Australia’s pro nuclear lobbyists get cracking
Business groups want Government to ‘get out of the way’ of nuclear power ABC NewsBy political reporter Nick Pedley 4 Dec 2014,
The organisation’s chief executive, Nigel McBride, has welcomed the comments from senior figures within the Federal Government.
“I do welcome what is, to me, a very important sign from the Prime Minister that this Government is not closed to what could be a significant game-changer in our fight for affordable energy,” he said.
At the moment legislation bans nuclear power from becoming a reality.
Mr McBride’s view of the legislative ban is blunt.
“What we need from Government is we need governments to get out of the way,” he said.
Business SA is pushing for a debate about building a $3 billion micro reactor known as a Prism power plant designed by General Electric and Hitachi.
The plant converts used nuclear fuel rods and surplus plutonium into energy.
Mr McBride argued the proposal would pay its own way after five years.
He said the technology was safe and innovative and would also see nuclear nations pay Australia to take their spent fuel rods.
Tony Abbott welcomes nuclear energy ideas……….
Mr McBride has reassured the Prime Minister there would not be a push for government assistance.
“We’re not asking for subsidies,” he said.
“We’re asking for the Government to allow this to proceed.”
Engineers call for ‘simple legislation change’
The body that represents the nation’s engineers, Engineers Australia, has joined the call for Government to remove the legislative barriers to nuclear power.
Tony Irwin from Engineers Australia said the Prime Minister’s comments showed nuclear power was “seriously being considered”.
He also called for “simple legislation change”.
Mr Irwin said there were already regulators in place who could monitor the industry.
“We need a process to see how we’re going to change the legislation,” he said.
Mr Irwin is also the technical director of a company called SMR Nuclear Technology…………
He said it might be difficult to win support for the micro reactor because it was new technology and there was not enough regulatory approval in other nations for the Prism plant.
The Opposition’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, earlier this week dismissed nuclear power as an alternative.
“I don’t think it’s a viable option for Australia,” Ms Plibersek said.
“We know that it’s expensive.
“It takes a long time to get nuclear energy underway and in fact countries that have been relying on nuclear energy like Japan and Germany are actually retreating from the use of it.”
Senior Labor frontbencher Jenny Macklin said it was unnecessary for more nuclear energy in Australia.
She also wanted to know where the power stations would be located.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-05/governments-urged-to-embrace-nuclear-power/5945072
Will Australia again be notorious for climate change denial policies, at the COP20?
Will Australia be the great coal defender at Lima climate talks? Guardian, Graham Readfearn 3 Dec 14, Australia heads to major climate negotiations in the wake of high level defence of its coal industry. When a climate science denialist starts congratulating your country on its stance at major international climate change talks, you know things have gone decidedly bad.That was a year ago in Warsaw, Poland, where Australia was establishing a new reputation as a negative force on global climate negotiations.
“Australia gets it,” said the climate science denialist talking head Marc Morano, a man most often seen verballing peer-reviewed science on conservative American cable news channels.
But Morano made another statement that seemed to be an attempt make the brains of as many greenies as possible go kaboom.
“Coal is the moral choice,” said Morano.
But what appeared then to be a ridiculous statement, is now Australia’s official political position. We’ve had Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s “coal is good for humanity”, the Treasurer Joe Hockey’s “we export coal to lift nations out of poverty” and the Finance Minister Matthias Cormann’s “coal is good”.
Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!
Since Warsaw, Australia has also become the first nation in the world to actually remove laws to price greenhouse gas emissions and the Abbott Government continues to push for a cut to its own target on renewable energy generation.
Australia also declared its hottest year on record – 2013 – with 2014 likely to also be among the five hottest years on record (we have also just had the hottest November on record and the hottest spring on record).
Now the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 20thConference of the Parties meeting in Lima (to be hereafter mercifully referred to as COP20) is underway (I’ll be there in three days time).
The key task for negotiators is to have in place the draft text of a new deal to be signed in Paris in late 2015 (at COP21) that for the first time will include all countries – both developed and developing.
Countries won’t need to declare exactly what steps they’ll take in Lima (known as Intended National Determined Contributions, or INDCS) and can wait until March next year, although some have started that ball rolling already. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2014/dec/03/will-australia-be-the-great-coal-defender-at-lima-climate-talks
COP20 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 20thConference
The narrative of nuclear being good, carbon-free and safe needs to be countered, or nuclear plants could start proliferating.
