nuclear renaissance « nuclear-news

The end of USA’s nuclear resuscitation dream?

Constellation has even stated it could completely shut down operations in Maryland by the end of the year if it hadn’t received a federal guarantee……

The U.S. nuclear renaissance coming to an end already ? POWER GEN, by Brian Wheeler. August, 4 2010 – While the United States nuclear industry is continuing on its path to expand, there seems to be a roadblock for some companies. Cost. The capital cost for nuclear power plants is not cheap and this had led to some companies cutting back spending and even looking at canceling planned new nuclear development. Continue reading →

August 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

Nuclear power industry resuscitation continues to falter

The U.S., which hasn’t licensed any new reactors since the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, is trying to revive nuclear-power construction…….The last new plant to be licensed opened in 1987.

U.S. Nuclear Projects Tied Up Awaiting Federal Loan Guarantees – Bloomberg, By : Katarzyna Klimasinska – Jul 30, 201// <![CDATA[// 0 The so-called nuclear renaissance that was supposed to boost U.S. capacity to generate emissions- free power may stall as developers await decisions from the Obama administration on federal aid…. Continue reading →

July 31, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

EDF takeover in France’s nuclear empire?

it has ambitions to dominate the global market, building its latest-generation EPR reactor around the world and introducing it next-generation reactor ATMEA.

French Govt: EDF, Areva In Strategic Nuclear Partnership – WSJ.com-By A.H. Mooradian and Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires;PARIS 27 July 2010, –The French government Tuesday announced a far-reaching alliance between State-controlled utility giant Electricite de France (EDF.FR) and State nuclear engineering group Areva SA (CEI.FR), Continue reading →

July 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors | Leave a comment

U.S. nuclear loans – govt favouritism to an uneconomic industry

If the DOE gets its way, US loan guarantees between 2008 and 2011 for nuclear will be triple those for renewables and energy efficiency (see page 4 of the GAO report). Yet the nuclear ‘renaissance’ is struggling to get off the ground while renewables are positively thriving. You do the math.

Nuclear favouritism, Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – July 15, 2010, ……… On Monday it was the International Energy Agency’s Energy Technology Perspectives with its bad news for the nuclear ‘renaissance’. Yesterday it was the EUROTOM Supply Agency and its figures that show that nuclear power isn’t bringing – and can’t bring – energy security to Europe.

Today it’s a report released this week by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) which demonstrates the bias and favouritism shown to the nuclear industry by government and politicians. The GAO has been looking at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) loan guarantee program (LGP). Continue reading →

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

How can nuclear energy go ahead, with no waste disposal solution?

The Feds Must Address Nuclear Waste Storage Problem By STUART PRICE | TIMES-DISPATCH June 27, 2010 Richmond, Va.

Last January, President Obama announced that the Department of Energy was creating a new group, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, to review the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and challenge national practices in place for more than 50 years.

One of the commission’s opportunities will be to determine if spent nuclear fuel rod assemblies can be safely recycled, thereby reducing the final quantity of waste requiring disposal. The commission’s challenges will include defining permanent nuclear waste solutions and selecting final repository sites. In July 2010, a commission subcommittee on waste disposal will meet in Washington. The commission’s final report is expected in January 2012.

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Vietnam’s nuclear plans unlikely to succeed

A recent World Bank study found Vietnam could produce more than 500 gigawatts of electricity from land-based and off-shore wind farms, 10 times the country’s expected national demand in 2020.

Vietnam’s unnecessary nuclear ‘renaissance’ Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – June 23, 2010 The news just in from Vietnam is that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the construction of eight new nuclear power plants in the country. Each plant will feature ‘at least’ four reactors and all will be operational by 2030.

So, that’s ‘at least’ 32 reactors built within the next 20 years. Good luck with that, Mr Dung, because you’re really going to need it. Continue reading →

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors, renewable energy, uranium, wind | Leave a comment

Nuclear resuscitation is struggling in France, Finland, England

Generation III nuclear reactors: late again, Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – June 25, 2010T he continuing and farcical story of the state of the art European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) being built by AREVA at Olkiluoto in Finland. The many, many diverse delays incompetence in the project have led to it being (at the time of writing) four years behind schedule and 2.3 billion euros over-budget. Continue reading →

June 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | AREVA, AUSTRALIA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium, Westinghouse | Leave a comment

Nuclear Suppliers Group cartel in disarray over China and Pakistan

Nuclear meeting ends amid divisions over Pakistan, BBC News, 25 June 2010, -A meeting of countries exporting civil nuclear technology has ended with uncertainty about Chinese plans to sell two nuclear reactors to Pakistan.Such a deal would appear to be against the rules set by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).But the group’s annual meeting, held in New Zealand, has revealed divisions in the international response……

