German State close to Belgium prepares iodine tablets, in concern about neighbouring nuclear stations
North Rhine-Westphalia prepares for Belgium nuclear accident with iodine tablets, DW, 24 May 16 Amid growing safety concerns over Belgium’s aging nuclear reactors, Germany’s most populous state has purchased iodine tablets in case of a nuclear accident. Activists insist the best solution is to close the plants. With plans already in place to end its domestic use of nuclear power by 2022, Germany has taken a clear stance on its use of nuclear energy since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
But while Berlin pushes forward with alternative renewable energy sources at home, across the border in Belgium, its efforts are overshadowed by two controversial nuclear power plants.
Tihange 2 and Doel 3 were both scheduled to be shut down in 2015. Under a deal to preserve jobs and invest in clean energy, however, Belgian officials decided to extend their operation until 2025.
Following reports that pressure vessels at both reactor sites have shown signs of metal fatigue, the two reactors have become a source of growing tension between Germany and Belgium in recent months. Just 60 kilometers (37 miles) away from Tihange, lies the German city of Aachen – home to some 240,000 people and best known as the residence of ninth century emperor, Charlemagne.
In April, German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks called on Brussels to carry out more teststo at the plant to show that Belgium “takes the concerns of its German neighbors seriously.” The 40-year-old reactors should be closed “until outstanding safety issues are resolved,” the minister said.
Fears have also grown over the possibility of terrorists targeting nuclear power plants, particularly after the March 22 terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital.
Brussels rejected Berlin’s request, claiming that the two plants “respond to the strictest possible safety requirements.” Less than a month later, however, Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block announced that in the case of a nuclear disaster, people living within a 100-kilometer (60-mile) radius of the reactor would be provided with iodine tablets in a bid to minimize the effects of radiation. With Belgium only 300 kilometers at its widest point, the majority of the country’s 11-million population would effectively be included in the measure.
Having heard nothing from Brussels on the closure of either power plant, the North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday that they, too, would be taking similar preventative measures, with iodine tablets being made available to the over 45-year-olds, children and pregnant women in the case of a serious nuclear leak.
“We will gradually provide each municipality with iodine tablets,” spokeswoman for NRW Interior Ministry Marlin Mailänder told DW……
Anti-nuclear energy campaigners welcomed the move by the NRW Interior Ministry on Tuesday, but vowed to continue their campaign to close the nuclear reactors.
“Of course it’s a sensible step,” co-founder of the citizen initiative “Aachen Action Group Against Nuclear Engery,” Jörg Schellenberg, told DW.
“But the better solution would be to bring an end to the source of the danger,” he added. “We need to shut down the nuclear power plants once and for all.” http://www.dw.com/en/north-rhine-westphalia-prepares-for-belgium-nuclear-accident-with-iodine-tablets/a-19279950
Lithuania, and environmentalists not happy with Belarus’ nuclear power plan
Minsk Letter: Belarus goes ahead with nuclear power, Irish Times, Kieran Cooke in Minsk, 24 May 16,
“…….Though Chernobyl is in Ukraine, it’s estimated that the prevailing winds resulted in up to 70 per cent of the radioactivity being deposited on Belarus, much of it in the southern region of the country, close to the Ukrainian border.
Undeterred by the legacy of Chernobyl – many here still suffer from cancers and other diseases as a result of what ranks as the world’s worst nuclear accident – Belarus is now building its own nuclear power plant……
The government – for more than 20 years under the firm grip of president Alexander Lukashenko – claims that more than 60 per cent of the country’s 9.5 million approve of the nuclear facility, though no nationwide poll has ever been taken…..
Government critics say no proper public hearings have been held about the plant, and that those who dare to raise objections have been harassed or arrested……..
Russian reliant
Critics point out that Belarus will still be reliant on Russia. A Russian state nuclear company has designed and is responsible for much of the construction. Russia will also supply the plant’s nuclear fuel – and deal with the waste.
Neighbouring Lithuania, always suspicious of a government in Minsk it sees as a remnant of the old Soviet order, is deeply concerned about what’s going on. It points out that the plant at Ostrovets is only 20km from the Lithuanian border and only 50km from Vilnius, the capital.
Officials in Vilnius say Belarus has not answered questions about the safety of Ostrovets and is in contravention of international agreements on nuclear facilities. The government in Minsk firmly denies the accusations.