Nuclear energy is definitively not the solution
Phase out Fossils. Phase in Nuclear? http://adoptanegotiator.org/phase-out-fossils-phase-in-nuclear/Anna Pérez Català December 3, 2014
Second day of the COP20, and the plenary is full of delegates discussing the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP). The atmosphere is really hot, like if we could feel the 2 degrees temperature rise due to climate change, and delegates are discussing the beginning of the draft and how it would look in a screen.
The ADP document is very important, because it aims to define the new climate agreement in 2015 and foster greenhouse gas reduction. Continue reading
No way that Japan can be sure that its nuclear restart will be safe
Japan’s nuclear dilemma 03 December 2014 by Robert J. Geller Some Japanese nuclear reactors, mothballed since the 2011 Tohoku quake, may soon restart. But nature can outpace new safety precautions, warns a geophysicist “………The Sendai plant faces some specific risks. The site is about 50 kilometres from a large active volcano, Sakurajima, and there are several other active volcanoes on Kyushu. A large eruption would pose obvious safety issues for the plant, but its operator has said that advance warnings of an impending eruption would allow them to take appropriate measures. Doubts about this sanguine view were reinforced by the eruption of Mount Ontake on Honshu, without warning, in September. It killed more than 50 climbers out for a weekend stroll.
A variety of natural hazards, including earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis, pose risks to reactors throughout Japan. I have written extensively about the lack of success of both short and long-term earthquake prediction (Nature, vol 472, p 407). It is well known that accurate predictions of fracture and failure phenomena such as earthquakes are, in general, impossible. Intellectually honest discussions of nuclear safety with regard to earthquakes must start by acknowledging this.
Before Tohoku, the Japanese government’s seismic hazard map assumed that earthquakes off that coast would not exceed magnitude 7.5 to 8.0. The most authoritative estimate for the size of the Tohoku quake is magnitude 9.1. Given that the energy released by an earthquake increases 30-fold for every 1.0 increase in magnitude, this is a huge discrepancy………
- And although advice from specialists is necessary, it is Japan’s political leaders, as well as the voters who elect them, who must take ultimate responsibility for the decision to restart its nuclear plants.
Robert J. Geller is professor of geophysics at the University of Tokyo http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429972.800-total-safety-an-illusion-for-japans-nuclear-restart.html#.VIJRwNLF8nn
Ukraine government belatedly admits to nuclear accident at Europe’s largest nuke facility
Nuclear Accident In Ukraine: Largest Nuke Plant In Europe Shut Down, But ‘No Threat,’ Gov’t Claims, INQUISITR, 3 Dec 14 A nuclear accident at a power plant in Ukraine, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, shut the plant down last Friday, but the Ukraine government did not reveal the alarming mishap until Wednesday, claiming that the accident posed “no threat” to the public from radiation.
The nuclear plant is located just 120 miles from the war-torn eastern Ukraine region of Donetsk, a stronghold of pro-Russian separatist rebels who have battled the Ukraine government in heavy fighting for much of 2014.
Donetsk is the region where on July 17, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down by, it is widely believed, a rebel anti-aircraft missile, killing all 298 people on board.
Nuclear experts have raised the alarm that the power plant could be vulnerable to artillery fire from the war zone nearby………http://www.inquisitr.com/1652271/nuclear-accident-in-ukraine/
Europe’s biggest utility goes for renewables, dumps coal and nuclear energy
Contrast the approach from Australian utilities with that of NRG, which could see the way that technology was changing, and decided to act before it was forced to by policy makers and regulators,
“Frankly if the industry does not follow us and start moving, people are not going to have much patience with it. We can either become extinct or we can become involved.”
EU’s biggest utility dumps conventional generation to focus on renewables REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 2 December 2014 Out with the old, in with the new. That’s the dramatic new strategy of E.ON, Europe’s largest utility, which on Monday announced it was dumping conventional energy generation and would focus instead on renewables, distributed generation, and customer solutions.
The stunning divestment – coinciding with the first day of the annual climate change talks in Lima, Peru – is the most dramatic in a series of announcements by major utilities in the EU and the US in recent months, flagging a move towards wind and solar, decentralised generation, and a move away from the centralised model and conventional generation that has dominated the energy market for more than a century.
