Nuclear Costs
Letter from Gerry Wolff: IT is not correct to say that “nuclear is just about the cheapest mainstream generating technology”. The Nuclear Subsidies report from the Energy Fair group shows how the real cost of nuclear power is disguised by subsidies. Without them, the price of nuclear electricity would rise to a level deeply unattractive to investors. Regarding the cost of nuclear electricity in France, physician Dr Helen Caldicott says: “In France, if Electricite de France had to insure for the full cost of a meltdown, the price of nuclear electricity would increase by about 300%. Hence, as opposed to conventional wisdom, the price of French nuclear electricity is artificially low.”
Derby Telegraph 30th Jan 2010 more >>
Protest
A group of nine anti-nuclear campaigners staged a two-hour protest outside the Nuclear New Build Conference in central London this morning in protest at industry attempts to paint nuclear power as a “green” technology and win public support for new nuclear reactors.
Indymedia 27th Jan 2010 more >>
Hinkley
North Somerset villagers have staged a protest against the National Grid’s plans to erect 46-metre high pylons in parts of the area. Participating residents of Loxton, Christon and Webbington say the pylons would spoil the area of outstanding natural beauty. They also claim the power company has not gone through the proper consultation process. National Grid says it is examining feedback from a 14-week consultation. The firm proposes to carry electricity from an existing plant at Hinkley Point to Avonmouth and wants to have the 37-mile route in operation by 2016.
BBC 30th Jan 2010 more >>
Radioactive Waste
Medical equipment used for diagnosis of patients with heart disease and cancer could be a key weapon in stopping nuclear waste seeping into the environment, according to new research. A team of scientists from the Universities of Manchester and Leeds have joined forces with experts in nuclear medicine at Manchester Royal Infirmary, using medical gamma-ray cameras to track radioactive isotopes in soil samples from a US civil nuclear site.
Click Green 30th Jan 2010 more >>
THE molecular equivalent of a Venus flytrap could capture water-borne nuclear waste. So say Mercouri Kanatzidis and Nan Ding from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. They have synthesised a sulphide-containing material with a flexible structure that mimics the flytrap’s jaws. The structure has “windows” measuring 0.8 nanometres by 0.3 nanometres – just large enough for caesium ions to squeeze through. Once inside, the caesium bonds with sulphide ions, and this changes the material’s structure in a way that closes the windows and traps the caesium.
New Scientist 30th Jan 2010 more >>
Uranium
It’s an odd place for a group of Frenchmen to pitch a tent city. Bakouma is one of the deepest, darkest corners of African jungle. From Bangui, the capital of the land-locked Central African Republic, it takes days to navigate the 800km of dirt track to this patch of virgin forest in the middle of the continent. Usually they go by light aircraft to a nearby landing strip. Most of the 160 or so jungle dwellers are scientists but they are not there to count butterflies. They are drawing up plans for a uranium mine. Areva, France’s state-owned nuclear giant, is behind the project. It hopes to begin clearing forest next year after the government approves its plan. Bakouma is not an isolated case. It’s just one example of a silent landgrab unfolding around the globe. After decades as a forgotten commodity, uranium, the radioactive element used as the primary fuel for nuclear power, is hot property again. Agents for companies, many of them government-controlled, are fanning out across the globe to gain access to the powdery, radioactive ore. Many of the new mining areas are virtually unregulated. A recent investigation in Niger uncovered radioactive shovels on sale in the local market in Arlit, a company town next to Areva’s mine there. The country is the world’s sixth-largest producer and has ambitions to move up the rankings. It employs only three nuclear inspectors to keep watch on the industry. “Getting a mine going in Texas takes two bookshelves full of authorisations,” said one commentator. “In Niger you give a shovel to a guy on $2 a day and you’re mining uranium.”
Sunday Times 31st Jan 2010 more >>
Nuclear Fusion
A pivotal step in the march towards fusion power, the “Holy Grail” of sustainable clean energy, could be taken this year. Scientists in the US are preparing for the dramatic moment when the world’s most powerful laser unleashes the nuclear force that lights up the Sun and achieves “ignition”.
Independent on Sunday 31st Jan 2010 more >>
Spain
About a dozen towns in all have bid for the dump, according to press reports on Saturday, most with populations of 500 or less, all hoping the 700 million euro ($982.8 million) plan will bring much-needed jobs in a country with some of the longest dole queues in Europe. Spanish voters generally shun nuclear power and regional authorities, wary of the project, have substantial autonomy from the central government and some have announced their opposition.
