Regulated Asset Base model may save Hitachi’s Wylfa Newydd nuclear project.
RAB model may have saved Wylfa Newydd nuclear project. Access to the
regulated asset base (RAB) financing model may have helped to save
Hitachi’s plans to build a new nuclear plant in north Wales, an executive
who worked on the project has told MPs. Last year, the Hitachi-backed
Horizon consortium announced it had withdrawn from the Wylfa Newydd project
after ploughing more than £2 billion into its development.
Utility Week 18th Nov 2021
NASA seeks ideas for a nuclear reactor on the moon – submissions due by February 19 2022
NASA seeks ideas for a nuclear reactor on the moon abc news, 20 Nov 21
If anyone has a good idea on how to put a nuclear fission power plant on the moon, the U.S. government wants to hear about itBy KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE, Idaho — If anyone has a good idea on how to put a nuclear fission power plant on the moon, the U.S. government wants to hear about it.
NASA and the nation’s top federal nuclear research lab on Friday put out a request for proposals for a fission surface power system.
NASA is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory to establish a sun-independent power source for missions to the moon by the end of the decade…….
The reactor would be built on Earth and then sent to the moon…….
The proposal requests are for an initial system design and must be submitted by Feb. 19. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/nasa-seeks-ideas-nuclear-reactor-moon-81282960
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission found violations of federal regulations at Vogtle nuclear site.
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U.S. regulator to raise oversight at Georgia Vogtle nuclear power reactor https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-regulator-raise-oversight-georgia-190308554.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFLUuKMz6yKJdBOQz3f8MPdcejq875Aj93HjGgabK-76iDLroU7mahePG2UUtceKXHdb4cvQJDADLfjHUAdSK7rs4T9iB9Q1qhV5_ncjUA7ziTqk0iBJCIU8oMPpX7xIkkm7oOJH6GBmgz Nov 18 (Reuters) Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru Editing by Marguerita Choy – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Thursday said it will increase oversight at one of the Southern Co (SO.N) operated Vogtle nuclear power plants under construction in Waynesboro, Georgia.
The decision to increase oversight comes after finalizing two inspection findings involving the safety-related electrical raceway system at Unit 3, the NRC said.
The NRC said it had launched a special inspection in June 2021 and found two violations of federal regulations at the site.
NRC inspectors found that Southern Nuclear did not properly implement its corrective action program, resulting in construction quality issues, extensive rework, and a report to the NRC for a significant quality assurance breakdown.”
“They also found that the company did not follow design specifications while installing safety-related cables for reactor coolant pumps and equipment designed to shut down the reactor safely.”
The NRC said these findings fall under a low-to-moderate safety significance and will schedule a supplemental inspection to verify Southern Nuclear understands the root cause and has taken appropriate corrective actions.
Kamala Harris became the first woman to have control over US nuclear weapons, but only briefly
Kamala Harris became the first woman to have control over US nuclear weapons, but only briefly, Business Insider, Ryan Pickrell, Nov. 19, 2021,
| President Joe Biden briefly transferred presidential authority to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday.That included the ability to use nuclear weapons, making Harris the first woman in US history to hold that authority.Presidential power was returned to Biden following the completion of a medical procedure. President Joe Biden temporarily transferred his presidential authority to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday as he underwent a routine colonoscopy, which briefly made her the first woman in US history to have power as commander-in-chief and the first woman to have control of the US nuclear arsenal and nuclear strike authority………………… https://www.businessinsider.com.au/vp-harris-will-become-first-woman-to-control-us-nukes-2021-11?r=US&IR=T |
Japan’s nuclear regulator inspecting seismic risks at Shika nuclear power station.
NRA looking into fault risks at nuclear plant https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211118_26/ Japan’s nuclear regulator is inspecting the Shika nuclear power plant on the Sea of Japan coast to determine whether a fault beneath a reactor building is active.
The two-day inspection by the Nuclear Regulation Authority began at the plant in Ishikawa Prefecture on Thursday with 14 NRA experts taking part.
They went into a ditch dug for the survey, observed cross sections of geological strata and touched soil walls to confirm the layers’ conditions near faults.
Hokuriku Electric Power Company, which operates the plant, applied for screenings of the Number 2 reactor, which has been offline since 2011.
The NRA launched the screenings in 2014 with a focus on whether 10 faults at the plant, including one beneath the building that houses the Number 2 reactor, are active. In 2016, a panel of the authority said it could not deny that some of the faults could move.