Svetlana Alexievich, the Belarus author and winner of the 2015 Nobel prize for literature for her work on interviewing Chernobyl victims and other writings, has described the nuclear fallout from Chernobyl as an unimaginable disaster for her country.
Back at the new nuclear plant, due to become operational in two years, we are being bombarded with data. So many thousands of tons of concrete, so many tons of steel are being used in its construction.
“What happens if a missile is fired at the plant?” asks one journalist.
“Then we are all in trouble,” comes the reply. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/minsk-letter-belarus-goes-ahead-with-nuclear-power-1.2658040
Standard & Poor’slowers the credit rating of the Finnish firm Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO)
Credit ratings agencies downgrade nuclear power company TVO, YLE, 24 May 16
One of the big three credit ratings agencies operating on the world stage, Standard & Poor’s, has lowered the credit rating of the Finnish firm Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) from BBB-/A-3 to BB+/B.
The nuclear power company is owned by a consortium of power and industrial companies in Finland, the largest shareholders being the energy firms Pohjolan Voima and Fortum…….
Construction of a third TVO plant unit, Olkiluoto 3, has been plagued with problems from the start and is now seven years behind schedule. TVO has several pending disputes with the unit’s suppliers. In 2012, TVO submitted a claim and defence to the International Chamber of Commerce for damages due to delays……
In July 2010 the Finnish Parliament ratified a decision-in-principle from the government concerning TVO’s application to construct a fourth plant unit, Olkiluoto 4. In September 2014, the government however rejected TVO’s application to have the validity of the decision-in-principle extended. http://yle.fi/uutiset/credit_ratings_agencies_downgrade_nuclear_power_company_tvo/8902267
Small Modular Nuclear reactor companies keen to sell their wares to UK
38 companies express interest in building mini nuclear power station at Trawsfynydd, Wales Online, 24 MAY 2016 BY CHRIS KELSEY , OWEN HUGHES
The old nuclear power station site in Snowdonia could be the site for a new generation of nuclear power stations
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A competition to develop a miniature nuclear power station at Trawsfynydd has attracted interest from 38 companies from around the world.
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are reactors with an electricity output less than 300MW. They have been compared to the nuclear reactors that have been used to power submarines since the 1950s. All the Royal Navy’s submarines are powered by nuclear reactors.
Last year the UK Government announced £250m funding over the next five years for nuclear research and development, including a competition to identify the best value SMR design for the UK…….
- It is understood that they will be told in the coming weeks whether they have moved to the next phase.
The Times has reported that among the companies interested in Trawsfynydd are US firm Bechtel, which has been signed up to build Wylfa Newydd.
Other firms with a background in this type of reactor and understood to be interested are US firms NuScale and Westinghouse, China’s CNNC and a Korean consortium…….
- A report by the Energy and Climate Change Committee has identified Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd – which is currently being decommissioned – as a potential site for a mini nuclear power plant……..http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/38-companies-express-interest-building-11376387
American and Japanese corporations to sell nuclear reactors to UK, in North Wales
£14bn North Wales nuclear power station to be built by the Japanese and 
Americans 22 MAY 2016 BY SION BARRY
Menter Newydd is a joint venture between Bechtel Management Company and Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe. A US-Japanese consortium has been established to build the £14bn Wylfa Newydd nuclear plant.
Horizon Nuclear Power has appointed Menter Newydd to help deliver the company’s lead nuclear new build project on Anglesey.
Menter Newydd is a joint venture of Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe, US giant Bechtel Management Company and Japanese firm JGC Corporation (UK) and will be responsible for the construction of Wylfa Newydd, overseen by Horizon Nuclear Power…..http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/14bn-north-wales-nuclear-power-11368974
USA using Westinghouse nuclear reactors and fuel to compete with Russia for European dominance
The U.S. is going after Russian nukes in Europe. And they’re counting on just one company to do it. Oddly enough, it’s Japanese.
If you thought the energy security issue the U.S. has been selling to Europe was only about American liquefied natural gas, look closer. It’s also about Russian nuclear energy behind the old Iron Curtain.