Reuters 30th Jan 2010 more >>
US
In last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama said that “(t)o create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country.” Despite his statement, the President knows better. Nuclear power is neither safe nor clean. There is no such thing as a “safe” dose of radiation and just because nuclear pollution is invisible doesn’t mean it’s “clean.” For years nuclear plants have been leaking radioactive waste from underground pipes and radioactive waste pools into the ground water at sites across the nation. Mr. Obama was prompted to address the issue when radioactive contamination was found in drinking wells and off the nuclear plant site at Exelon’s Braidwood nuclear plant.
Huffington Post 28th Jan 2010 more >>
The Obama administration continued its march away from Yucca Mountain on Friday with the naming of a 15-member panel of experts to chart new paths to manage highly radioactive nuclear waste. The commission will be led by two Washington policy veterans, former Rep. Lee Hamilton and longtime presidential adviser Brent Scowcroft, the Energy Department announced. Other members are well known, including former Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., former high-ranking government energy officials, and representatives of the nuclear industry, organized labor, environmental groups and academia. The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future will be given two years to do its work. A draft report will be due in 18 months.
Las Vegas Review Journal 30th Jan 2010 more >>
Environmental News Service 30th Jan 2010 more >>
The nuclear industry, once an environmental pariah, is recasting itself as green as it attempts to extend the life of many power plants and build new ones. But a leak of radioactive water at Vermont Yankee, along with similar incidents at more than 20 other US nuclear plants in recent years, has kindled doubts about the reliability, durability, and maintenance of the nation’s aging nuclear installations.
Boston.com 31st Jan 2010 more >>
Slovenia
An application towards a second reactor at Slovenia’s Krsko nuclear power plant has submitted to the country’s ministry of economy by GEN Energija. GEN Energija said that the application was supported by technical studies and analysis that show that the construction of new reactors is justified from energy, economic and environmental perspectives.
World Nuclear News 29th Jan 2010 more >>
Germany
Germany is committed to research into nuclear fusion as a clean and abundant source of alternative energy but international cooperation is vital, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday.
Reuters 30th Jan 2010 more >>
Microgeneration
The government will tomorrow publish the long-awaited levels of remuneration it will offer for renewable energy generated by households and communities and fed back into the national grid. It hopes the new tariff will boost the growth of “micro-generation” by small-scale wind turbines, solar panels or hydro power. But there are fears in the renewable energy industry that the Department of Energy and Climate Change will make little or no upward adjustment to the tariff levels for clean electricity it proposed last year. Alan Simpson, special adviser to energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband, fears the battle to get higher tariffs has been lost and believes the DECC will stick to its aim of getting just 2% of the UK’s electricity from smaller scale renewables by 2020. He says three times that would be easily achievable at an additional cost per household energy bill of £1.20 a year.
Observer 31st Jan 2010 more >>
Solarcentury, a renewable energy company founded by green campaigner Jeremy Leggett, is mulling a flotation on the London Stock Exchange. A listing could value the company at up to £100m, according to an estimate by an industry expert. Solarcentury, which employs more than 110 people and provides solar technology across Europe, has a £35m turnover and is one of the country’s fastest growing clean technology firms. A source close to the company said that while a decision has not been made, it was “an option [because] the company is doing well”.
Independent on Sunday 31st Jan 2010 more >>
Scottish Water is to generate green electricity by fitting turbines in mains water pipes, in a revolutionary scheme that it claims could slash bills and provide energy for thousands of homes.
Sunday Times 31st Jan 2010 more >>
Climate
The danger of climate scepticism was that it would undermine public support for unpopular decisions needed to curb carbon emissions, including the likelihood of higher energy bills for households, and issues such as the visual impact of wind turbines, said Miliband, who is also energy secretary. If the UK did not invest in renewable, clean energy, it would lose jobs and investment to other countries, have less energy security because of the dependence on oil and gas imports and contribute to damaging temperature rises for future generations. “There are a whole variety of people who are sceptical, but who they are is less important than what they are saying, and what they are saying is profoundly dangerous,” he said. “Every thing we know about life is that we should obey the precautionary principle; to take what the sceptics say seriously would be a profound risk.”
Observer 31st Jan 2010 more >>
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a radical proposal to pump $100bn (£62.5bn) of its international currency into the world economy in order to fund energy efficiency
Sunday Telegraph 31st Jan 2010 more >>
