Liability
A German study identifies the costs of adequate insurance for nuclear reactors. Entitled “Calculating a risk-adjusted insurance premium for cover the liability risks from the operation of nuclear power plants result”, the study was commissioned by the Federal Association for Renewable Energies (BEE). Key conclusions are there would need to be approximately 6.09 trillion insurance (Coverage) for a nuclear disaster; 19.5 billion annual insurance premium for each nuclear power plant (100-year availability period); this would increase the energy cost of nuclear electricity by 0.14 / kWh up to 2.36 / kWh.
Energy Fair 28th May 2011 more >>
Dungeness
Electricite de France SA halted its Dungeness B-21 reactor in England today for refueling. The unit halted at 5 p.m. local time, according to National Grid Plc (NG/) data. EDF Energy can confirm that unit 21 at Dungeness B power station is offline for planned refueling, Jonathan Levy, a London-based spokesman, said by e-mail.
Bloomberg 26th May 2011 more >>
Hinkley
Stop the next generation of nuclear power stations with a blockade at Hinkley Point. Join us at Hinkley on 3 October 2011.
Indymedia 28th May 2011 more >>
Chapelcross
Gretna, Lockerbie and Annan have been handed £1.2 million to help them recover from the closure of the Chapelcross nuclear plant.The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has come up with the cash to soften the blow of the estimated 300 job losses at the site over the next six years. The area is forecast to lose about £30m in wages alone by 2017. The aid package, announced yesterday, will fund the Beyond Chapelcross project which will attempt to boost the business base in the so-called Gretna, Annan and Lockerbie (GLA) Triangle.
Cumberland News 28th May 2011 more >>
Japan
Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is not fully prepared for heavy rain and winds of a typhoon heading towards the country, officials admit. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), which runs the plant, said some reactor buildings were uncovered, prompting fears the storm may carry radioactive material into the air and sea. Typhoon Songda is expected to hit Japan as early as Monday.
BBC 29th May 2011 more >>
Japan Today 28th May 2011 more >>
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on May 26 proposed co-hosting an international conference on nuclear power safety in the latter half of 2012. Kan made his proposal in a speech at a lunch meeting of the Group of Eight (G-8) nations. Japan would co-host the conference with the International Atomic Energy Agency. In addition to the G-8 nations, a wide range of nations would be invited to send ministerial-level officials to the conference.
Asahi 28th May 2011 more >>
Resident file lawsuit to keep Hamaoka permanently shut. It was shut indefinitely in mid-May until it can be better defended against the type of massive earthquake and tsunami experienced in March at Fukushima.
Reuters 27th May 2011 more >>
Tepco Failed to Disclose Scale of Fukushima Radiation Leaks, Academics Say. Academics warn the company has failed to disclose the scale of radiation leaks and faces a massive problem with contaminated water. By May 18, almost 100,000 tons of radioactive water had leaked into basements and other areas. The volume of radiated water may double by the end of December and will cost 42 billion yen ($518 million) to decontaminate, according to Tepcos estimates.
Bloomberg 27th May 2011 more >>
The system to cool the nuclear reactor and fuel pool has stopped at the No. 5 unit of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant in northeastern Japan, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power said Sunday. A Tokyo Electric official said the operator had started work to repair the cooling facility and hoped to restore the system within several hours. The official said the breakdown of the cooling systems would not lead to a rapid rise in temperatures at the reactor and spent fuel pool.
Huffington Post 28th May 2011 more >>
Germany
Germany is set to shut down its seven oldest nuclear reactors permanently after federal and regional environment ministers agreed on the move. The seven reactors built before 1980 — out of a total 17 in Germany — were taken off the grid for three months following Japan’s Fukushima disaster pending a safety review.
Business Week 27th May 2011 more >>
Renewables
Buoyed by his landslide win in the Scottish parliamentary elections, Alex Salmond believes renewable energy exports could underpin self-rule. But do the economics stack up? Salmond’s Saudi Arabia metaphor is carefully chosen: he predicts that renewables particularly offshore wind, wave and tidal power will soon allow Scotland to become a net exporter of electricity. By 2020, he claims, Scotland could produce all its domestic electricity needs from renewables. The surplus would be sold to England and Ireland, or across the North Sea on the new super-interconnectors planned by the European Union. As a lucrative export, it would rank alongside whisky, worth £3.4bn in exports last year, and financial services, still worth £11bn despite the recession and the bailouts for Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS.
Observer 29th May 2011 more >>
Green Investment Bank
Over the next 15 years Britain will have to spend as much as £450 billion to upgrade its energy infrastructure to meet carbon emission targets. This is the sum required if the country is to meet its long-term target of an 80% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, said Ernst & Young, the accountant. The government estimates that the power sector alone needs £110 billion of investment by 2020 in green energy projects. Private companies such as power groups and financial institutions have been reluctant to part with cash. Coal and gas-fired power are cheaper than green alternatives and there has been little incentive to invest in them. The government last week launched its own Green Investment Bank to support riskier projects that have been avoided by private investors. Vince Cable, business secretary, confirmed the bank will have an initial £3 billion to plough into low-carbon initiatives, with an expectation that this will help attract a further £15 billion of private investment. He hopes the cash injection will help the coalition hit its ambitious green targets, including a commitment to sourcing 15% of the countrys energy needs from renewable sources. Cable has secured an agreement in principle from the Treasury to start tapping the debt markets for funding from 2015.
Sunday Times 29th May 2011 more >>
Cold Fusion
China’s scientists are leading the quest to unearth the ‘holy grail of physics’ – a safe form of nuclear power to fuel the 21st century.
Sunday Times 29th May 2011 more >>