Energy security in Eastern Europe is a thermo-nuclear reactor war that mainly pits Westinghouse Electric (WEC) against Russian Rosatom. It’s a drawn-out and extremely costly energy game the U.S. is trying desperately to win. State Department chief Hillary Clinton even “lobbied” for Westinghouse in Prague in 2012.
It’s not a secret.
Westinghouse Chief Executive Danny Roderick says Clinton’s showing made a big impression on the Czechs. “I was proud that she was in the trenches with me,” he reportedly said.
The unstated goal: lessen Russian control of the nuclear power market in Eastern Europe, even if that does not translate into an immediate market share for Westinghouse. Historically, for some of those countries Rosatom and its fuel assembly maker TVEL are the only game in town. Continue reading
USA NOT receptive to Russia’s proposal for joint strikes on Syrian rebels
Russia urges joint strikes on Syria rebels but U.S. reacts coolly, Reuters, 20 May 16 Russia has proposed to the U.S.-led coalition that they stage joint air strikes on Syrian rebels, including militant Islamist group Nusra Front, who are not observing a ceasefire, but the United States responded coolly on Friday.
Such action would begin as of May 25 and be coordinated with the Syrian government, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told a Defence Ministry meeting broadcast on state television, adding Moscow reserved the right to stage strikes unilaterally.
He said joint air strikes should also target convoys carrying weapons and ammunition crossing into Syria from Turkey.
“We believe the adoption of these measures will allow a transition to a peaceful process to be achieved in the entire territory of Syria,” he said. “Of course, these measures have been coordinated with the leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic.”……
Washington has consistently refused to join forces with Russia in Syria ever since Moscow launched its campaign of air strikes in September last year, accusing it of acting solely to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The United States has called on Assad to step down.
Communication between the U.S. and Russian militaries on Syria has been limited to contacts aimed at avoiding an accidental clash as they carry out rival bombing campaigns and small numbers of U.S. forces operate on the ground.
Western officials suggested that the proposal, which the Pentagon said had not been formally presented to the U.S. Defense Department, was an attempt by President Vladimir Putin to raise Russia’s profile on the international stage.
“There is no agreement to conduct joint air strikes with the Russians in Syria,” said U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby. He added that the United States believed that Assad’s government was responsible for most of the violations of the fitful ceasefire that began on Feb. 27.
“We look to Russia to end such (government) violations, which includes strikes that have hit civilians and civilian facilities,” he said.
While Russia supports the Assad government, the United States and its allies support rebels trying to overthrow him in a civil war that has burned for more than five years and killed at least 250,000 people.
However, both sides oppose the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which was not included in a ceasefire deal which has failed to prevent widespread violence. A U.S. military strike killed Nusra Front’s leader, Abu Firas al-Suri, in April.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the U.S. aim remains for Russia to persuade Assad to abide by the cessation of hostilities in Syria, saying it was not the first time Russia had made such a proposal…….http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-usa-syria-idUSKCN0YB1HB
UK designs for more beautiful nuclear reactors
Realistic or idyllic? Nuclear plant designs shortlisted http://www.itv.com/news/border/2016-05-20/realistic-or-idyllic-nuclear-plant-designs-shortlisted/
A series of possible designs for the new Moorside nuclear development in Cumbria have been drawn up.
NuGen invited designers from around the world to come up with ideas for what would become Europe’s biggest new nuclear power plant.
Here are some of the schemes have been shortlisted for different parts of the nuclear development.
The shortlisted ideas were selected by an independent panel of experts, including Sir Terry Farrell (the British architect and urban designer famous for work including the MI6 Building in London) and Paul Tiplady (former Chief Executive of the Lake District National Park Authority).
The architecture and landscape community have embraced the challenge and have delivered some thoughtful, considered and visually breath-taking proposals for our Moorside Project.
We’ve narrowed the entries down to five – but we’re very keen to hear what the public think of our selection.
Ruhr nuclear plant intentionally pumped radioactive waste into atmosphere
Ruhr nuclear plant ‘pumped radioactive waste into air’, the Local de 20 May 2016 A former engineer at one of Germany’s nuclear reactors has made an astonishing claim: that the plant intentionally pumped radioactive waste into the atmosphere in 1986.
Speaking to the Westfälischer Anzeiger, 83-year-old retired engineer Hermann Schollmeyer apparently decided it was time to come clean, three decades after the incident he describes.