In response, the firm insisted that the faults are not active, citing new data on constituents of mineral samples collected from the faults.
New guidelines for nuclear safety do not allow operators to build important facilities such as reactor buildings above active faults that could move.
If the fault beneath the Number 2 reactor is found to be active, operation of the facility cannot resume and it may eventually be dismantled.
The experts are expected to confirm on Friday the length of an active fault that runs near the complex.
Russian diplomat calls for coordinated global efforts to enact Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Russian diplomat calls for coordinated global efforts to enact Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
According to Maria Zakharova, the Preparatory Commission has been taking effective steps to create conditions and infrastructure facilities necessary for the treaty’s effective operation
MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. The international community needs to coordinate its steps to make sure that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty becomes an effective legal tool, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Friday.
“Unfortunately, despite some undeniable achievements, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has not yet become an effective international legal tool. Well-coordinated steps by the international community are crucial for achieving this goal. Another eight nations from the so-called list of 44 need to ratify the treaty for it to come into force,” she pointed out. “We expect that the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization will continue large-scale activities aimed at facilitating the early achievement of this goal based on a mandate enshrined in a resolution on the commission’s establishment and the treaty itself,” she added…………….
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on September 10, 1996. On September 24, 1996, the document was opened for signing, but it still hasn’t taken effect as it needs to be ratified by the 44 countries listed in the treaty’s annex. The United States, China, Egypt, Israel and Iran have signed the treaty but haven’t ratified it yet, while three new nuclear powers – India, North Korea and Pakistan – have not signed the document. https://tass.com/politics/1363719
G and E’s Humboldt Nuclear Power Plant is officially all cleaned up. Environmental groups are not so sure.
PG&E Reactor Officially Decommissioned, Nuclear Waste Not https://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2021/11/18/pgande-reactor-officially-decommissioned-nuclear-waste-not J.A. SAVAGE ON THU, NOV 18, 2021 G&E’s Humboldt Nuclear Power Plant reactor site was deemed fully cleaned up by the Nucle ar Regulatory Commission today. While the federal government no longer has oversight over that part of the site — “none at all,” said commission spokesperson David McIntyre — the spent fuel and other radioactive waste, however, remains under federal jurisdiction.
The former reactor site has no requirement to be monitored for radiation. “There’s no need for it. There’s no accident scenario” in which a radiation release to the environment from that part of PG&E’s plant could occur, according to McIntyre. It could, according to regulators, even be used for farming.
PG&E is required to maintain the area above Buhne Point where spent fuel is stored, “until fuel is removed,” McIntyre said. That means the utility is responsible for “physical security, mostly fences and guards,” he added.
Environmental security is another story, however. When asked about responsibility to keep the site secure from the threat of a radioactive release due to a tsunami, sea level rise or some other environmental event, McIntyre said he would check and then got back to the Journal with an update.
“PG&E, the licensee, is responsible for maintaining its safety and security until the fuel is removed from the site,” he said. “I am advised that the storage casks are below grade, as an additional protection against earthquakes, and they are located on high ground above the town, so sea level rise and tsunamis are not considered a threat to the safety of the facility.”
Environmental groups, however, remain concerned sea level rise will very much be an issue at the site. Read more about the nuclear plant’s history and legacy, which some fear could stretch thousands of years into the future, in previous Journal coverage here.
France’s Court of Audit wants a debate on nuclear power decisions – in view of delays and costs in this sector.
Electricity production choices: anticipate and control technological,
technical and financial risks. COURT OF AUDIT,19 Nov 21,
The Court publishes notes that are part of a body of work carried out on several major public policies, which identify both the main challenges that public decision-makers will face in the coming years, and the levers likely to overcome them. As an extension of the report "A public finance strategy for exiting the crisis", submitted last June to the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, this series of publications allows the Court to express itself on structural issues. With these educational notes, the Court is placing itself at the heart of its mission to inform citizens, at a key democratic moment. Nearly 70% of French electricity production is provided by nuclear reactors, two-thirds of which will have ceased to produce before 2050. To renew this large part of our electricity production capacity, new means of production - “Carbon-free”, in accordance with France's climate commitments - will require not only a considerable financial investment, but also significant construction delays. This situation calls for urgent decisions now, aimed at securing the needs of an increasing energy supply. In this perspective, the Court of Auditors considers it necessary to hold a debate on the choice of electricity production, which constitutes a technological, technical and industrial challenge, and the consequences of which in terms of employment and development of the territory will reverberate over several decades. Cour des Comptes 18th Nov 2021 https://www.ccomptes.fr/fr/publications/les-choix-de-production-electrique-anticiper-et-maitriser-les-risques-technologiques
Use Less Stuff Day-Thursday November 18th
We really must understand that the lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic. It is psychotic because it has completely lost touch with reality. We crave things we neither need nor enjoy.Richard Foster
Use Less Stuff Day It seems like every day that passes results in us accumulating more and more useless detritus in our lives. The newest tech toys, the newest kitchen gadgets, the newest whatever, all got to be in our hands and there for us to use.
