Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

China Energy Update 7/20

China Foreign Deals Must Obey Market Principles, Regulator Says
Bloomberg
Resources and energy made up 92 percent of China's overseas mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter, according to a separate report from Hong Kong-based A Capital, a private-equity fund. China Petrochemical Corp. accounted for the largest deal, ...
Energy Biz Rewind: A123 Makes A DEAL In China, Chesapeake Requested For ...
Wall St. Cheat Sheet
A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:AONE) shares spike then back off a bit, on word that the company made a deal with China's Ray Power Systems, through which a 2MW grid energy storage system will be provided. Ray Power declares that the deal should ...
China unveils plan for new strategic industries
China Daily
BEIJING -- China has released a plan for the development of its new strategic industries from now to the end of 2015, according to a latest statement released by the State Council. The seven new strategic industries include energy conservation and ...
A123 Systems to Supply Energy Storage System to Ray Power for Frequency ...
REVE
System Designed to Showcase Lithium Ion Battery Energy Storage as a Fast, Accurate and Clean Resource for Facilitating the Increased Integration of Renewable Energy Generation onto China's Power Grid. A123 Systems (Nasdaq:AONE), a developer and ...

REVE
US solar imports probed
China Daily
In a preliminary ruling in May, the US Department of Commerce imposed anti-dumping tariffs ranging from 31.14 percent to 249.96 percent on imported solar panels from China after it had imposed countervailing duties - also known as anti-subsidy duties - of ... Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, a US group that represents solar installers, told Reuters that tariffs from either side cost jobs and make solar energy less competitive against fossil fuels, and "lowering, not artificially raising, the ...
Germany to support solar industry in anti-dumping action versus China
Business Recorder (blog)
Germany's environment ministry said on Friday it would back solar firms' efforts to bring anti-dumping proceedings against China amid a bitter price war in the industry that has left many German panel producers fighting for survival. Environment Minister Peter ...
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Stanford Fukushima Impact Study Bears Flawed Analysis, Is Premature

Stanford Fukushima Impact Study Bears Flawed Analysis, Is Premature

This week, researchers from Stanford University released a report which purported to assess global health impacts resulting from the Fukushima Daiichi accident in March 2011.

Riding the Wave of Marine Energy Generation

Riding the Wave of Marine Energy Generation

Harnessing the energy of wave and tidal currents to generate electricity is arguably a less risky and more predictable endeavor than wind and solar power, and advanced technology to make marine energy a widespread reality is making strong gains, while new tools for predicting wave power could double marine energy generation.  Marine energy includes the energy available in wave surfaces and tidal power as well as kinetic energy from large bodies of moving water. This energy is harnessed through the placement of turbines on the ocean floor or…Read more...

Fossil Fuels Compete for Electricity Generation - EIA

Fossil Fuels Compete for Electricity Generation - EIA

Washington events for July 23 - 27


Washington events for July 23 - 27
MarketWatch
10 a.m.: Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane testifies at a hearing on NRC policy and governance oversight, at a joint meeting of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittees on Environment and the Economy and on Energy ...

Why I think nuclear power has to be part of our future


Why I think nuclear power has to be part of ;;;;;;our future
Utility Products
If we are to meet the challenge of producing clean, secure and affordable electricity, nuclear power has to be part of the solution. When I am out and about in Suffolk, I find most people are supportive of Sizewell C in principle, as many of them have friends or ...

NRC notice alerts nuclear power plant officials to cases of steam generator wear


NRC notice alerts nuclear power plant officials to cases of steam generator wear
York Daily Record
Federal officials have drafted a notice to ensure that all nuclear power plants powered by steam generators detect and, if necessary, make repairs related to wear caused by tube-to-tube contact. Heated water flows into a generator via u-shaped tubes and, ...

UK Reactor Update - China likely to build and not France


UK Reactor Update - China likely to build and not France
Next Big Future
Greenpeace complains that Chinese nuclear players have state backing, which could help solve the issue of financing colossally expensive new nuclear power stations in the UK. But this just means that the money from UK taxpayers will flow to the Chinese ...

China in talks to build five new reactors in UK: paper

Pakistan Daily Times -
 
LONDON: Chinese nuclear firms are considering investing 35 billion pounds in building up to five new nuclear reactors in Britain, a newspaper reported on Saturday. A team from the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI), ...