The official story had always been that radioactive waste was unintentionally leaked into the air at the THTR reactor in Hamm in May 1986, the western German newspaper reports.
But Schollmeyer now claims that the plant used the cover of the Chernobyl – which had released a cloud of radioactive waste over western Europe – to pump their own waste into the atmosphere, believing no one would notice.
“It was done intentionally,” Schollmeyer said. “We had problems at the plant and I was present at a few of the meetings.”
The problems related to balls of radioactive fuel getting stuck in the plant’s pipework…….
When asked why it took him so long to come forward about the incident, the engineer said “no one asked me before.”
Hubertus Zdebel, a member of parliament for the Left Party, told Neues Deutschland that “if Dr. Schollmeyer’s account is accurate we are talking about a scandalous and criminal action.” http://www.thelocal.de/20160520/german-nuclear-plant-pumped-radioactive-waste-into-air
America gets Ukraine to hop on its nuclear power marketing bandwagon
How Washington Is Fighting For Russia’s Old Europe Energy Market, Forbes, Kenneth Rapoza , 17 May 16
“……..Nuking Ukraine
Getting Ukraine to hop on the Westinghouse band wagon was particularly crafty. Either it was simply fantastic timing on the part of Westinghouse, or the U.S. government and the new, post-Euromaidan government of Ukraine colluded to kick Russia to the curb.
“I think that Westinghouse was somehow involved in getting the EC to push Ukraine away from Russia on this front,” says Tomas Vlcek, an nergy security expert based out of Masaryk University in the Czech Republic.
In March 2014, just two months after the pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted, a European environmentalist group called Bellona sent out stories saying that the Russian government was ready to punish Ukraine with an embargo on nuclear fuel supplies from TVEL.
When compared to what Gazprom has done with gas supplies, Putin ordering a stop on TVEL sales of nuclear fuel assemblies simply sounded like something he would propose. Only, it is not possible to ban nuclear fuel supply. Not only does the fuel rod stay in the reactor for years, someone else can make it for the reactor instead of the Russians. Like Westinghouse.
The Bellona coverage brandished Russia as a villain in the nuclear energy business too. Brussels called for “diversification” in Ukraine’s nuclear fuel market and gave Westinghouse’s European fuel division millions of euros in subsidies for the sake of “energy security”.
The whole shebang had nothing to do with Westinghouse in Pennsylvania. Their spokeswoman said she’s never heard of Bellona. Her colleagues in Europe, on the other hand-
Derek Taylor, the former E.U. civil servant who works at the Brussels branch of Bellona is also a Senior Advisor on energy at Burson-Marsteller which, in turn,is a public affairs firm working for Westinghouse worldwide.
Despite the civil war in East Ukraine, sanctions and Gazprom gas disputes, the Russians have never missed any scheduled nuclear fuel delivery to Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Westinghouse is more than a brand name American power company. It’s a battering ram used by Washington to promote energy security.
In 2012, Ukraine’s nuclear regulator banned the use of Westinghouse fuel assemblies in the country pending an investigation. Two years later, according to sources in Ukraine, then-Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk consulted Westinghouse on picking a new nuclear safety regulator for his new government.
In 2015 during a scheduled outage at a reactor unit at the South Ukraine nuclear power plant, two of the Westinghouse-made fuel assemblies were found to be leaking contrary to Westinghouse’s claims that those were of an ‘improved’ modification to fit the Rosatom VVER-1000 type nuclear reactors there.
Regardless, anti-Russia politics trumps technological problems. Westinghouse is currently planning to deliver five reloads of fuel to the South Ukraine and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants, the company said on April 28, meaning the new regulator has concluded its study and their VVER-1000 fuel assemblies are as good as those made in Russia. Capturing that market, as Toshiba says it will in corporate presentations, serves as a means to punish the Russians. It’s a political convenience the Russian’s are not willing to ignore.
“Our ability to make VVER fuel is not in question,” says Westinghouse Roderick. “We will continue to sell to VVER-1000s. I think it’s good to have competition in that market.”
It is good. Political pressure, whether Russian or American, is probably more harm than good. And it’s going to really irk countries, like Russia, who clearly see it as Washington poking them in the eye on purpose.
Energy security is therefore as much fact as it is fiction. It is as much a means to market Russian rivals as it is to limit the serious role energy politics plays in Russian-European relations.