E.ON says it will focus exclusively on renewable energy, energy efficiency, digitising the distribution network and enabling customer-sited energy sources like storage paired with solar. Its main markets will be Europe and North America, and CEO Johannes Teyssen said the split was necessary because the new energy system required a compete change of culture, and it was impossible to grow two businesses in the same organisation……….. Continue reading
Quebec’s indigenous Nunavik Inuit say ‘No’ to uranium mining
Nunavik Inuit say ‘No’ to uranium mining http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavik-inuit-say-no-to-uranium-mining-1.2860061 4 Dec 14 ‘When a population is so dependent on locally sourced food, the fear and uncertainty escalate ‘ The two major Inuit organizations in northern Quebec revealed their official position on uranium 
mining at a public consultation in Kangiqsualujjuaq, Que., and it’s a resounding ‘No.’Makivik President Jobie Tukkiapik says the consensus is clear: Nunavik Inuit fears for radioactive contamination of the land trump any economic windfall they might reap from uranium mining.
“Uranium is a controversial topic, and must be considered separately from conventional mining activities exploiting other minerals in Nunavik,” Tukkiapik says.
Makivik Corporation, the land claims organization, teamed up with the Kativik Regional Government in stating their case to Quebec’s environmental consultation office.
The land claims organization made the announcement following three years of consultations throughout Nunavik’s 14 communities. They also did consultations in Montreal and some neighbouring Cree villages. KRG chair Maggie Emudluk says the key concern is the health of country food.
Inuit rely on hunting wildlife for sustenance, and Emudluk says the impact of radioactive material getting into the food chain could be deadly.
“The psychological effects cannot be underestimated,” she says. “People are afraid of uranium in general, but when a population is so dependent on locally sourced food, the fear and uncertainty escalate.”
It remains to be seen whether the declaration is legally enforceable under Quebec law
City of Sydney’s Renewable Energy Master Plan has won the European Solar Prize 2014 award
Sydney gets international recognition for renewable energy plan http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/politics/local-government/sydney-gets-international-recognition-for-renewable-energy-plan/70135 2 December 2014
The City of Sydney’s Renewable Energy Master Plan has won the European Solar Prize 2014 award for excellence and innovation.
The award from not-for-profit organisation EUROSOLAR recognises outstanding commitment and contributions to the renewable energy sector.
“Our Renewable Energy Master Plan will help us transform Sydney into a city run entirely on renewable energy by 2030,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
“The City is Australia’s first carbon-neutral government with ambitious targets to reduce emissions by 70 per cent by 2030. We are delighted that our renewable energy master plan has received this prestigious recognition on a global scale.”
The City’s renewable energy master plan was nominated by renewable expert and president of EUROSOLAR Peter Droege.
“The City of Sydney’s renewable energy master plan demonstrates civic vision, technological leadership and political courage,” Mr Droege said.
“The plan demonstrates a commitment to a fully renewable energy based community and is a stellar model for other communities around the world to aspire to.”
South Australia’s innovative solar powered farm Sundrop goes from strength to strength
Sundrop gets $100m injection from KKR to grow tomatoes in SA desert http://www.theage.com.au/business/sundrop-gets-100m-injection-from-kkr-to-grow-tomatoes-in-sa-desert-20141204-1208fm.html December 4, 2014 Simon Evans
Sundrop Farms has received a capital injection from private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to aggressively expand its operations, which grow tomatoes on desert land north of Port Augusta in South Australia using solar thermal energy and desalination. Continue reading
The Bishop – Julie – Australia’s great defender of the Coal Faith
Will Australia be the great coal defender at Lima climate talks? Guardian, Graham Readfearn 3 Dec 14,”………whereas in Warsaw the government decided not to send any ministers, this year the Australian delegation will be joined by two – Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Trade Minister Andrew Robb (Robb was sh
adow minister for Industry and Climate Change for a year in 2008).
While in opposition in 2011, Bishop was striking a denialist tone on climate change science in a column published in Fairfax newspapers.
Bloggers later found that Bishop had likely cut and pasted the material from climate science denial blogs.
Bishop’s sympathy for people who rejected the multiple lines of evidence for human caused climate change was similar to a piece she had written in 2008.
In a mining industry conference speech earlier this year, Robb celebrated the future of brown coal – the dirtiest form of the already dirty fossil fuel.
Robb said brown coal was “a resource that is often demonised, particularly by those who oppose growth and development”.