China in talks to build UK nuclear power plants

The Guardian -
China is poised to make a dramatic intervention in Britain's energy future by offering to invest billions of pounds in building a series of new nuclear power stations. Officials from China's nuclear industry have been in high-level talks with ministers ...

UK Reactor Update - China likely to build and not France

Next Big Future -
Greenpeace complains that Chinese nuclear players have state backing, which could help solve the issue of financing colossally expensive new nuclear power stations in the UK. But this just means that the money from UK taxpayers will flow to the Chinese ...

China in talks to build 5 nuclear power plants in UK

The Upcoming -
Chinese nuclear firms are in talks with British officials about plans to set up five nuclear reactors at a cost of £35 billion. Guardian sources claim Chinese officals are in talks with Britain in a bid to build five nuclear power plants.

China and SKorea's nuclear industries go international

Asian Correspondent -
By Graham Land Jul 21, 2012 8:35PM UTC A couple of months ago I posted about the nuclear power ambitions and phasing out of nuclear power plants in both the East and West. Though the US is by far the largest user of nuclear energy with 104 plants, ...

China plans to invest £35 bn on five nuclear reactors in the UK: report news

domain-B -
Chinese nuclear firms are weighing a plan of investing £35 billion ($54.5 billion) in building up to five nuclear reactors in the UK, the Guardian today reported, citing unnamed sources. Chinese officials from the nuclear industry including from the ...

China to build nuclear reactors for UK

Press TV -
British officials are holding talks with officials from China's nuclear industry over plans to build five new nuclear reactors in Britain. British ministers and officials at Britain's Department of Energy and Climate Change are holding talks with a ...

China poised for nuclear new-build restart says ex-energy chief

Power Engineering International - ‎Jul 20, 2012‎
By Kelvin Ross China is ready to press ahead with new nuclear projects following a suspension caused by last year's Fukushima disaster. The former head of the country's National Energy Administration, Zhang Guobao, told news service China Daily that ...
 
 

Message from Oilprice.com

Greetings from London.

We have another interesting report for you below that takes a look at the various opportunities in the marine energy sector from power systems to seabed sonar.

But before we get to that here’s what’s been happening in the energy world this week:
Oil prices rebound over Middle East rumblings, renewable energy investors celebrate a crucial exemption from the Dodd Frank Act, and the presidential campaign fever shines the spotlight on electric cars.
Mounting chaos and what appears to be a "white coup" attempt in Syria and a terrorist attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that has Tel Aviv blaming Hezbollah have caused oil prices to rise to an eight-week high on speculation that tensions in the Middle East could reach a boiling point.
According to Bloomberg Business Week, crude for August delivery increased $2.91, or 3.2 percent, to $92.78 a barrel at 12:39 p.m. on 19 July on the New York Mercantile Exchange after climbing to $92.90, the highest intraday level since May 22. The national average price of gasoline is now $3.44 per gallon, up 11 cents since July 1.
For renewable energy developers and investors, however, the past week couldn’t have been better. Late last week, the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued its final rule on the Dodd Frank Act, exempting renewable energy developers and traders from the requirement to post 5%-25% collateral on exchanges of renewable energy credits (RECs), emissions allowances and carbon offsets. The requirement would have restricted REC trading that is used to generate liquidity for project development.
Instead, the CFTC ruled last week that trading in forward contracts for environmental commodities would not be defined as swaps in the same way as other non-financial commodities such as derivatives. While there has yet to be a visible market response to the news, developers and investors are jubilant and relieved.
As part of Oilprice.com’s ongoing coverage of the energy aspects of the US presidential campaign, electric cars pick up where solar left off—as the latest target of Mit Romney’s campaign against Barack Obama. While campaign ads gloss over the issues with the requisite drama, Oilprice.com attempts to give its readers a more comprehensive look at the state of the electric car industry, which has been privy to some sizable Energy Department loans. While Fiskar has disappointed the Obama administration’s public relations efforts by laying off workers and delaying production of its next-generation electric sedan, which was to create some 2,000 factory jobs by the end of this summer, the electric car industry is not failing, but experiencing the typical technological growing pains. The campaign season is doing the electric car industry few favors, but the bad publicity should be viewed from the prism of Romney’s need to provide a distraction from public scrutiny of his corporate history.
That’s it for the news this week.
I wanted to take a chance to mention our new forum. The Oilprice.com discussion area is a safe place for like-minded energy professionals, news followers, investors & traders to gather and discuss all things energy. Whether it be crude oil prices, the latest solar energy developments, wind power, nuclear fusion, global warming, trading ideas, geopolitics + many other topics.
Hundreds of knowledgeable professionals are already on board - expanding their networks and engaging one-another in discussions on the latest issues in the energy world.
You can see what is going on here: http://oilprice.com/discussion  
I hope you enjoy this week’s report below.
James Stafford
Editor, Oilprice.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/oilandenergy
Discuss: http://oilprice.com/discussion  

Fukushima Beach Re-opens to Swimmers

Fukushima Beach Re-opens to Swimmers

Nakoso Beach in southern Fukushima prefecture has been opened to the general public:
Popout

Popout
It is the first of Fukushima’s 17 beaches to re-open after the 2011 tsunami and nuclear accident. The other 16 beaches are either still covered with tsunami debris or within the nuclear exclusion zone. According to television reports, many of the facilities at Nakoso Beach, such as the changing room and public toilets, remain heavily damaged. It will take some time for the area to fully recover.
The Asahi Shimbun has reported that no radioactive contaminants were found in the water, so it was deemed safe for swimming:
…officials declared there were no traces of radioactive substances in the seawater. Measurements of radiation levels at the beach are displayed there twice a day.

More Anti-Nuclear Fearmongering: Thyroid Growths in Fukushima

More Anti-Nuclear Fearmongering: Thyroid Growths in Fukushima

http://www.japanprobe.com/2012/07/21/more-anti-nuclear-fearmongering-thyroid-growths-in-fukushima/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JapanProbe+%28Japan+Probe%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Last week, the conspiracy theorist blogosphere latched onto a story claiming that “36 percent of Fukushima children have abnormal thyroid growths.” The story was also picked up by Michael Kelley of Business Insider, who wrote sensational articles blaming the thyroid growths on Fukushima.
There are major problems with the story being told by Kelley and the conspiracy theorist bloggers.
  • We do not have data about the number of thyroid growths found in years before the Fukushima accident.
  • The 36 percent result is compared to data from a 2001 study that found thyroid growths in less than 1% of children in Nagasaki. However, comparisons between the two are very difficult to make because the Nagasaki study used entirely different methods and only reported on nodules/cysts larger than 5.0 mm. The most recent Fukushima data reports on growths of all sizes, with nodules smaller than 5.0 mm accounting for much of the infamous 36 percent.

  • It is too early for this to happen in Fukushima. It took years for thyroid cancer to develop in Children who lived near Chernobyl, where radiation exposure levels were considerably higher. Scientific Reports, a journal operated by the prestigious Nature Publishing Group, recently published a study on thyroid exposure in Fukushima. A group of Japanese scientists concluded that Fukushima evacuees were exposed to radiation, but it wasn’t even remotely close to the levels of exposure suffered by people who lived near Chernobyl:
  • Here we report for the first time extensive measurements of the exposure to I-131 revealing I-131 activity in the thyroid of 46 out of the 62 residents and evacuees measured. The median thyroid equivalent dose was estimated to be 4.2 mSv and 3.5 mSv for children and adults, respectively, much smaller than the mean thyroid dose in the Chernobyl accident (490 mSv in evacuees). Maximum thyroid doses for children and adults were 23 mSv and 33 mSv, respectively.
  • Kelley treats professional anti-nuclear fearmongers and conspiracy theorist blogs as credible sources of analysis.
  • Kelley’s article claims that the “New York Academy of Sciences estimates that nearly one million people around the world have died from exposure to radiation released by the 1986 nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl reactor.” Back in 2011, environmentalist George Monbiot found that the publication in question was a translation of a Russian book, and was not in any sense an official estimate from the New York Academy of Sciences:
  • The academy has given me this statement: “In no sense did Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences or the New York Academy of Sciences commission this work; nor by its publication do we intend to independently validate the claims made in the translation or in the original publications cited in the work. The translated volume has not been peer-reviewed by the New York Academy of Sciences, or by anyone else.”
    Failing to provide sources, refuting data with anecdote, cherry-picking studies, scorning the scientific consensus, invoking a cover-up to explain it: all this is horribly familiar. These are the habits of climate change deniers, against which the green movement has struggled valiantly, calling science to its aid. It is distressing to discover that when the facts don’t suit them, members of this movement resort to the follies they have denounced.
    Just like so many of the other scare stories we have heard about in the last year, this one is rubbish.

April 9th, 2011 – Summary of Naval Reactors “Warm” and “Hot” Zones around Fukushima Daiichi by Enformable


Trying to Tally Fukushima By MATTHEW L. WALD

 

Trying to Tally Fukushima


http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/trying-to-tally-fukushima/

San Onofre Update 7/20


NUCLEAR PLANT: San Onofre, which helps supply Riverside, to stay offline for ...
Press-Enterprise (blog)
I've been meaning to follow up on issues at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (known as SONGS) – it matters to Riversiders because the city utility owns a very small portion of the plant and it provides about 15% of the city's average daily power ...
Feds OK change at San Onofre nuclear plant
Mid Columbia Tri City Herald
FILE - In this April 27, 2012, file photo, people are shown at the beach outside the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Onofre, Calif. Federal regulators say the San Onofre nuclear power plant in California did not mislead the government about ...

Mid Columbia Tri City Herald
Feinstein: 'More Work to be Done' to Resolve San Onofre Nuclear Plant Woes
Power Engineering Magazine
issued the following statement after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) released a report confirming the steam generator tube leak and degradation at California's San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was caused by faulty computer models that ...
SCE wins NRC inspection report on San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
Electric Light & Power
Rosemead, Calif., July 20, 2012 — Southern California Edison received the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Augmented Inspection Team report regarding the unusual degradation of steam generator tubes in the San Onofre Nuclear Generating ...

Study estimating Fukushima radiation-caused deaths and its refutation


Study estimating Fukushima radiation-caused ... - Thorium Forum
The study, conducted by Stanford University PhD graduate John Ten Hoeve and Stanford civil engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson, to be published in the ...
thoriumforum.com/study-estimating-fukushima-radiation-caus...
 

Study estimating Fukushima radiation-caused deaths and its refutation

 

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors - The Scientific Center


Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors. « The Scientific Gamer
LFTR stands for liquid fluoride thorium reactor. LFTRs are an example of both generation IV reactors – in other words, future nuclear reactors which prioritise ...
scientificgamer.wordpress.com/.../liquid-fluoride-thorium-reac...

NRC Issues Augmented Inspection Team Report on San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Steam Generators

NRC Issues Augmented Inspection Team Report on San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Steam Generators

Special NRC Oversight at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station: Steam Generator Tube Degradation

In response to an Event Notification Report, dated February 1, 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) modified its regulatory oversight San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), Unit 2 and Unit 3, to address unusual degradation of newly installed steam generator tubes after approximately 1.7 and 1 effective full power years of operation, respectively. The purpose of this special oversight is to review the licensee's response to the initial indications of the tube leak, and verify that the licensee's actions are appropriate to ensure the integrity of the steam generators and to protect the health and safety of the public and the environment. For more information, see the following topics on this page:

Unit 2 Steam Generators

Unit 2 commenced a normally scheduled refueling outage on January 10, 2012. This was the first refueling outage after replacement of both steam generators in January 2010. In accordance with the plant’s Technical Specifications, a 100-percent inspection of all steam generator tubes was conducted. Mechanical wear was observed at various locations along the tube lengths, similar to what has been observed in comparable steam generators at other plants. The wear observed at the retainer bars (bars that are unique to steam generators fabricated by Mitsubishi) was not expected. The severity of one of the wear indications at a retainer bar was significant enough (90 percent thru-wall) to warrant in-situ pressure testing. This pressure test confirmed the structural integrity of this tube (there was no leakage).
Based on the severity of tube-to-tube wear found on Unit 3 steam generators, the licensee completed additional rotating coil eddy current testing in an area of interest consisting of 1,375 tubes in each Unit 2 steam generator. Tube-to-tube wear of 14 percent was identified in two adjacent tubes in each Unit 2 steam generator 2E089.
Based on the initial 100-percent tube inspections, the licensee completed tube plugging and staking (internal cable support of select plugged tubes) of 192 tubes total: 98 in 2E088 and 94 in 2E089. A total of six tubes required plugging because they exceeded the plugging criterion of 35-percent tube wear, and all tubes adjacent to the "retainer bars" were plugged as a precautionary measure due to unusual wear at that location. As a result of information learned from the Unit 3 cause evaluation, a total of 318 additional tubes, located in similar areas of tube-to-tube wear in Unit 3 steam generators, were plugged in the Unit 2 steam generators. The total plugging for Unit 2 was 205 tubes in 2E088, and 305 in 2E089.
To top of page

Unit 3 Steam Generators

Unit 3 had been operating for approximately 1 year following replacement of the steam generators when control room operators received alarms on January 31, 2012, indicating that reactor coolant was leaking into one of the steam generators (3E088). The leak was unexpected, and the licensee responded in accordance with its procedures by performing a rapid shutdown, since the leak, although small, had increased enough in a short period of time to warrant the precautionary shutdown. The estimated leak rate was 75 gallons per day, which is less than .06 gallons per minute. The Plant Operating License allows full-power operation with a steady leak rate of less than 150 gallons per day.
The first indication of the leak was that the main condenser air ejector radiation monitors reached their alarm setpoint. The radiation monitors continuously sample from a vent stack in order to rapidly identify steam generator tube leaks. This was a direct release of radioactivity to the atmosphere, which is allowed by the plant operating license, up to limits in the regulations. The licensee reviewed the amount released and estimated it was much less than is permitted by the plant operating license. NRC inspectors independently reviewed the release data and verified the licensee's findings. The release posed no threat to the public or the workers onsite.
Unit 3 control room operators performed a controlled shutdown of Unit 3 on January 31, 2012, and reached cold shutdown conditions on February 2, 2012. The operators then prepared the steam generators for tube inspections, which were started on February 12, 2012. The first inspection confirmed the location of the leak in steam generator 3E088. One tube was found with a small leak, and no other tubes were leaking.
The licensee has completed an extensive and expanded eddy current evaluation of 100 percent of the steam generator tubes in both Unit 3 steam generators. Indications of abnormal tube wear, both at support structures and tube-to-tube, were extensive in both Unit 3 steam generators. Following pre-established testing requirements, the licensee identified 129 tubes in Unit 3 (73 in 3E88 and 56 in 3E89) that required in-situ pressure testing.
The in-situ pressure test is performed one tube at a time, by slowly pressurizing the primary side of the tube (the side that normally sees reactor coolant pressure) with water. The first pressure point is approximately 3,200 pounds per square inch gauge (psig), which is the differential pressure the tube would see during a main steamline break. The pressure is determined using normal reactor coolant system (RCS) pressure, and then adding additional pressure due to test conditions (cooler temperature) and gauge uncertainties. This pressure is held for 2 minutes, and then the next pressure of approximately 5,200 psig is attained and held for 2 minutes. The last pressure is approximately three times the normal tube differential pressure, again adding corrections for temperature and gauge uncertainties.
The licensee determined that there was a high probability of several Unit 3 steam generator tubes failing the in-situ pressure test. In-situ testing was conducted from March 13 to March 20, 2012. The licensee accurately ranked each tube according to the probability of failure, and the top eight tubes with the highest probability of failure did fail the pressure test. All other tubes passed, and all of the failures occurred on the 3E088 steam generator. The leaking tube was one of the tubes that failed the pressure test.
The licensee completed extensive plugging and selective staking of 807 tubes in Unit 3 (420 in 3E088 and 387 in 3E089).
To top of page

Steam Generator Tube Wear Data

The following data is provided to help interested parties understand the observed wear in the u-tubes of all four steam generators. A diagram showing the internal construction of the steam generator has also been provided to help readers understand the components of concern.
To top of page

Publicly Available Documents

The following table lists the publicly available documents that the NRC has issued in connection with the special oversight of SONGS.
This page includes links to files in non-HTML format. See Plugins, Viewers, and Other Tools for more information.
Date Title/Description
07/19/2012 Press Release regarding Augmented Inspection Team Report on San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Steam Generators
07/18/2012 Augmented Inspection Team Report (2012007)
06/26/2012 Meeting Summary for Augmented Inspection Team Exit Meeting
06/08/2012 Press Release regarding Augmented Inspection Team Exit Meeting
06/08/2012 Public Meeting Notice for Augmented Inspection Team Exit
06/04/2012 Part 21-Steam Generator Tube Wear Adjacent to Retaining Bars
05/16/2012 Augmented Inspection Team Charter, Revision 1
05/07/2012 Statement from Chairman on Restart
03/29/2012 Licensee Event Report 2012-001-00, Unit 3 Manual Trip due to Steam Generator Tube Leak
03/27/2012 Press Release regarding Confirmatory Action Letter
03/27/2012 San Onofre Confirmatory Action Letter
03/23/2012 San Onofre Return-to-Service Action Plan
03/19-29/2012 Augmented Inspection Team On-Site Inspection
03/16/2012 Augmented Inspection Team Charter
03/16/2012 Preliminary Notification Update PNO-IV-12-003A, Augmented Inspection Team Onsite at San Onofre Unit 3
03/15/2012 Press Release regarding Augmented Inspection Team Inspection
02/01/2012 Preliminary Notification PNO-IV-12-003, San Onofre Unit 3 Steam Generator Tube Leak and Rapid Shutdown
02/01/2012 Event Notification Report 47628, Manual Trip due to a Primary-to-Secondary Leak Greater than 30 gal/hr.
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Key International Events Organized in First-Year Implementation of IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety

Key International Events Organized in First-Year Implementation of IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety

Nuclear Power Reactors in the World, 2012 Edition, IAEA Reference Data Series 2

The Clean Energy Race: How Do California's Public Utilities . . .


The Clean Energy Race: How Do California's Public Utilities ...
This report from the Union of Concerned Scientists evaluates the renewable energy investments of California's 10 largest publicly owned utilities.
www.ucsusa.org/.../california-renewable-energy-and-public-ut...

SONGS talks to nuclear bloggers

http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-long-hot-summer-ahead-for-songs.html

On Friday SONGS spokesperson Janifer Manfre spoke by phone with nuclear bloggers Meredith Angrin and Dan Yurmanmy. If its a first for Southern California Edison which has been dealing with the issues of its shut down reactors due to steam generator problems.  The occasion for the call is the release by the NRC of its "Augmented Inspection Team Report."

Dan Yurman writes about this conversation based on Manfre's extensive remarks in a dialog that went on for 65 minutes is at the cited URL.

INPO-WANO News Update 7/20

INPO - WANO News and Report



Fukushima, radiation &thyroid cancer

Fukushima, radiation &thyroid cancer



http://fukkou-arena.jp/academic/?p=390/

Friday, July 20, 2012

Tokyo's efforts to restore trust in nuclear power hit new snag


Tokyo's efforts to restore trust in nuclear power hit new snag
Reuters
TOKYO, July 20 (Reuters) - Japan's government suffered a fresh setback on Friday in its efforts to restore trust in nuclear power, shattered by the Fukushima crisis, when media leaks forced it to delay nominating candidates for a new atomic safety watchdog.

Vendor singled out by SONGS findings

Vendor singled out by SONGS findings

A regulatory investigation team has pointed at "faulty computer modelling" and "manufacturing issues" as contributing factors to the rapid deterioration of steam generator tubing at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).

A European Perspective on the US Shale Energy Revolution

Posted: 20 Jul 2012 05:13 AM PDT
The Economist has an interesting set of articles in a recent special report on U.S. energy and in particular, energy from shale. Though the primary audience is European, the report makes a number of important points about shale energy and the hydraulic fracturing methods used to collect it.Natural gas, much of it unconventional, is changing the global energy picture

Japan's culture and Fukushima

Posted: 20 Jul 2012 05:19 AM PDT
Personal accountability trumps organizational loyalty

Areva & Rosatom to Cooperate on Nuclear?

Areva & Rosatom to Cooperate on Nuclear?

Dan Yurman, Idaho Samizdat
Luc Oursel, President and CEO of AREVA, and Sergey Kirienko, Director General of ROSATOM  signed a Memorandum of Understanding July 18 to set up working groups to study ways of strengthening the cooperation between the two groups in the nuclear sector.

Why Do 'Experts' Lowball Clean Energy Projections?