But derailing nuclear projects while running into technical difficulties with Westinghouse fuel assemblies in Rosatom reactors is a dangerous way to promote energy security there. Paradoxically as it might seem, it plays into Russia’s hands when those projects to work according to plan. The Russians look reliable and solid by comparison.
“On the finance side too, I think Rosatom has Westinghouse beat,” says Jirusek about the Russian company’s ability to finance the construction of a new power plant and long term fuel supply deals.
Apart from Ukraine, where diversification was imposed for political reasons, Rosatom’s TVEL still holds its market share. Japan’s Westinghouse, despite paying no corporate tax in the U.S., will continue applying the pressure with the help of Washington and the U.S. taxpayer.
For the Russia-United States nuclear stand off , once again it is a war of attrition.
On May 12, Toshiba said it is coming back from the brink. It will post an operating profit of $1.1 billion this year after losing $6.6 billion last year due to massive write downs associated with Westinghouse and restructuring costs in the wake of a damaging accounting scandal.
No one should bet that Washington will suddenly stop selling their Westinghouse nukes to the Europeans. They could promote another Japanese-American hybrid, like the General Electric/Hitachi boiled water reactors. Or Oregon-based NuScale, who make a smaller modular reactor that is less capital intensive and is designed to be integrated into a renewable energy grid. But they do not, obviously. It’s not because those are inferior products or even that Europe is currently a pressurized water reactor market. They do it because Westinghouse competes directly with the Russians. That’s what Washington is really after. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/05/17/washingtons-european-energy-security-boondoggle/#4247a5f362ef
Russia aims to set up a nuclear sales empire, now pushing nuclear power to South East Asia
Putin Pushes Nuclear Power To Southeast Asia, Forbes, Kenneth Rapoza 20 May 16 Russian president Vladimir Putin did some lobbying for state owned Rosatom in Sochi on Friday, telling southeast Asian countries there that it was time to go nuclear.
“The level of cooperation between Russia and ASEAN in the fuel and energy sphere needs to be taken to a new level,” Putin was quoted as saying in the local press today. ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “Moscow is ready to cover the market and is ready to offer member countries projects on the construction of next generation nuclear electrical power stations,” he said during the Russia-ASEAN Summit in Sochi.
None of the 10 ASEAN nations are currently hooked up to nuclear power…..Rosatom is the world’s third largest developer of nuclear reactors. Its subsidiary TVEL producers fuel assembly rods, the technology that holds the uranium used to power the reactor and generate electricity. It competes with Westinghouse Electric Company, AREVA Inc. and now Chinese companies are starting to get in on the action, primarily in China but also in Eastern Europe, an historic strong hold for Russian utilities…..
No reactor deals between Rosatom and ASEAN nations have been signed at this time. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/05/20/putin-pushes-nuclear-power-to-southeast-asia/#6ec263f32e0a
Russia to build Bushehr Nuclear Plant in Iran
‘A Partner We Can Trust’: Iran Chooses Russia to Build Bushehr Nuke Plant Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom, will start work on Iran’s Bushehr-2 nuclear power plant by the end of this year after the construction site preparations are completed……
Russia runs pro nuclear workshop in Vietnam
Workshop promotes nuclear power A workshop to enhance the understanding of nuclear power among people and media alike was held on May 19 in Hanoi. The event, part of activities of the “2016 Nuclear Science Day in Hanoi ,” was jointly organised by Russia ‘s State Nuclear Energy Corporation (ROSATOM), the Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Information Center on Nuclear Energy (ICONE) and the Hanoi University of Technology.Speaking at the event, Andrey Stankevich from ROSATOM Vietnam attached significance to publicity work to promote the development of nuclear energy…….
Communication work is crucial to raise public awareness of the development of the nuclear sector and get people’s approval of nuclear power, said Deputy Director of the Agency Nguyen Thi Thu Trang
According to the representative from ROSATOM Asia, the press and media need to be a reliable source of basic information on radiation, nuclear science and the safety of nuclear power plants.
They should also promote the benefits of the sector in terms of socio-economic development, health care, agriculture and industry.