Worse, we tend to use a lot of disposable containers and paper towels and just…well… stuff. All of this adds up on the environment and the world we live in, and Use Less Stuff Day encourages us to take a critical look at these behaviors and do what we can to cut back.
History of Use Less Stuff Day
Use Less Stuff Day was established as part of a campaign working to save the environment, and to save the world. Of course, what really needs to be understood is that we’re not saving the world, we’re saving ourselves. The Earth as it sits will spin on its merry way no matter what we do to it, and life on it will just adapt to the new environment we created.
Every year we use literal tons of plastic bottles, we have microbeads from our shampoo and facial scrubs that find their way down to the ocean, we burn our way through massive amounts of resources as we continue to upgrade what we own and throw away last season’s model.
Organizations like Greenpeace have jumped on board to try to encourage us to work to save ourselves, from ourselves, and one of the best ways to handle it is by controlling our consumption of resources.
How to celebrate Use Less Stuff Day
Have you been using plastic bottled water? Get a filter for your tap and bottle it yourself in glass bottles instead. Do you usually stop and get a coffee in the mornings in a disposable cup? Brew yourself a pot at home instead and save some trees.
Check your shampoo and facial cleanser and make sure it doesn’t contain any plastic microbeads, as these wash down to the ocean and build up in massive volumes, and for Pete’s sake grab yourself a bag from home and use it at the grocery instead of using the ones they provide. That’s what Use Less Stuff Day is all about!
Despite the frantic nuclear lobbying at COP26, Rolls Royce’s small nuclear reactors will be of zero use against greenhouse emissions – Jonathon Porritt
Rolls-Royce talks of the first plant ‘coming online by 2031’ – do please do the maths yourself. So let’s say 2035, to be generous, at the earliest. And therefore of zero benefit in terms of meeting the Government’s own target of a 78% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
It’s all such a pathetic waste of time – and of taxpayers’ money. Whatever the timescale, SMRs will never compete with renewables plus storage.
COP6 ‘Nuclear Sidebar, http://www.jonathonporritt.com/cop26s-nuclear-sidebar/ Jonathon Porrit, 6 Nov 21, The fact that COP26 was crawling with huge numbers of delegates from Big Oil and Gas got a lot of attention from the media. Less attention was paid to the large number of pro-nuclear delegates parasitically inserting themselves into as many events as they could engineer access to – facilitated at every turn by BEIS Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng and Booster Boris himself..
The nuclear industry had its own short-lived moment in the sun, on 9th November. For what is now reckoned to be the fourth time, Kwasi Kwarteng went over the top to re-re-re-confirm the Government’s enthusiasm for Small Modular Reactors, re-re-re-promising (a rather miserly) £210m of Government money for Rolls-Royce, described by Kwasi Kwarteng as ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity’.
Rolls-Royce duly obliged, conjuring up another £250m of private sector investment to deliver a new fleet of at least five SMRs (and possibly as many as 16) at around £2.2bn a pop. The company’s share price duly went up by around 4%. Job done.
It doesn’t matter how many times Ministers bang this particular drum, or how many times deplorably gullible journalists in the BBC, FT, Times and the Telegraph suck it all up, moonshine is still moonshine.
In and of itself, that £460m buys practically nothing. It will allow Rolls-Royce to take whatever design they finally settle on through the Generic Design Assessment process. This will take no less than four years, and probably more than five. Even if (and it’s a big IF) regulatory approval is secured, private sector investors will still have to be found, sites identified and planning permission for each site secured – a process which can take years.
Rolls-Royce talks of the first plant ‘coming online by 2031’ – do please do the maths yourself. So let’s say 2035, to be generous, at the earliest. And therefore of zero benefit in terms of meeting the Government’s own target of a 78% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
It’s all such a pathetic waste of time – and of taxpayers’ money. Whatever the timescale, SMRs will never compete with renewables plus storage.
