a8929636.html

May 27, 2019 Posted by | climate change, UK | Leave a comment

Court orders Swiss authorities to publish arms export data

Court orders Swiss authorities to publish arms export data  https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/war-materiel_court-orders-swiss-authorities-to-publish-arms-export-data/44918258 APRIL 24, 2019 Switzerland’s highest court has ruled that the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) must give a Swiss journalist company data on arms exports.

The Federal Court rejected an appeal by SECO which had refused to transfer detailed information to a journalist from the WOZ newspaper on companies that had filed arms exports requests in 2014.

In a decision published on Wednesdayexternal link, the court backed an earlier ruling by the Federal Administrative Court on behalf of the WOZ journalist, who had filed a freedom of information request.

Last March, the Federal Administrative Court had ruled in favour of the journalist, stating that it was public interest to ensure greater transparency and information on arms exports and that the media played an important role in holding the authorities to account in this regard.

SECO had argued that, in accordance with the law on war materiel, only the parliamentary oversight committee should be sent the details on Swiss arms exports. It said that publishing details on arms exports could also displease importing countries.

However, the Federal Court said publishing such information was not a threat for Switzerland’s interests. If there is no business secret involved, SECO must publish the firms’ names.

Hot topic

Rules governing arms exports and calls for greater transparency remain a hot topic in Switzerland. In 2008 the government tightened rules on arms exports; in 2014 it relaxed them on behalf of parliament.

In October 2018 the government abandoned plans to ease Swiss weapons exports following a public outcry.

In December 2018 campaigners started collecting signatures for a people’s initiative to prevent the Swiss government from relaxing rules for exporting arms to conflict-ridden states.

May 27, 2019 Posted by | Legal, media, Switzerland | Leave a comment

Misleading and dangerous – the downplaying of Chernobyl’s radiation risks

May 27, 2019 Posted by | radiation, spinbuster, Ukraine | Leave a comment

France forced Polynesians to accept nuclear tests – they finally admit this!

May 25, 2019 Posted by | France, indigenous issues, OCEANIA, weapons and war | 1 Comment

In UK Councillors to get briefing from nuclear panel – anyone can offer their land for nuclear waste dump!

Councillors to get briefing from nuclear panel    https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/17663707.councillors-to-get-briefing-from-nuclear-panel/
By John Connell  @JConnell35 Reporter 24 May 19,  NEW councillors appointed to Copeland council’s nuclear panel will receive their first briefing early next month.The Strategic Nuclear Energy team is one of the authority’s most important committees, working with the Government and companies including Sellafield.

The first meeting since borough council elections will be held on Tuesday June 4 and will see members given an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the committee.

Members will be discussing some huge issues in the coming months including the Government’s search for a host community for a nuclear waste store.

Anyone with a reasonably-sized patch of land can volunteer it as a contender for the multi-million Geological Disposal Facility (GDF), effectively kick-starting the process.

West Cumbria has also been rocked in recent months by the collapse of the Moorside nuclear investment deal, while Sellafield is moving into the decommissioning phase.

Coun David Moore, Portfolio holder for Nuclear and Corporate Services, said the briefing would be an opportunity for councillors who have not worked on the panel before or were completely new to local politics to get to grip with the scope of the committee’s important work.

He added: “Some of the councillors who will be there are first-time councillors, just about to dip a toe in the water. This meeting them will give them an overview and it will be a learning curve for them.

“We are key players in nuclear consultations. Not many councils have an equivalent of our committee. I have no equivalent to my role as nuclear portfolio-holder.”

May 25, 2019 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

Comparing the radioactive pollution from Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear accidents

May 25, 2019 Posted by | health, Japan, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Design problems delay development of Russia’s High-Tech Nuclear Submarine

May 25, 2019 Posted by | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Academics advise Labour that there’s no viable place for nuclear in renewable energy plans

Dave Toke’s Blog 24th May 2019 Academics tell Labour that their renewable energy plans don’t leave any room for nuclear power. Published below is a memorandum from the ‘Red Lion
Group’ of 12 academics, to the Labour Party Shadow Energy Secretary, which
sets out how Labour’s plans for renewable energy do not leave any room for
any new nuclear power (not even Hinkley C).

This means that Labour’s plans to give many £billions of state support for new nuclear power will merely replace cheaper renewable energy. The analysis was based on projections for
energy demand used by the Committee on Climate Change. Review of the CCC’s
projections of energy supply and demand. Letter to Shadow Energy Secretary
from 12 academics and policy analysts.

https://realfeed-intariffs.blogspot.com/2019/05/academics-tell-labour-that-their.html

May 25, 2019 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

EDF planning to restart troubled Hunterston and Dungeness B nuclear reactors

Energy Reporters 21st May 2019
The Hunterston B7 reactor is now scheduled to return to service on July 31

and B8 reactor, the least cracked at the site, on June 24. Centrica has a
20-per-cent interest in eight nuclear plants, mostly built in the 1960s and
1970s, which are controlled by EDF. Centrica said it was selling its stake
in February last year.

 But since then, Hunterston and Dungeness B in Kent
have been put out of action. EDF, which is also looking to sell some of its
interest in the nuclear hubs, said Dungeness B would “continue to produce
low-carbon electricity safely and reliably for many years to come”.
The reactor in Kent on the southern English coast was shut down late last
summer for regular inspections, which identified the need for repairs on
steam pipes. EDF said it was carrying out “additional inspections and
repairs [to] put the plant in a state to deliver best-ever performance
later this year”. The restart of the twin reactors was due for September
and October, according to the French firm.

https://www.energy-reporters.com/production/edf-extends-nuclear-plant-outages/

May 25, 2019 Posted by | safety, UK | 1 Comment

New research into plutonium workers’ internal radiation exposure.

