nuclear costs « nuclear-news

France’s EDF faced with ‘sluggish’ nuclear revival in USA

before it can proceed with building and operating new plants, unlikely before 2012, the French state-controlled utility will have to line up a new partner with the endurance necessary for an increasingly sluggish U.S. nuclear renaissance…..

EDF’s Expensive U.S. Divorce – WSJ.co, 27 Oct 10, By MATTHEW CURTIN Paying to get out of a marriage that isn’t working isn’t unusual. But in the U.S. nuclear industry, where foreign operators require local partners to build and operate new plants, going it alone isn’t a long-term option. Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

Glitches in nuclear weapons systems are cause for alarm

“It is yet another indication of the risk associated with having these types of weapons around,”

Missile Mishap Revives Alarm Over Nuclear Arsenal, AOL News, Joseph Schuman, (Oct. 27) — Computer glitches, hardware failures and unexplained communication outages happen all the time. But when the affected systems control nuclear-armed missiles, it gets a little scary. Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, plutonium | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry framing German govt policy?

Opponents accuse the government of pandering to energy companies. Thursday’s Greenpeace banner accused Merkel’s party of shaping “policies for the nuclear industry.

Anti-nuclear protests in Berlin, Bloomberg, 29 Oct 10, BERLIN Greenpeace protesters have rappelled from the roof of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party headquarters and hung a massive anti-nuclear banner over the facade as parliament debates government plans to extend the lives of Germany’s nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

EU’s radioactive waste plan not likely to be successful

Greenpeace has voiced strong criticism of the proposals and claimed the European Commission has ignored key questions such as the rock behaviour, human interference among other factors. “The European Commission is pushing for deep geological disposal against a lot of problems that need to be resolved,”

EU Nuclear Waste: Commission To Propose Controversial Measure Of Burying Nuclear Waste In EuropeSource: eGov monitor – 27 October, 2010 – The European Commission is all set to propose deep underground storage of radioactive nuclear fuel waste, according to a leaked document. Continue reading →

October 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

America’s nuclear weapons – unnecessary and expensive

Americans, for the first time in their history, face the prospect of total annihilation. In addition, the U.S. government has vast superiority over all other countries when it comes to conventional war.

How Many Nuclear Weapons Does the U.S. Government Need?, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Lawrence Wittner , 26 Oct 10, A good case can be made that the U.S. government, the first to develop nuclear weapons, would be much better off today without them. Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

South Carolina residents to pay up in advance, for nuclear power station build?

customers should not be billed upfront for project expenditures that have not actually been incurred.

SCE&G seeks to recoup up to $200MM for nuclear expansion project, Penn Energy, October 26, 2010 By Dorothy Davis South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) plans to return to state regulators to request up to $200 million from customers in the form of gradual rate increases for expenses related to its nuclear expansion project in Fairfield County. Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors | Leave a comment

Repair to nuclear submarine to cost British govt many millions

the cost of the repair was likely to be millions ‘Inevitable’ damage Depending on the damage, repairs to the £3.5bn submarine could cost between £1-2m right up to more than £100m, he said.

Submarine accident ‘could cost millions’ – Channel4 News, 25 Oct 10, The Ministry of Defence could face a bill of hundreds of millions of pounds to repair a nuclear-powered submarine which ran aground last week, depending on the damage, an expert tells Channel 4 News. The incident, in which the HMS Astute ran aground near the Isle of Skye, could also have longer term implications for the viability of the rest of the Astute-class fleet if any generic weakness in the boat is uncovered, Channel 4 News understands. Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

General Electric and AREVA negotiating with Japan to further their nuclear sales

The launch of bilateral talks in June on the nuclear cooperation accord triggered an immediate outcry from survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945……

Uncertainty over tests stymies India nuclear pact, The Japan Times Online, By MAYA KANEKO, Kyodo, 26 Oct 10, Torn between economic gains and a national credo of abolishing nuclear weapons as the only country struck by them, Japan faces a dilemma in negotiating a civilian nuclear cooperation pact with India. Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

Aging nuclear reactors, like Indian Point, raise safety fears

He believes that the NRC does not enforce nuclear safety strictly enough, and he is especially concerned with the degradation of older reactors like the ones at Indian Point.

Concerns Raised Over Pipeline Near Indian Point : NPR, 25 Oct 10, A former utility executive and nuclear opponent is raising concerns about the presence of two large underground natural gas pipelines that cross within a few hundred feet of the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, N Y Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

U.S. ambassador sheds doubt on Bulgaria’s nuclear plant

Bulgaria: US Ambassador Questions Feasibility of Belene Nuclear Plant – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency, 24 Oct 10, US Ambassador James Warlick has expressed misgivings about the feasibility of Bulgaria’s planned second nuclear plant at Belene.”There are two questions that Bulgaria must ask itself – if the Belene NPP is an economically feasible project, and, second, if it provides Bulgaria and the entire region with energy security. I am not sure that there are answers to these questions. We are talking about billions of leva here, and the decisions that will be made with respect to Belene will affect Bulgaria’s energy system for decades to come,” Warlick said on the Bulgarian National Radio Sunday……Bulgaria: US Ambassador Questions Feasibility of Belene Nuclear Plant – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency

October 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Bulgaria, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Even top nuclear officials now doubt the future of nuclear energy

Says Claude Mandil, head of atomic energy for the French ministry of industry, “If France is unable to solve this [nuclear waste] issue, I do not see how we can continue the nuclear program.”…The bottom line: Even some of its biggest users are now doubting the wisdom of continuing dependence on nuclear energy, while claims that the atom is one answer to global warming don’t hold water.

Thomas D. Elias: Pro-nuke arguments deeply flawed Colusa Sun-Herald, 22 Oct 10, “………despite its dependence on the atom, France has no more solved the problem of nuclear waste disposal than we have. Continue reading →

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, politics | antinuclear, AREVA, climate change, EDF, energy efficiency, France, global warming, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Switzerland’s secrecy over nuclear smuggling

The six-year probe was slowed down by the fact that the Swiss government repeatedly ordered evidence destroyed, claiming it contained material sensitive to national security.

Swiss official to submit nuke smuggling probe soon, The Washington Post, The Associated PressFriday, October 22, 2010 GENEVA — A Swiss investigating magistrate says he will submit the findings of his probe into an alleged nuclear smuggling ring to prosecutors before the end of the year. Continue reading →

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Switzerland | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, uranium | Leave a comment

India not giving in to U.S. pressure on Nuclear Liability Law

In the run-up to President Barack Obama’s visit here in November, the U.S. side is looking for substantive changes in the nuclear liability law…..American companies such as GE and Westinghouse insist they will be unable to supply nuclear equipment to India unless they are fully insulated from all liability claims in the event of an accident.

India resists U.S. pushback on nuclear liability, The Hindu , Siddharth Varadarajan, 22 Oct 10, No change in the Act is possible, government tells U.S. NEW DELHI: After initially trying to dilute the nuclear liability law at the draft stage to accommodate the concerns of American suppliers, the Manmohan Singh government has told the United States that the Act, as passed by Parliament, is final and that no changes in any of its provisions are possible. Continue reading →

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Strikes, maintenance – closures of France’s nuclear plants

France buys electricity as its nuclear plants are hit by strike Vancouver Sun, By Henry Samuel, The Daily Telegraph October 21, 2010 France was forced to start importing electricity Thursday as unions announced that strikes would spread into the next two weeks.The unions said production had been cut at four nuclear power plants because of a 10-day rolling strike, while at least 12 of France’s 58 reactors are closed for maintenance……………………France buys electricity as its nuclear plants are hit by strike

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors | Leave a comment

Exposing banks that finance coal and nuclear

Following a campaign that started on October 16 – when volunteers started putting posters up around BNP branches and ATMs asking the public “Do you know what your bank does with your money?”, – our French activists used a BNP decorated armoured truck to deliver millions of fake ‘radioactive BNP-Paribas notes’ to AREVA’s headquarters, the company that is building Angra 3, exposing the nuclear link between the two. The money that BNP plans to use to finance this dangerous project comes from its clients, but most of them are not aware of that.

Bright sunshiny day | Greenpeace International, jmiller – October 21, 2010 , Talk about a global day for climate action! As the sun light started to shine on the Pacific Ocean this morning, a bright day started for the future of the planet and activists around the world challenged dirty energy and highlighted the benefits of a clean and renewable future. Continue reading →

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation | Leave a comment