To be fair, it would be wrong to underestimate the importance here of energy security – meeting our energy needs from home-based, ‘indigenous’ capacity. Boris Johnson keeps banging on about ‘British wind and sunshine’ – mindful perhaps of a recent poll of Daily Express readers, of whom 97.5% said that Boris ‘should pledge to make Britain self-sufficient in energy production by 2050’.
On that basis, British nuclear electrons are therefore much more desirable than those unreliable French electrons, regardless of the fact that we wouldn’t have any new nuclear electrons coming on-stream were it not for Electricité de France.
COP26 was of course a global gathering. UK energy security was therefore less of an issue. But it got a bit of an airing on 12th November, when the two big tidal stream companies here in the UK (Nova Innovation and Atlantis Energy) made a big splash about the huge potential for tidal stream technology in Scotland – with a potential capacity of more than 500 MW. This is a proven technology (with turbines anchored to the sea floor to capture the power of tidal currents) – already delivering suitably ‘indigenous’ electrons – with no moonshine to be seen anywhere.
The potential for tidal stream is indeed significant – not just in the UK, but internationally.
However, for me personally, it’s still relatively small beer in comparison to tidal range – harnessing the power of the tides to generate huge amounts of electricity from either tidal lagoons or barrages, predictably, cost-effectively, over many decades.
If our Government was genuinely serious about energy security (instead of finding ways of propping up Rolls-Royce to support our nuclear weapons programme), tidal power would be top of its list.
But is it heck! So please check out my blog about tidal energy which follows shortly.
Germany’s Chancellor Merkel maintains stand against nuclear power being classified as sustainable
Merkel defends nuclear power exit despite climate challenges, Euro News, By Andreas Rinke, 17 Nov 21,
BERLIN -Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her decision to phase out nuclear energy, even though it has made it harder for Germany to wean its economy off fossil fuels.
In an interview with Reuters, the outgoing chancellor also said she was opposed to any plans by the European Union to label nuclear power as “sustainable”.
“It’s true, of course, that we now face the very ambitious and challenging task of completing the energy transition while phasing out coal and nuclear power,” said Merkel, who will step down once a new government is sworn in following an election in September.
“But it’s also true that this will be worth it for our country if we do it right.”
Merkel, who has led her country for 16 years, pushed for Germany to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster in Japan a decade ago, a decision that most Germans agree with……..
RENEWABLES
The share of renewables in the energy mix of Europe’s largest economy has been growing steadily since the Fukushima disaster, though energy economists say it has not risen fast enough to help Germany meet its ambitious emissions targets.
Renewables accounted for 45% of Germany’s energy last year, up from 17% in 2010, data compiled by the Agora Energiewende think-tank showed. The share of electricity generated from coal fell to 23% from 42% a decade ago. Nuclear power was halved to 11%.
The EU executive, the European Commission, is drawing up a sustainable finance “taxonomy” setting out which activities meet the environmental criteria to qualify for funding under an EU sustainable investment programme.
A document viewed by Reuters in March indicated experts were preparing to label nuclear power as sustainable because it has none of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by fossil fuels.
Merkel said Germany would continue to oppose the plan but acknowledged that it would be hard to rally 19 other members behind its position to block it.
“It’s difficult to stall the procedure as such once the European Commission has presented an act,” said Merkel.
“We in Germany believe – across party lines – that nuclear energy should not be classified as being as clean as wind and solar energy.”……… https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/11/17/germany-merkel-nuclear-exclusive
UK’s small nuclear reactor consortium indicates that it will be relying on tax-payer funding if it is to go ahead
State support a fallback option for UK’s mini-nuclear plants rollout.
The head of the consortium, which is developing a £ 30 billion fleet of
mini-nuclear power stations, has indicated that it will have to rely on UK
taxpayers to help fund the construction of the first of the new designs if
there is not enough investor interest.
FT 10th Nov 2021
https://www.ft.com/content/869279aa-f771-4025-8719-c3b8bdf1f375
Non government organisations anxious about Tricastin nuclear station, and about historic law to protect whitleblowers
After Tricastin, we must “protect the whistleblowers and focus on the
alert and not on the messenger”. Three representatives of non-governmental
organizations recall, in a forum at “The World”, the importance of “the
historic law” that the National Assembly is about to vote on the protection
of whistleblowers. They are also calling for the opening of a parliamentary
inquiry into the facts relating to the Tricastin nuclear power plant.
