reactors « nuclear-news

Damage causes delays in nuclear plant in Bulgaria

Safety Damage Delays Bulgarian Nuclear Plant Repairs Energy | October 19, 2010, A problem with one of the two functioning reactors of Bulgaria’s Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) – Unit 6, can trigger serious delays in its switching back to the country’s electric network, the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy and Economy announced..

Safety System Damage Delays Bulgarian Nuclear Plant Repairs: Safety Damage Delays Bulgarian Nuclear Plant Repairs – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency

October 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors | Leave a comment

Great Lakes shipment of dead nuclear generators once again delayed

More delays for Bruce Power shipment Owen Sound Sun Times – Ontario, CA, By PAUL JANKOWSKI, 20 Oct 10, Bruce Power has run into another delay in its plans to ship 16 used steam generators, considered to be low-level nuclear waste, to Sweden for recycling.The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission announced Monday that it is sending a supplemental report from CNSC staff to all 79 participants in a public hearing on the issue held Sept. 28 and 29 in Ottawa. The participants will have until Nov. 22 to respond, the commission said…….Opponents argue, among other things, that sending the nuclear waste through the Great Lakes would set a dangerous precedent. More delays for Bruce Power shipment – Owen Sound Sun Times – Ontario, CA

October 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, reactors | Leave a comment

Taxpayer will cop the bill for UK’s nuclear reactor wastes

The industry will only invest in new reactors if the government fixes a disposal levy to cover their contribution towards disposal in such a repository. The taxpayer will be liable for any shortfall if the actual costs exceed this levy decades from now.

Taxpayer could be hit by nuclear waste bill for new reactors• Fears new disposal levy could underestimate cost• Radioactive waste ‘could be traded like commodity’ Tim Webb * guardian.co.uk, 18 October 2010 The nuclear industry could end up passing on to taxpayers the costs of disposing of waste from new reactors under government plans, according to official documents seen by the Guardian. Continue reading →

October 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | AUSTRALIA, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

Local communities shut out of UK nuclear site decisions

NE nuclear wait goes on The Northern Echo 18 Oct 10, “……..four ‘Evolutionary Power Reactors’ (EPR), to open by 2025, have already been allocated to EDF’s sites in Suffolk and Somerset. Two will be built at each…………Jim Footner, head of Greenpeace’s climate and energy campaign, said: “Local democracy is being kicked out of the door when it comes to nuclear sites.
Lib Dem supporters must be furious that local communities will have little say about nuclear power stations in their area, other than choosing the colour of the gates.”…..bigger sea defences must be built. Last year, ministers also admitted that nuclear waste will have to be stored on site for more than 100 years if the go-ahead is given.

October 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

No subsidy for nuclear power plants, says UK govt

there will be no levy, direct payment or market support for electricity supplied or capacity provided by a private sector new nuclear operator, unless similar support is also made available more widely to other types of generation,” said Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy and climate change.

Subsidy for eight nuclear reactors rejected, FT.com, By Sylvia Pfeifer October 18 2010 Ministers said they would not rule out taking on “financial risks” as the government paved the way for eight new nuclear reactors, but they insisted there would be “no subsidy” for new nuclear power. Continue reading →

October 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors | 1 Comment

The Emperor’s New Nuclear Clothes

Washington’s resolute reaction to the shrinking renaissance affirms the brilliance of Hans Christian Anderson’s ending to his fable “The Emperor’s New Clothes”:

“But he has nothing on!” everybody shouted at last. And the emperor shivered, for it seemed to him that they were right; but he thought within himself, “I must go through with the procession.” And so he carried himself still more proudly, and the chamberlains walked along holding the train which wasn’t there at all.

Honey, I Shrunk the Renaissance: Nuclear Revival, Climate Change and Reality, CleanEnergy Footprints, by Peter Bradford, 15 Oct 10, “………Where have all the reactors gone?The 18 applications to build 27 new reactors that were on file at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in January 2009 (with five more applications for seven units expected by the end of 2010) were hailed by a compliant press to constitute “a nuclear renaissance.” Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium | 1 Comment

Radioactive tritium leaking from 20 USA nuclear plants

Last week brought more disturbing discoveries of radioactive tritium leaking into groundwater from Vermont Yankee, the aging nuclear plant in southern Vermont….In fact, the nuclear industry has contaminated groundwater with radioactive tritium at nuclear power plant sites all across the country.

Nuclear Power’s Threat to Clean Water | Greenpeace USA, by Jim Riccio – October 15, 2010 , Today is blog action day, an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day, and this year the topic is water. Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors, water | Leave a comment

American families unwilling to cop the financial risk exposure of nuclear power

The struggle for a nuclear renaissance has been and remains a struggle over allocation of economic risk. U.S. power markets allocate that risk to investors and lenders, who will not put up the money for new nuclear…… southeastern states decided to allocate that risk to their customers, some of whom have begun to rebel. Congress is being asked to allocate it to taxpayers. However, with each new reactor requiring the allocation of close to $100 in risk exposure to every family in America, this is proving a tough sell.