BBC News – Nuclear meeting ends amid divisions over Pakistan

June 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, politics international | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, renewableenergy, uranium | Leave a comment

Global Nuclear Energy Partnership revived under a new name

Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Steering Group Members Approve Transformation to the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation Department of Energy – U.S. Department of Energy , 18 June 2010,
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Steering Group met in Accra, Ghana on June 16-17, 2010 and approved unanimously several transformative changes to reflect global developments that have occurred since the Partnership was established in 2007. The transformation includes a new name – the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation — and the establishment of a new Statement of Mission. Continue reading →

June 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Many a slip between Sweden’s nuclear cup and the lip

The Riksdag voted in favor of renewing nuclear power—…..by the near-divided vote of 174-172. The left-leaning opposition party has vowed to reverse the legislation if it gains power in September’s general election….Even if the overturn of the ban stands, political will alone does not new nuclear power plants make–as neighboring Finland can attest.

Sweden Goes Nuclear (maybe) TIME, by Eben Harrell , June 18, 2010, The Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, voted on June 17 to overturn a three-decades old ban on new nuclear reactors in what many see as a test-case for the long-predicted “nuclear renaissance ” in Europe.The legislation annuls a a referendum in 1980 in which Sweden’s population voted against renewing or replacing the country’s fleet of 12 power plants…….

But yesterday’s vote is no simple victory for nuclear supporters. Continue reading →

June 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, Sweden | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, uranium | Leave a comment

Tax-payers liable if nuclear reactor plan goes belly up

It’s Official – Taxpayers Take On Nuclear Risk, CleanEnergy Footprints, 18 June 2010, Today the utility giant Southern Company agreed to the terms of its portion of the $8.3 billion conditional loan guarantee awarded by the Obama Administration back in February for the proposed two new reactors it wants to build along with its utility partners at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. So now U.S. taxpayers are officially on the hook if the project goes belly up. Continue reading →

June 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, energy efficiency, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

India’s Chambers of Commerce call for Nuclear Suppliers to be liable for accidents and delays

The Chamber is also of the view that that there should be a provision in the Bill which allows and entitles victims for higher compensation from Higher Courts. It also proposes that the Government may consider provision for cost over runs due to regulatory delays.

ASSOCHAM seeks clause in civil nuclear liability for precaution against tragedy India Infoline News Service, Jun 17, 2010 Nuclear Supplier may include anybody and everybody who supplies equipments, instruments, spare parts, contractual labor accounting for 5% or above of the total project cost.The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has proposed that all nuclear supplier(s) as well operators subjected to a clause as per which compensation is ensured in an equitable manner Continue reading →

June 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, Legal | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactors, uranium, Westinghouse | Leave a comment

Bill Gates’ pie in the sky idea for prolonging the agony of declining nuclear industry

TerraPower’s Multibillion-Dollar Nuclear Reactor Plan – Venture Capital Dispatch – WSJ, 16 June 2010, By Yuliya ChernovaIf your first product is due on the market in nine years, at a cost of between $3 billion and $4 billion, can you raise venture money now? In the case of TerraPower LLC, the answer is yes. The Bellevue, Wash.-based nuclear technology developer announced this week it raised $35 million in its Series B round from new investor Khosla Ventures and returning backers Charles River Ventures and Bill Gates.
…………. there are still years of engineering and development work ahead for the team………
Besides having to overcome technological and financial challenges, TerraPower would also have to deal with a difficult regulatory framework. In the U.S., the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues licenses for new nuclear power plant designs; it typically takes years to secure one.

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Bill Gates promoting untested and unlikely, nuclear technology

Bill Gates-Backed Nuclear Startup TerraPower Piles on Investors , 14 June 2010, Is this really the best Gates can do as far as energy bets goes? This one is still in simulation mode with a best ‘estimate’ they might be able to demonstrate a prototype plant by 2020? Surely there are some more ‘realistic’ energy start-ups Gates could also be ‘pushing’ as well.

Bill Gates-Backed Nuclear Startup TerraPower Piles on Investors

June 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

National Anti-Nuclear Gathering at USA Weapons Complex

Nukewatch – July 4th weekend, 2010At Maryville College and the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex, Tennessee.

The Nuclear Resister, Nukewatch and the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA) invite you to join us for a national gathering, culminating with nonviolent anti-nuclear direct action, July 3-5, 2010, to declare our independence from nuclear weapons and nuclear power. The gathering will be held at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee (tentative), with protest and action at the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex in nearby Oak Ridge, where OREPA has sustained a nonviolent campaign for over 20 years. Nukewatch

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, peace, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment