Cheaper, safer alternatives than nuclear fission

Cheaper, safer alternatives than nuclear fission

from Web Edition | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Kristin Shrader-Frechette

 Is nuclear energy different than other energy sources?
If reactors were safe, nuclear industries would not demand government-guaranteed, accident-liability protection, as a condition for their generating electricity. Escaping from liability is one of many differences between atomic power and renewable-energy sources. Given the need to curb greenhouse-gas emissions and avoid fossil fuels, comparing nuclear power with renewable alternatives is urgent. What are their differences?

Fukushima Worker On Camera: “The Holes And Cracks In The Ground Are Terrifying”

Fukushima Worker On Camera: “The Holes And Cracks In The Ground Are Terrifying”

from Washington's Blog by Washington's Blog

Who is Developing Thorium Power?

Who is Developing Thorium Power?

Fukushima: Early stage China Syndrome? Global media blackout

Fukushima: Early stage China Syndrome? Global media blackout Examiner.com Since Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy plant has reportedly released 20 times the radiation contamination amount of the Hiroshima bomb, and its molten core is sinking through the Earth's crust, it appears to be in early stages of a "total China ...

Nuclear Fuel Rod Meltdown 101 - Arnie Gundersen explains Fukushima

Nuclear Fuel Rod Meltdown 101- Arnie Gundersen explains Fukushima ...
Nuclear Fuel Rod Meltdown 101- Arnie Gundersen ...by AFA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYIVGG0jkQQ

Japanese government seeks to defuse opposition to nuclear industry

Japanese government seeks to defuse opposition to nuclear industry
World Socialist Web Site
Goshi Hosono, the minister officially in charge of the nuclear accident, told the media that “strong political leadership” w

Fukushima: Radiation reports overshadow progress at plant

Fukushima: Radiation reports overshadow progress at plant
GlobalPost
Although the warning was quickly lifted, it refocused attention on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which is still releasing radiation more than five months after it was wrecked by an earthquake and tsunami. As almost 3000 workers continue ...

PPL Reports Surprise Shutdown at Nuclear Plant in Pennsylvania

PPL Reports Surprise Shutdown At Nuclear Plant In Pennsylvania Wall Street Journal s (PPL) Susquehanna nuclear power plant unexpectedly shut down Friday while workers were performing routine tests, the company said. PPL spokesman George Lewis said no one was injured by the automatic shutdown, which happened at 10:46 am EDT as the ...

Iran-Russia nuclear cooperation not halted: AEOI director

Iran-Russia nuclear cooperation not halted: AEOI director Tehran Times TEHRAN - Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Director Fereydoun Abbasi has said that Iran and Russia have held negotiations on the construction of new nuclear power plants, refuting the claims that Russia has decided to end its nuclear cooperation with ...

Japan-Jordan nuclear pact to clear parliament

Japan-Jordan nuclear pact to clear parliament Mainichi Daily News TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Japanese-Jordanian pact on the civilian use of nuclear power is set to clear parliament by the month-end closing of the current session, with executive members of a House of Representatives panel deciding Friday to put it to a vote ...

Japan makes shift from nuclear power

UPI.com
20 (UPI) -- A Japanese government estimate put the price tag at $39 billion in added energy costs as the country reacts to this spring's nuclear power plant disaster. The partial meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, which was triggered by the ...

Updates from ANS Nuclear Cafe TVA approves completion of Bellefonte

Updates from ANS Nuclear Cafe Blog

Updates from ANS Nuclear Cafe TVA approves completion of Bellefonte By dyurman on Aug 19, 2011 11:30 am The utility’s board of directors will spend $4 billion–$5 billion completing the 1,260 MW reactor by Dan Yurman In a unanimous vote on August 18, the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) voted to finish construction of … Continue reading → Read in browser » More to read: Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy ambitions Up, Up, and Away: Victor Hess and the Cosmic Ray Two members named ANS Fellows 65th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up Nuclear News’ 17th annual vendor/contractor issue

Nonproliferation rules require tests on Fukushima fuel

Nonproliferation rules require tests on Fukushima fuel - AJW by ...
The government will spend about 600 million yen ($7.84 million) developing tests to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency rules that require ...
ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/.../AJ201108196772

Bellefonte 1 reactor will be completed

Bellefonte 1 reactor will be completed

Completing Bellefonte 1 will be cheaper on a per-MW basis than the cost of replacing any of its fossil plants. The $4.9 billion project works out at a cost of $3888 per kilowatt of installed capacity.  

Living Off the Grid: No Longer Just for the Amish

Living Off the Grid: No Longer Just for the Amish

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 01:28 PM PDT

Whether you’re reading this on your computer or mobile device, you needed electricity from the grid to power at least one device in the process. Those electrons come from far-flung power plants, across miles of transmission lines, and out of a plug in your wall. This process may seem like just another part of life, but it’s not the only option. Some people have taken matters into their own hands, and haven’t paid a power bill in years. energyNOW! correspondent Patty Kim met some of the estimated 180,000 families across North America using clean energy technology to become self-sufficient and enjoy all the comforts of modern life, off the grid.

Former envoy tells of US worries over Japan's quake response Los Angeles Times Reconnaissance from a remotely piloted plane flown over the ailing nuclear plant immediately troubled US officials, especially photos that suggested high temperatures inside the reactor buildings that signaled a possible meltdown, Maher said. ...

Former envoy tells of US worries over Japan's quake response Los Angeles Times Reconnaissance from a remotely piloted plane flown over the ailing nuclear plant immediately troubled US officials, especially photos that suggested high temperatures inside the reactor buildings that signaled a possible meltdown, Maher said. ...

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• You: Former U.S. envoy critical of Japan's nuclear crisis response (latimes.com)
• Former envoy tells of US worries over Japan's quake response - Los Angeles Times (news.google.com)
• Did quake or tsunami cause Fukushima meltdown? (newscientist.com)
• Strong Quake Hits Japan's Northeast Coast (time.com)
• Strong Offshore Quake Hits Japan's Northeast Coast (time.com)

Did quake or tsunami cause Fukushima meltdown? New Scientist It also quoted nuclear engineers who concluded from data released by TEPCO that coolant systems must have failed shortly after the quake. "There was already so much damage to the cooling system that a meltdown was inevitable," Mitsuhiko Tanaka, ...

Did quake or tsunami cause Fukushima meltdown?

All Deliberate Speed for Nuclear Reforms?

All Deliberate Speed for Nuclear Reforms? New York Times (blog) By MATTHEW L. WALD The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving forward on recommendations made by an internal task force studying the Fukushima Daiichi triple meltdown. But it is not moving quite the way its chairman wanted.

Inspectors check BC salmon for radiation from Japan

Inspectors check BC salmon for radiation from Japan

Canadian food inspectors are testing salmon returning to British Columbia's waters for radiation from Japan's failed nuclear reactors. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement released Friday that it doesn't expect to find any problems ...

Related articles

• West Coast fish to be tested for Fukushima radiation (cbc.ca)
• CFIA to test salmon for radiation from Japanese nuclear reactor (canada.com)
• Salmon, caribou to be tested for radiation from Japanese reactor (canada.com)

Chinese team develop fuel cell that can clean water as it generates electricity

Japan: Nuclear no, renewables yes. China?

Focus: Rise of emerging markets in energy: How China and other BRIC nations are changing the game

Focus: Rise of emerging markets in energy: How China and other BRIC nations are changing the game

The Bill Comes In For Nuclear

The Bill Comes In For Nuclear

TVA plans sale of nuclear power unit to fund new project

No. 3 nuclear power plant most at risk from tsunamis: NSC

No. 3 nuclear power plant most at risk from tsunamis: NSC

Tamil Nadu

Fishermen oppose nuclear power plant in TN

Express News Service , The New Indian Express

M6.8 quake shakes northeastern Japan, no damage to nuclear plants

M6.8 quake shakes northeastern Japan, no damage to nuclear plants

Nuclear Policy Scaled Back

Nuclear policy scaled back The Japan Times Wording on promoting research and development in nuclear power was watered down as uncertainties remain over the government's energy and nuclear power stances. Kan, who said in July that the energy policy will be reassessed from scratch, is expected to ...

Quake in Japan Is Causing a Costly Shift to Fossil Fuels

Quake in Japan Is Causing a Costly Shift to Fossil Fuels New York Times Japan, the world's third-largest user of electricity behind China and the United States, had counted on an expansion of nuclear power to contain energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, its nuclear program is in retreat, as the public and ...

Yingli Green Energy Selected for 10 MW AC New Jersey Oak Solar Power Plant

Project Will be the Largest Non-Utility Owned Solar Installation East of the Mississippi River

Japan reopens first nuclear reactor since tsunami

A nuclear power plant in northern Japan has become the first reactor in the country to resume full operations since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Heck calls for "balanced approach" to energy

Heck calls for "balanced approach" to energy

Where to put spent U.S. nuclear fuel

Nuke plant owners challenge Connecticut River tritium report

Beaver nuclear exec aids recovery of Japanese power plants

By Mandy Hofmockel, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, August 19, 2011

Read more: Beaver nuclear exec aids recovery of Japanese power plants - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_752291.html#ixzz1VW92jpxA

TVA Approves Plan to Finish Alabama Nuclear Plant

SCANA's proposed Summer reactors pass licensing milestone

Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:28pm EDT

Aug 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said there were no safety issues that would preclude issuing a license for the construction and operation of SCANA Corp's (SCG.N) newly proposed Summer 2 and 3 reactors in South Carolina.

TVA Board Implements Vision

Review of John Rowe’s Keynote Speech at ANS Utility Working Conference

Review of John Rowe’s Keynote Speech at ANS Utility Working Conference

CONSOL Energy and Noble Energy Enter into a Joint Venture for CONSOL's Marcellus Shale Acreage; CONSOL Energy to Receive Aggregate Payments of $3.4 Billion

Noble Energy Announces Strategic Partnership With Consol Energy in Marcellus Shale

Sanders The Sole Vote Against Small Modular Reactor Research

 Sanders The Sole Vote Against Small Modular Reactor Research
Energy Collective
This act would authorize the Secretary of Energy to start a cost-shared program for development of small modular reactors (SMRs). ...

http://theenergycollective.com/meredith-angwin/63331/sanders-sole-vote-against-small-modular-reactor-research

ENERGY as an ultimate raw material

ENERGY as an ultimate raw material

This post was written by Alvin Weinberg in 1959 and is a Cross Post from Energy From Thorium. A hat tip to Kirk Sorensen who shares with me an appreciation for Weinberg's vision. This post does not include the Tables that went with Weinberg's original presentation.

ENERGY as an ultimate raw material, or problems of burning the sea and burning the rocks

By Alvin M. Weinberg

"Ban the Bomb" is not "Anti-Nuclear"

"Ban the Bomb" is not "Anti-Nuclear"

Anti-nuclear movement in the United States by Wikipedia

Anti-nuclear movement in the United States

Fukushima Radioactive Rain falls in Toronto,Canada at DANGEROUS levels (20 000 CPM) Aug 14 2011

Tests find thyroid radiation in Japanese children

Tests find thyroid radiation in Japanese children
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 18, 2011 - Forty-five percent of children tested in the region around Japan's stricken nuclear plant were found to have traces of radioactive elements in their thyroid glands, an official said Thursday. The official said that the iodine concentrations - found in tests that the government carried out about five months ago in Fukushima prefecture - were not considered alarming in terms of their health ... more

S.Africa extends freeze on shale gas drilling

S.Africa extends freeze on shale gas drilling
Cape Town (AFP) Aug 18, 2011 - South Africa's mining minister on Thursday said no decision will be made on controversial shale gas prospecting until next year with an existing moratorium extended by six months. Minister Susan Shabangu froze all new applications and decisions on lodged bids earlier this year and appointed a team to investigate hydraulic fracturing known as "fracking" in the vast central Karoo. The depa ... more

Forecasting pipe fractures

Forecasting pipe fractures
Boston MA (SPX) Aug 19, 2011 - A computer model that tests automobile components for crashworthiness could also be of use to the oil and gas industry, according to researchers at MIT's Impact and Crashworthiness Laboratory, who are now using their simulations of material deformation in car crashes to predict how pipes may fracture in offshore drilling accidents. As a case study, the team simulated the forces involved in ... more

AP1000 nuclear reactors deemed safe for Summer plant

Nuclear plant safety trumps power rates

Nuclear plant safety trumps power rates

NRC Says No Safety Issues for Scana’s South Carolina Power Plant

press release

Aug. 19, 2011, 7:33 a.m. EDT

NRC Issues FSER for SCE&G Nuclear Units

NRC Says No Safety Issues for Scana's South Carolina Power Plant

 NRC Says No Safety Issues for Scana's South Carolina Power Plant
Bloomberg
Scana proposes to build the reactor using the AP1000 by Toshiba's Westinghouse Electric Co. unit, Staff found “no safety aspects that would preclude issuing” licenses for the proposed Virgil C. Summer units 2 and 3, which are to be built near ...

SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Nuclear Safety is as Nuclear Safety Does

SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Nuclear Safety is as Nuclear Safety Does

from AREVA North America: Next Energy Blog by AREVA North America Blog

Alabama Nuclear Reactor, Partly Built, to Be Completed

Alabama Nuclear Reactor, Partly Built, to Be Completed

from NYT > Nuclear Energy — Crisis in Japan by By MATTHEW L. WALD

The revived reactor in Hollywood, Ala., is not expected to be completed before 2018 to 2020 — or about a half-century after the project was first announced.

The explosive truth behind Fukushima's meltdown

Japan insists its nuclear crisis was caused by an unforeseeable combination of tsunami and earthquake. But new evidence suggests its reactors were doomed to fail

By David McNeill in Tokyo and Jake Adelstein

The Smart Path for the Shale Gas Revolution Reassuring the public on environmental concerns is crucial.

The Smart Path for the Shale Gas Revolution

Reassuring the public on environmental concerns is crucial.

• AUGUST 17, 2011, 7:14 P.M. ET

UPDATE: Brazil Contracts 1,544MW Of New Electric Energy For 2014

The great failure of globalisation

The great failure of globalisation The simple fact is that globalisation has not only hit the unskilled hard but has also proved a bonanza for the global super-rich, writes Jeffrey Sachs
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/IIQ569/XTL8JY/LQYI8Q/IIECQQ/7V/h?a1=2011&a2=8&a3=18

Chinese turbine maker enters Irish project

Chinese turbine maker enters Irish project
Dublin, Ireland (UPI) Aug 17, 2011 - Chinese wind turbine maker XEMC Group has forged a strategic partnership with Irish renewables firm Gaelectric Holdings, the companies announced this week. Under the deal, Gaelectric will work with XEMC to develop three onshore wind farms in Ireland totaling 13.6 megawatts, worth a combined $26 million, Gaelectric Chief Executive Brendan McGrath told reporters at a Monday signing ceremo ... more

First quantitative measure of radiation leaked from Fukushima reactor

First quantitative measure of radiation leaked from Fukushima reactor
San Diego CA (SPX) Aug 18, 2011 - Atmospheric chemists at the University of California, San Diego, report the first quantitative measurement of the amount of radiation leaked from the damaged nuclear reactor in Fukushima, Japan, following the devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this year. Their estimate, reported this week in the early, online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is based ... more

Xcel cited for safety violation at MN nuclear plant

Xcel cited for safety violation at MN nuclear plant
Bizjournals.com
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Xcel Energy for a safety violation at its Prairie Island nuclear power plant.

Nuclear energy industry files comments on EPA's proposed rule on cooling water

MedPage Today

Nuclear energy industry files comments on EPA's proposed rule on cooling water ... PennEnergy- Energy News (press release) Numerous scientific studies demonstrate that in many cases cooling water intake structures have had no adverse impact on the overall health of the fish populations near nuclear power plants. These include independent studies that have been reviewed and ...

Indian nuclear plants safe, says minister

Indian nuclear plants safe, says minister
TwoCircles.net
By IANS, New Delhi : Indian nuclear power plants are safe against "extreme natural events", Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy said Thursday. This was determined by the task forces set up by the Nuclear Power Corp of India ...

Fukushima radiation alarms doctors Aljazeera.net

Fukushima radiation alarms doctors Aljazeera.net Scientists and doctors are calling for a new national policy in Japan that mandates the testing of food, soil, water, and the air for radioactivity still being emitted from Fukushima's heavily damaged Daiichi nuclear power plant. ...

US offers low-enriched uranium reserve for power generation AHN | All Headline News The Department of Energy announced Thursday that 230 metric tons of a reserve stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) is available to local and foreign nuclear power generators.

US offers low-enriched uranium reserve for power generation AHN | All Headline News The Department of Energy announced Thursday that 230 metric tons of a reserve stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) is available to local and foreign nuclear power generators.

Reduce risk of radiation poisoning

Reduce risk of radiation poisoning
The Mercury
A Japanese nuclear engineer admitted meltdown began hours after the disaster started and the situation hasn't been contained. Three Fukushima nuclear reactors melted down and could emit radiation uncontrolled for another year or longer. ...

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• Update From Fukushima (zerohedge.com)
• Fukushima: Pacific Ocean radiation over 3,000 times normal (tipggita32.wordpress.com)
• The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: High Radiation Levels In America! Oklahoma City (rainbowwarrior2005.wordpress.com)
• Fukushima: Very high radiation levels still being found in some parts of power plant (boingboing.net)
• What is a Chernobyl Noble disaster of 1986 (wiki.answers.com)

TVA Plans $4.9B Completion Of Bellefonte Nuclear Unit

TVA Plans $4.9B Completion Of Bellefonte Nuclear Unit
Wall Street Journal
The announcement by the TVA, the nation's largest public power provider, comes in the midst of touchy sentiment about nuclear power following March's radiation crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, which suffered a partial meltdown after ...

The NRC: A View from a Summer Intern Moderator | August 18, 2011 at 3:21 pm | Tags: nuclear | Categories: General, Radioactive Waste | URL: http://wp.me/p1fSSY-pm

The NRC: A View from a Summer Intern Moderator | August 18, 2011 at 3:21 pm | Tags: nuclear | Categories: General, Radioactive Waste | URL: http://wp.me/p1fSSY-pm

After graduating from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in Spring 2011, I was fortunate enough to be hired as a summer intern at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. My experience at the NRC so far has been everything I was hoping for and more.
I was given a technical project to develop a computer model that would benefit the NRC staff members in their future safety reviews. The model takes spent fuel data as input and gives the transient thermodynamic heat load seen in a spent fuel pool as an output. I will continue to work on this project next year while I pursue a master’s degree, because I am involved in a joint university-NRC sponsorship program. This will effectively combine oversight of my college professors with my NRC mentors.
In addition, I have been working with various staff members in my branch, the Systems Balance of Plant Branch in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, on different research items and reviews of spent fuel pool equipment. I also took several training courses this summer that ranged from what the NRC does to the engineering concepts behind nuclear reactors. Through all of this, I have been able to apply what I learned in both training courses, as well as my college courses, to real scenarios in the NRC.
Working with the NRC put engineering into a different perspective for me. I always assumed engineering was focused on design, but seeing how engineering principles are applied to the regulation of nuclear power plants in order to ensure public safety introduced me to a whole new side. Because of this, I have shifted my career goals to the nuclear power and safety field. I hope that by the end of this summer, my completed work will add to the NRC’s mission of public safety, and further my engineering knowledge and skills.

Jerry Tyberghein

NRC Summer Hire Student

Nuclear D&D costs in the U.S estimated at over $69 billion

Press Release

BREAKING NEWS: Nuclear D&D costs in the U.S estimated at over $69 billion

17 August 2011
According to a recent Nuclear Decommissioning Funding Study, the estimated cost of Nuclear D&D in the U.S has been estimated at $69.3billion, illustrating the importance of continuously using the latest services and technologies to complete decommissioning projects in a timely and costs effective manner.

In addition, the Office of Environmental Management has recently requested $6.1bn of funding for Department of Energy decommissioning projects alone- if approved showing huge opportunity for decommissioning contractors within the industry.
Due to the clear needs for decommissioning managers and contractors to discuss the vast opportunities within the industry, Nuclear Energy Insider will be hosting the only focused Nuclear D&D Supply Chain Conference of 2011 on November 17-18 in Charlotte.
At this two day business critical meeting, all five D&D Department of Energy project managers from Savannah River, Oak Ridge, Hanford, West Valley and Portsmouth-Paducah will be meeting 150+ top contractors to discuss the latest site updates, lessons to be learned and commercial opportunities for the supply chain.
With nuclear decommissioning having also become the hot topic worldwide; from the impressive clean-up efforts currently taking place at Fukushima to the potential decommissioning boom which will take place in Germany due to the recent announcement that three out of their six units will be shut down well in advance of 2021; Nuclear Energy Insider is pleased to announce several international case studies addressing lessons to be learned and international commercial opportunities. These leading companies include EWN, Shaw Global Services, Kurion, Amec and Babcock International.
Highlights also include exclusive supply chain advice from leading U.S contractors including Fluor-B&W Portsmouth and CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation and the regulatory updates from the U.S NRC and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to ensure contractors reduce unnecessary delays during D&D projects.
With all these U.S. and international commercial opportunities available, this is a must attend for any D&D contractor wanting to place themselves at the forefront of this multi-billion industry.

To get the full speaker line up, the latest agenda and exclusive discount codes download the brochure here or contact Emma Banymandhub at emmab@eyeforenergy.com

Related articles

• Nuclear Energy Insider: Nuclear Decommissioning Industry Leaders Meet in in 10 Days' Time to Discuss Future Opportunities for Supply Chain (prweb.com)

NEI Executive Viewpoint Ken Ewell, Zachry: US natural gas deposits delaying nuclear’s current construction agenda

Executive Viewpoint

Ken Ewell, Zachry: US natural gas deposits delaying nuclear’s current construction agenda

NEI Policy and Commission Update 11 -18 August 2011

Policy and Commission Update 11 -18 August 2011

NEI Weekly Intelligence Brief 4-12 August, 2011

Weekly Intelligence Brief 4-12 August, 2011

NEI Industry Insight Building the US Nuclear Landscape post-Fukushima

Industry Insight

Building the US Nuclear Landscape post-Fukushima

Fukushima now radiating everyone: 'Unspeakable' reality

TVA board approves $4.9 billion project to complete Bellefonte nuclear plant near Scottsboro

Final Safety Evaluations for Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3 Application

The Final Safety Evaluation Report for Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 & 3 Combined license application was issued on August 17, 2011.

Operators of Fukushima 'were warned about failings'

Operators of Japan's damaged nuclear power plant were warned about poorly repaired pipes and problems with its cooling system for years before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to reports.

Vietnam to study seismic risk at nuclear plant site

Matheson fears high-level N-waste could head to Utah

Matheson fears high-level N-waste could head to Utah

Operators of Fukushima 'were warned about failings'

Operators of Japan's damaged nuclear power plant were warned about poorly repaired pipes and problems with its cooling system for years before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to reports.

Aiken Tech to grant nuclear certification

Progress Energy asks to pass on $140 million in nuclear costs to customers

NRC fails to change groundwater protection rules for nuclear plants

Activist says NRC needs to enforce its rules on radioactive water leaks and spills

Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy ambitions

Posted on August 18, 2011 by dyurman| Leave a comment

Curbing domestic oil use is a key driver
By Dan Yurman

Leaving its comfort zone: Japan's special role in creating a world free of nuclear weapons

Leaving its comfort zone: Japan's special role in creating a world free of nuclear weapons

from Web Edition | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Masako Toki

New TEPCO video at APR YouTube Channel from atomic power review by Will Davis

New TEPCO video at APR YouTube Channel

from atomic power review by Will Davis

The best onsite TEPCO press release video yet made is now available on the APR YouTube Channel. We can only hope that TEPCO continues this kind of reporting. This is a must-see for anyone even vaguely interested in the events at Fukushima Daiichi.