Numerous activities will also take place during the “2016 Nuclear Science Day in Hanoi” programme, which runs until May 20, including a lecture by a professor from the Russia National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) and an awards presentation for the recent Physics Olympiad winners. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/science-it/156747/workshop-promotes-nuclear-power.html
Russia looks to nuclear colonise Africa
Russia’s Rosatom seeks cooperation agreements for African nuclear expansion By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) 20 May 16, – Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom plans to sign cooperation agreements with Kenya, Uganda and Zambia to lay the groundwork for an expanded presence in Sub-Saharan Africa beyond its planned bid to build nuclear power plants in South Africa.
Rosatom has voiced confidence in its ability to see off competition from China, France and South Korea in a planned South African tender to build a 9,600 megawatts (MW) nuclear power fleet in the continent’s most industrialised country. It sees scope, however, for more deals across the region, from the building of plants to supplying reactor fuel……
Victor Polikarpov, Rosatom’s regional vice-president for Sub-Saharan Africa, said on Thursday.
“We want South Africa to become our springboard for the rest of Africa. We want to create a nuclear cluster, a group of companies here that can operate with us in Africa.”
President Jacob Zuma’s government was checking the financial and commercial impact of its nuclear ambitions before it issues a tender.
South Africa’s 1,800 MW Koeberg station near Cape Town is the continent’s only commercial nuclear power plant at present, though Rosatom is building a nuclear plant in Egypt that is expected to be completed by 2022.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s nuclear energy corporation Necsa is being encouraged by government to revive nuclear enrichment and conversion facilities to reduce dependence on imported reactor fuels……
Rosatom’s Polikarpov, however, said it might not be viable for South Africa to restart enrichment facilities dismantled before white minority rule ended in 1994.
“Another solution is just to have fuel supplied from Russia. We can guarantee supply of fuel non-stop for the duration of operation of all power plants,” he said.
Nigeria, however, looks a more distant prospect as its economy contracts amid the global plunge in oil prices.
“Given the extremely bad economic situation in Nigeria today, it might take a bit longer. But the government and the new president are still determined to go nuclear,” Polikarpov said.
(Editing by James Macharia and David Goodman) http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKCN0YA1CH
Russia plans for Africa to be its nuclear colony, starting with south Africa
How Russia Is Expanding Its Vast Nuclear Empire Into Africa, AFK Insider By Dana Sanchez May 19, 2016, Russia’s government-owned nuclear agency Rosatom hopes to use South Africa as a springboard into the rest Africa as it seeks to expand its influence on the continent by building nuclear power plants.
Rosatom plans to sign framework cooperation agreements with Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, adding to those already made with South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, Reuters reported.
Right now, South Africa may be the best prospect. Nigeria looks less likely as its economy contracts in the global oil price plunge.
“Given the extremely bad economic situation in Nigeria today, it might take a bit longer. But the government and the new president are still determined to go nuclear,” said Viktor Polikarpov, Rosatom’s vice-president of sub-Saharan Africa.
South Africa in 2015 approved a plan to develop up to 600 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2030 as part of a bigger plan to build 9,600 megawatts of nuclear power at up to nine new nuclear reactors……
Environmental activist group Greenpeace warned the ANC in 2015 to abandon nuclear build plans or face massive resistance, NuclearNews reported.
“The ANC needs to know that if it does go for the nuclear option as part of the (energy) mix, then they are on a collision course with the broader spectrum of the South African civil society,” said Greenpeace Director Kumi Naidoo said on Monday that the ANC should “take nuclear off the table.
Russia has competition to do the nuclear build from China, France and South Korea, Reuters reported. It’s already planning to seek more deals across the region that range from building power plants to supplying reactor fuel.
“What we are targeting is to build South Africa as a nuclear cluster of nuclear industries so that we can use our partners and our partnership for our expansion into Africa,” Polikarpov said in an interview Tuesday in Cape Town.
Rosatom can offer financing options, Polikarpov said, according to Bloomberg. These include a contract with a state-export credit offered to the government of South Africa, a buyer-owner operator agreement, a public-private partnership, or a combination of them…….
The allure of the turnkey nuclear power plant, built, owned and operated by Rosatom, allows governments across the world to embrace such projects. But for Russia they are much more than a major economic export. They are another geopolitical tool, allowing the Kremlin to tie up strategic governments into long-term cooperation. http://afkinsider.com/126032/how-russia-is-expanding-its-vast-nuclear-empire-into-africa/
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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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