Why Do 'Experts' Lowball Clean Energy Projections?

David Roberts, Grist
Last month, Michael Noble of Fresh Energy put up a fascinating list of projections made by energy experts around 2000 or so. (I got there via Brad Plumer.) Suffice to say, the projections did not fare well. They were badly wrong, and all in the same direction "” they underestimated the growth of renewable energy. . .

The Duke-Progress Merger Fiasco Continues

The Duke-Progress Merger Fiasco Continues

Ken Silverstein, EnergyBiz
The Duke-Progress merger is complete. But the North Carolina Utilities Commission’s job is not yet done. It is trying to gain a fuller picture into the inner-workings of the newly-formed Duke Energy Board and why it fired its former chief executive 20 minutes into the job.

Energy, Nuclear and Uranium: Critical Frontiers in India-Africa Relations

Energy, Nuclear and Uranium: Critical Frontiers in India-Africa Relations

The 21st century has seen the African continent gain significant salience in Indian foreign policy. Elements of pragmatism have been mixed into the earlier idealistic policy and the factors such as energy, uranium, and other resources are driving India’s interest in ties with Africa.

EDF Starts Chinon B-4 Nuclear Reactor: Current Outages

EDF Starts Chinon B-4 Nuclear Reactor: Current Outages

Electricite de France SA started its Chinon B-4 nuclear power plant, according to the nation’s grid operator Reseau de Transport d’Electricite.

EDF, the world’s biggest nuclear power plant operator, has 40 reactors online, representing 69 percent of available nuclear capacity, RTE data show. EDF’s 58 nuclear plants generate about 78 percent of the country’s power.

The following table lists EDF’s atomic units that are out of service, their generating capacity in megawatts, when they stopped and the expected return date, if known, according to RTE. Two asterisks highlight an unplanned halt.

UNIT NAME                 MW         OUT        RETURN
Dampierre-1               890      July 14        --
Chinon B-1                905      July 14        --
Nogent-1                1,310      June 22        --
Blayais-4                 910      June 20        --
St-Laurent-1              915      June 16      July 21
Cattenom-4              1,300    **May 29         --
Cruas-1                   915      May 26         --
Gravelines-5              910      May 19         --
Paluel-3                1,330      May 19         --
Dampierre-4               890      May 5          --
Gravelines-3              910      April 28       --
Tricastin-3               915      April 28       --
Penly-2                 1,330      April 5        --
Golfech-1               1,310      March 24     July 22
Cruas-4                   915      March 24       --
Blayais-1                 910      March 2      July 20
Civaux-2                1,495      Feb. 18        --
Chooz B-2               1,500      Feb. 16        --
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Richard Branson urges Obama to back next-generation nuclear technology

Richard Branson urges Obama to back next-generation nuclear technology

Sir Richard Branson is urging the US government to help commercialise a controversial class of nuclear reactor, according to a letter seen by the Guardian asking for a meeting with President Barack Obama and US energy secretary Steven Chu.

The White House declined the meeting to discuss integral fast reactors (IFRs), which proponents say offer a way of dealing with nuclear waste, although no working commercial reactors are in operation.

But the move brings the intriguing prospect of a race to develop nuclear technology between Branson and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose new company TerraPower is developing another type of next-generation nuclear technology known as the travelling wave reactor.

"Obviously we urgently need to come up with a clean effective way of supplying our energy since not only are the dirty ways like oil running out but we need to do so to help avoid the world heating up," Branson told the Guardian.

READ MORE...

Exelon shuts Pa. Limerick 1 nuclear power reactor

Exelon shuts Pa. Limerick 1 nuclear power reactor


 July 18 (Reuters) - Exelon Corp shut down the
1,130-megawatt (MW) Unit 1 at the Limerick nuclear power plant
in Pennsylvania early Wednesday following an electrical
disturbance on the non-nuclear side of the plant, the company
said in a release.
    The outage came at a bad time for the power grid: Homes and
businesses in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic are cranking up their air
conditioners amid a brutal heat wave blanketing the region.
    The electrical disturbance caused a loss of power to
generator cooling equipment, the company said. The unit will
remain offline until repairs, inspections and testing are
completed, it said.
    The company said the unit shutdown did not pose any threat
to the public.
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