NEW TEPCO VIDEO AUGUST 17, 2011

12:15 PM Eastern Wednesday August 17, 2011
ATOMIC POWER REVIEW

Anchor Reports the Media Are Stifling the Truth About Fukushima, Regulators Are Wholly Captured and There Are Many Accidents Waiting to Happen In the U.S.

Must-Watch Video: Popular MSNBC Anchor Reports the Media Are Stifling the Truth About Fukushima, Regulators Are Wholly Captured and There Are Many Accidents Waiting to Happen In the U.S.

from Washington's Blog by Washington's Blog

Greenhouse gases: The measurement challenge

Greenhouse gases: The measurement challenge
The continuing increase in the level of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" in the Earth's atmosphere has been identified as a cause for serious concern because it may radically accelerate changes in the Earth's climate. Developing an effective strategy for managing the planet's greenhouse gases is complicated by the many and varied sources of such gases, some natural, some man-made, as well as the mechanisms that capture and "sequester" the gases. A new report sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) focuses on one of the key challenges: defining and developing the technology needed to better quantify greenhouse gas emissions.

Power fleecing? Ocala Asking Floridians to help pay the cost of building nuclear power plants before construction ever starts is controversial enough. Asking them to pay in advance with no guarantee that their money will ever go to its intended purpose is bad public policy ...

Power fleecing? Ocala Asking Floridians to help pay the cost of building nuclear power plants before construction ever starts is controversial enough. Asking them to pay in advance with no guarantee that their money will ever go to its intended purpose is bad public policy ...

Fukushima Plant's Water Treatment Behind Schedule

Fukushima Plant's Water Treatment Behind Schedule
Wall Street Journal
Local opposition to nuclear power has been growing amid safety concerns. In Hokkaido prefecture, calls have also been growing for the governor to suspend the reactor until it undergoes a more thorough safety review.

ATOMIC POWER REVIEW Nuclear Energy in Japan: August 17, 2011

ATOMIC POWER REVIEW

Nuclear Energy in Japan: August 17, 2011

We have a number of situational updates today concerning both the overall nuclear energy situation, such as it is, in Japan and the operations at Fukushima Daiichi.

 

JAPAN COMMERCIALLY RESTARTS FIRST REACTOR AFTER INSPECTIONS FOLLOWING FUKUSHIMA CRISIS

JAPAN COMMERCIALLY RESTARTS FIRST REACTOR AFTER INSPECTIONS FOLLOWING FUKUSHIMA CRISIS
The Tomari 3, a 912-MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari plant in northern Japan’s Hokkaido region, has resumed full commercial operation. It is the first reactor in the country to be restarted after a periodic inspection following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Read More »

Thorium Powered Cars: A Million Miles Without Refuelling All Car Tech It reads more like a 1950s space race vision of the future than a pragmatic 21st Century theory, but we could now be a step closer to driving a nuclear-powered car. In light of the recent events in Japan following the tsunami that caused meltdown at ...

Thorium Powered Cars: A Million Miles Without Refuelling All Car Tech It reads more like a 1950s space race vision of the future than a pragmatic 21st Century theory, but we could now be a step closer to driving a nuclear-powered car. In light of the recent events in Japan following the tsunami that caused meltdown at ...

DailyTech Study: Fukushima Radiation Not a Health Threat in U.S. Energy Digital

DailyTech

Study: Fukushima Radiation Not a Health Threat in U.S. Energy Digital For all you folks that rushed to the drug store to stock up on iodine following the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown in March, rest easy. Researchers from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have released the first quantitative study of ...

Radioactive pipe surfing robot designed by Asada (Source: MSNBC)

Radioactive pipe surfing robot designed by Asada (Source: MSNBC)
DailyTech
In the wake of this nuclear accident, researchers and companies all around the world are trying to design ways to better monitor the condition of the nuclear reactors around the world to be sure in an emergency they are able to cool the reactors to ...

Tritium from Vermont Yankee found on shore of Connecticut River

Radioactive Tritium From Vt. Nuke Plant in River

Safety doubts raised at U.S. nuclear waste cleanup project

Engineers and scientists say equipment being installed by Bechtel Corp. at the Hanford site in Washington state poses risks, but the Energy Department is letting work continue.

Energy Storage Industry Grows To Integrate Wind, Solar

By Robert Crowe, Contributor
August 17, 2011   |   

Energy storage has long been touted as the silver bullet needed for widespread renewable energy adoption but costs have remained high. Today, several projects hold promise.

Ground under Fukushima nuclear power plant is cracking, radioactive steam escapes danger zone

DOE Social Media Resources Web Page

Cooling stoppage unknown to plant chief

Cooling stoppage unknown to plant chief

Government investigators have found that the chief of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant did not know that a backup cooling system for one of the plant's reactors was manually shut down on March 11th, the day of the quake and tsunami.

Building reactor at TVA Bellefonte plant on agenda

For Once, A Small Victory for Nukes

NRC infighting goes nuclear

Don't count out nuclear just yet

Ga. regulators approve nuclear plant spending

Status of nuclear power 2010

Status of nuclear power 2010
Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Aug 17, 2011 - Riso DTU has made its eighth report in the series: 'Nuclear power and Nuclear Safety', which gives a global overview of nuclear energy with a focus on safety and preparedness. This year's report is a bit delayed because of the accident in Fukushima, which is also mentioned in the report that would normally cover only the year 2010. The Radiation Research Division at Riso DTU was suddenly  ... more

IAEA Nuclear Power Reactors in the World 2011 Edition

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Nuclear Power Reactors in the World 2011 Edition Reference Data Series 2 Subject Classification: 0700-Nuclear power IAEA-RDS-2/31 (ISBN:978-92-0-117810-7) 82 pp.; 6 figures; 12.00 Euro; Language: English Date Published: 2011 Responsible Officer/Officers: Mr Jiri Mandula, NENP DESCRIPTION This is the thirty-first edition of Reference Data Series No.2, which presents the most recent reactor data available to the IAEA. It contains summarized information as of the end of 2010 on: power reactors operating, under construction, and shut down; and performance data on reactors operating in the IAEA Member States, as reported to the IAEA. The information is collected through designated national correspondents in the Member States and the data area used to maintain the IAEA's Power Reactor Information System (PRIS). Download PDF version of this book: (01.14 MB): Rights and Permissions How to order this book

BNC TCASE 14: Assessment of electricity generation costs Barry Brook | 17 August 2011 at 8:32 PM | Categories: Emissions, Nuclear, Policy, Renewables, TCASE | URL: http://wp.me/piCIJ-1hu

TCASE 14: Assessment of electricity generation costs Barry Brook : http://wp.me/piCIJ-1hu

In the previous TCASE post, I considered how various low-carbon energy technologies meet the following criteria: commercial readiness, scalability, dispatchability, fuel constraints, load access, storage requirements, capacity factor and emissions intensity. Here I consider the next issue: cost of deployment, based on expert consensus.

Emission intensity for fit-for-service baseload electricity generating technologies. Error bars represent 90% confidence intervals for the mean (bar height).

The primary data again come from the work I had published in 2011 in the peer-reviewed journal Energy (with colleagues Martin Nicholson [lead author] and Tom Biegler). Cost was analysed on the basis of 15 comprehensive levelised cost of electricity studies published over the past decade. The data are as follows (see also figure above), with references given in the footnote:

(LCOE = levelised cost of electricity (in 2009 US$/MWh) -- see footnotes for a more detailed explanation.)
Enthusiastic supporters of various renewable energy technologies have long made claims that all or most of the world's electricity needs could be met with renewable energy. Our analysis point to the costs involved and hence to the reliance on future major advances on that front in order to be competitive with other, low-emission, alternatives. In our view such reliance is highly speculative and risky as part of any plan to secure future energy.
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