May 23, 2019 Posted by | - plutonium, employment, Reference, UK | 1 Comment

A nuclear accident in one of Switzerland’s old reactors would be devastating to the health of other European countries.

What a Swiss nuclear disaster could do to Europe, Swissinfo.ch , By Susan Misicka, MAY 21, 2019 – If there were to be a serious accident at one of Switzerland’s nuclear reactors, many of the radiation victims would be residents of other countries.

A Swiss-led study has calculated the potential effect of nuclear meltdowns on the health of people living nearby. Its focus is on how meteorology and geography would influence the movement of a radioactive cloud.

For example, this clip [on original] illustrates how the weather conditions on January 19, 2017 would have shaped the aftermath of an accident at the Gösgen reactor between Bern and Zurich.

The study was led by Frédéric-Paul Piguet at Institut Biosphèreexternal link, an interdisciplinary research institute in Geneva. Piguet and his team examined the accident risk at Switzerland’s five nuclear power plants, which fall between Fukushima and Chernobyl in terms of size. This includes 50-year-old Beznau I in northern Switzerland, the oldest nuclear reactor in the world.

The research team used the weather conditions throughout 2017 to calculate the fallout of disasters at the Swiss reactors and concluded that 16-24 million Europeans would be affected by a nuclear meltdown in Switzerland, which itself has a population of 8.5 million. They reckoned that 12,500-31,100 people would die on account of cancer and heart problems caused by the radiation. On top of that, there would be additional health problems, including genetic maladies and sterility.

According to the study, wet weather would nearly double the number of severe radiation-related illnesses. In 2017, there were 36 such “bad weather” days. The study is being presented in detail on Tuesday in Bern……….  https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/worst-case-scenarios_what-a-swiss-nuclear-disaster-could-do-to-europe/44977606

May 23, 2019 Posted by | safety, Switzerland | Leave a comment

Chernobyl’s spent nuclear fuel to be stored (Holtec’s in on this one, too)

May 23, 2019 Posted by | business and costs, Ukraine, wastes | 1 Comment

Sweden: Vattenfall determined to close 2 aging nuclear reactors

A Tiny Hole at Sweden’s Oldest Atomic Plant Upends Nuclear Revival
Industry and lawmakers in Sweden want Vattenfall to reverse a decision to close two aging reactors.
Bloomberg, By Jesper Starn, May 20, 2019

A hole just a few millimeters deep at Sweden’s oldest nuclear plant is upending the debate about whether to revive the technology to ensure that the Nordic region’s biggest economy has enough power. 

Regulators assume such a small gap exists at the Ringhals-2 plant on the nation’s west coast because repairs to similar cavities were made earlier in the decade on about half of an area covering 700 square meters (7,535 square feet). The owner Vattenfall AB won’t carry out more costly repairs and its permit expires at the end of the year.

While the state-controlled power company doubts that further faults exist, it would rather scrap the plant than uproot the meter-thick slab of concrete surrounding the massive steel plates that make up the reactor containment……..

For the moment, Vattenfall isn’t budging on the decision it made in 2015 to wind down operations at the plant, which includes two reactors that  began operations in 1975 and 1976. Those reactors lack the independent core cooling systems required by the regulator for all nuclear plants to operate after 2020. Vattenfall invested 900 million kronor ($93 million) to upgrade two younger reactors at the site.

“I regard it as completely ruled out, both technically and financially,” to reverse the decision to close the Ringhals reactors, Torbjorn Wahlborg, the company’s head of generation, said in an interview.  “It would require such a big investment and long halts.”

At its peak, nuclear energy accounted for about half of the nation’s power. Hydroelectric plants covered the rest. Now it’s 40%  and wind parks being built in the north of the country are seen as a major future source. The problem is that the growth of wind has not been able to match the decline in capacity at reactors and  fossil-fuel plants and Sweden is already depending on imports to meet demand on cold winter days.

A Sifo poll from March show that two thirds of Swedes want to keep or build more reactors. 

 In 2016, five political parties formed a long-term energy agreement that lowered nuclear taxes enough to allow life-span extensions of six reactors built in the 1980s until the 2040s, while four older reactors would be shut. But the largest opposition party, the Moderates, is now threatening to abandon that agreement unless it’s renegotiated to be more supportive of nuclear power. It has the support of the Christian Democrats, which is also part of the accord.

The Liberals, which were not part of the deal, has also proposed to extend the lifespan of Ringhals 1 and 2, and may get support from the nationalist Sweden Democrats, which also wants to invest in nuclear. The Moderates and the Christian Democrats have called for a review to be made into the possibility to stop the closure of the two reactors.

Still, it would be an uphill battle to garner enough support for any new energy plan, as the remaining parties in the agreement together with the Left Party have a majority in parliament. It all hinges on the governing Social Democrats. It wants nuclear power to be gradually phased out, but is under pressure from Swedish industry to change its stance.

As Vattenfall is fully state-owned,  the government could adjust its directive to extend the life-span of the reactors. Lobby groups for the forest, metals, chemical and mining industry are calling for an investigation to see if this is possible. This would however be against the spirit of the original agreement, where market-based decisions was a key-part to get parties with opposing views to compromise on energy, according to the Swedish government. …… https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-20/swedish-nuclear-plant-s-tiny-hole-nobody-has-seen-halts-revival

 

May 21, 2019 Posted by | politics, Sweden | Leave a comment