Honey, I Shrunk the Renaissance: Nuclear Revival, Climate Change and Reality, CleanEnergy Footprints, by Peter Bradford, 15 Oct 10, “……Did the nuclear renaissance jump, or was it pushed? In truth, the nuclear renaissance has always consisted of the number of plants that government was willing to build. This is true not only in the United States but also in every other country now building new nuclear units. Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

USA worried about Venezuela-Russia nuclear deal

US watching ‘closely’ Venezuela-Russia nuclear deal, Google hosted news, (AFP) – 16 Oct 10, WASHINGTON — The United States said Friday it was keeping a close eye on a deal under which Russia will build and operate Venezuela’s first nuclear power station.”This is something that we will watch… very, very closely,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters……AFP: US watching ‘closely’ Venezuela-Russia nuclear deal

October 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, reactors | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear negotiations run into trouble with Japan

The deal with Japan is crucial also for implementation of India’s nuclear pacts with the US and France. Both French nuclear major Areva and a US’s General Electric use reactor vessels from Japan Steel Works Limited and GE is hugely dependent on Hitachi Limited for nuclear reactors

India-Japan N-deal runs into hurdlesJayanth Jacob , Hindustan Times New Delhi, October 15, 2010 Negotiations for a crucial civil nuclear cooperation pact between India and Japan have run into hurdles over Tokyo’s insistence on stringent provisions for New Delhi’s non-proliferation actions and commitments as well as clauses dealing with a future nuclear test. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Pakistan wants USA to do a nuclear deal

A report in April by Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs found Pakistan’s stockpiles faced “immense” threats of theft “from nuclear insiders with extremist sympathies, al Qaeda or Taliban outsider attacks, and a weak state.”

Pakistan to Push for Nuclear Deal in U.S. – WSJ.com, By TOM WRIGHT, 14 Oct 10, ISLAMABAD—Pakistan’s renewed push to clinch a civilian nuclear deal with Washington threatens to further strain relations that are already tense over Islamabad’s refusal to attack Taliban havens on its soil. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Pakistan, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, reactors | 1 Comment

Old nuclear plants have low market value, new ones not viable

..Constellation’s finances have stabilized but demand for electric power has fallen, reducing not only the market value of old power plants but the viability of building new ones.

Constellation’s fallout with French firm unfortunately the new business as usual, The Washington Post, By Steven Pearlstein, October 14, 2010 If you were looking for an example of the erosion in standards of business behavior, you couldn’t do better than the story of Constellation Energy and its recent falling-out with the French nuclear energy company EDF….. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear “renaissance” looking riskier than ever, with cancellation of Maryland plant

There’s no gainsaying that nuclear construction projects are looking riskier all the time, especially in the United States, where many factors have conspired to spoil dreams of a big nuclear renaissance: declining energy demand since the onset of the global economic crisis (down 4 percent since 2007 in the States); plummeting natural gas prices (down almost half from what they were a few years ago); collapsing prospects for enactment of a U.S. climate bill (which would have raised the costs of fossil-fuel-generated electricity); and soaring reactor construction costs (with EDF’s current reactor 40 or 50 percent more expensive than originally billed).

Cancellation of Maryland Plant Delivers Double Whammy IEEE Spectrum: Bill Sweet , October 13, 2010 Continue reading →

October 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

UK nuclear industry teetering as two sites dropped from plan

“The apparent withdrawal of these two sites, in the heartland of the nuclear industry, is excellent news for local people”. – Jean McSorley

(UK) Greenfield sites dropped from list of new nuclear reactors, Two sites in Cumbria appear to have been dropped from the government’s list of proposed areas for new reactors Tim Webb * guardian.co.uk, 13 October 2010 The government has scrapped plans to build nuclear reactors on greenfield sites, according to documents seen by the Guardian, in the latest blow to the industry’s stuttering programme. Continue reading →

October 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

India will not change its Nuclear Liability Law to accomodate USA nuclear salesmen

they (the US) also know in a parliamentary system of democracy the bill becomes the law of the land…The minister was replying to questions on whether the government was planning amendments to the Civil Nuclear Liabilities law, which fixes stiff liabilities on suppliers in case of accidents,

Govt rules out any amendments in civil nuclear law, The Hindu, New Delhi, October 13, 2010 Government on Wednesday ruled out any amendments to the recently-enacted civil nuclear law to accommodate concerns of American companies on the issue of suppliers’ liability as a package during the coming visit of President Barack Obama to India next month. Continue reading →