Le Monde 15th Nov 2021
U.S. govt brings early Christmas to Bill Gates and the nuclear industry – tax-payer funding!
The U.S. Government and Bill Gates Get Behind Nuclear Power, Barrons, By Avi Salzman, Nov. 17, 2021 Nuclear power got a boost from the infrastructure bill signed into law this week by President Biden that could at the very least forestall the industry’s decline. With government support and the endorsement of major investors like Bill Gates, nuclear power looks as if it has a place in a carbon-free future. [ed. only nuclear is not carbon-free]
The legislation sets aside $6 billion to help fund nuclear plants in danger of closing. Several plants have needed help from the states where they are located in recent years because running nuclear plants has not always been profitable as other sources of electricity have become cheaper. A 2018 report from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that “more than one-third of U.S. nuclear plants are unprofitable or scheduled to close.” Having a federal financing program would ease the pressure on states and make it more likely plants could stay open……..
The new law has other goodies for the industry too, including funding for the Energy Department’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
One project that will receive funding from the bill is a new advanced reactor in Wyoming being built by TerraPower, which was founded by Bill Gates. The TerraPower reactor is expected to be smaller than most traditional nuclear plants, but to have more highly enriched uranium. Theoretically, these kinds of projects could bring power to more remote areas. The TerraPower plant is expected to open by 2028 and replace a coal plant.
Several utility companies could benefit from support for nuclear plants, including Exelon (ticker: EXC) and NextEra Energy (NEE).
Nuclear power could get an even bigger boost from the Build Back Better bill now being debated, including from special tax credits.
Those credits could be worth as much as $15 billion to the industry. Additional credits for low-carbon hydrogen production could also benefit the nuclear industry. https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-u-s-government-and-bill-gates-get-behind-nuclear-power-51637177613
The elimination of nuclear weapons a moral imperative – Vatican
Cardinal Parolin: elimination of nuclear weapons a moral imperative, Vatican NewsThe Vatican Secretary of State speaks at a conference on disarmament promoted in Assisi by the “Committee for a Civilization of Love”. He argues that the challenge is to adopt forward-looking strategies to achieve the common good and overcome the logic of deterrence. He relaunches the Pope’s idea of converting weapons resources into a fund to fight poverty and promote development.
By Michele Raviart – Vatican City Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, offered his thoughts via an inaugural video message to a conference on looking at ways to eliminate nuclear weapons and divert spending for humanitarian purposes. The meeting was organized by the Italian-based “Committee for a Civilization of Love” and held at the Sacro Convento in Assisi. Cardinal Parolin noted that the pandemic “is teaching us an important lesson”, namely that “it is necessary to reconsider our concept of security”, which “cannot be based on the threat of mutual destruction and fear, but must find its foundation in justice, integral human development, respect for human rights, care for creation, promotion of educational and health facilities, dialogue and solidarity”.
Real and lasting trust between Nations
The meeting brought together different realities committed to promoting disarmament, the elimination of nuclear arsenals and their conversion into peace initiatives. ……….
2022 diplomatic conferences
Next January the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons will take place. Cardinal Parolin says this will offer “a crucial moment for the international community and in particular for the nuclear powers” to “clearly demonstrate their ability to understand today’s challenges, to face them and to resolve them.” In March the first meeting between the signatories of the recent Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will take place. Nuclear powers and states militarily allied to them (with the exception of the Netherlands) are not party to this treaty which came into force last January. At the same time, Cardinal Parolin called it “a success of multilateral diplomacy,” recalling how “its negotiation and entry into force would not have been possible without the action of the many civil society associations committed to the continuous promotion of disarmament and peace.”
The Pope’s words on disarmament
In conclusion, Cardinal Parolin recalled Pope Francis’ words for the 54th World Day of Peace on January 1, which should be considered as a guide for the next steps towards disarmament. “How many resources are spent on weaponry, especially nuclear weapons?” the Pope asks in the message. The answer he says would be to designate these resources for the promotion of peace, integral human development, and health through an institution such as global fund “in order to permanently eliminate hunger and contribute to the development of the poorest countries.” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-11/parolin-elimination-of-nuclear-weapons-a-moral-and-humanitarian.html
1 This Month
19 November – Webinar – The Reality of Reprocessing
Time: 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) / 2:00 PM Eastern / 7:00 PM UK / 8:00 PM CET
Register for the Zoom Event Here
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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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