A few weeks ago Robb also jumped to the defence of Bishop, who had said the Great Barrier Reef was “not in danger” – contradicting the view of her government’s own science agencies.
So what will Bishop, Robb and Australia be looking for in Lima?
In October, Australia laid out its starting position in a document submitted to the UNFCCC secretariat.
In the document, Australia said it wanted all countries to be working on a “common playing field” and that countries must be allowed to take action that would “sustain economic growth”.
The action needed to be “appropriate to their national circumstances and policy choices” and any pledges “must include clear, credible and quantifiable emissions reduction commitments by all” that would “deliver real global outcomes”.
This is the language of multi-lateral climate negotiations – broad, woolly and open to a wide array of interpretations…….
Australia’s policy choice is to do away with pricing greenhouse gas emissions and cut ambition for renewable energy.
The “national circumstance” appears to be the world’s greatest defender of coal.http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2014/dec/03/will-australia-be-the-great-coal-defender-at-lima-climate-talks
AUDIO: report on Aboriginal Freedom Summit
(Audio) Tauto Sansbury and Rosalie Kunoth-Monks on the “Freedom Summit” a gathering of grassroots Aboriginal community leaders by Karun on Tue, 02/12/2014 Perth Indymedia speaks to esteemed elder of South Australia’s Narrunga people Tauto Sansbury and Australian of the Year, leader of the Utopia homelands Rosalie Kunoth-Monks on the “Freedom Summit”, the most significant gathering of grassroots Aboriginal community leaders in recent history which was held in Alice Springs………https://indymedia.org.au/2014/12/02/tauto-sansbury-and-rosalie-kunoth-monks-on-the-freedom-summit-a-gathering-of-grassroots
Success of solar energy plus storage in remote and rural Australia
Solar plus storage becoming “new normal” in rural and remote Australia, pv magazine, 03. DECEMBER 2014 | BY: JONATHAN GIFFORD
PV arrays coupled with battery storage systems are becoming the “new normal” in Australia’s wide-open spaces. The number of installations continue to increase as governments and businesses begin to realize the new reality of off or edge-of-grid solar+storage affordability.
Rapidly falling costs in solar and battery storage technology, coupled with an increasing familiarity with the technology is driving these solutions into the mainstream in remote areas of Australia. In Western Australia a growing number of innovative solutions are providing proof of the technological solution and its economic advantages.
In a demonstration of the shift in thinking that is taking place, the state’s Minister of Energy Mike Nahan has acknowledged the strong economic case for solar+storage and has called for the state’s rural and remote utility to accelerate its uptake. Nahan has previously expressed doubts about renewable energy and, as a strong advocate of free-market principals, is not a supporter of subsidies for renewable deployment.
In response to questions raised in the WA parliament last week about the poor level electricity supply to the remote mining town of Ravensthorpe, Nahan said that the local utility Horizon is investigating a number of solutions including a micro-grid with decentralized solar component.
“I am not a technologist,” Nahan initially cautioned. “[However] we could tell everybody in Ravensthorpe to put in solar and have a wind–diesel–solar combination. They already have a micro-grid. These are the things that Horizon is supposed to look at, and we will go down and discuss it.”
Nahan continued that he had “entrusted” the utility to come up with alternative electricity solutions for supplies to remote towns such as Ravensthorpe. He has also appointed a renewable energy expert, Ray Wills, to the board of the utility. Wills is the former head of the now-defunct Sustainable Energy Association.
The parliamentary exchange was reported by the leading Australian cleantech site RenewEconomy.
This shift in thinking comes after a UBS report last month that solar+storage is already economic in some parts of Australia.
Real-world applications
While the apparent about-face of the WA Energy Minister is impressive, solar+storage arrays are going into remote Australian communities on an increasingly regular basis.
In the mid-west region of Western Australia, the Meta Maya Regional Aboriginal Corporation has announced that it will install a 100 kW solar+storage system at its headquarters in Wedgefield, Port Hedland. The array will be coupled with a 76 kWh lithium ion battery bank and backed up by a 40 kW diesel generator………….http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/solar-plus-storage-becoming-new-normal-in-rural-and-remote-australia_100017360/#axzz3L3cb1lHh
Media excluded, Aboriginals protest, as Minerals Council meets in Darwin
Traditional owners target Minerals Council HERALD SUN, NEDA VANOVAC AAP DECEMBER 04, 2014 ABORIGINAL traditional owners have heckled government and mining industry representatives at a Minerals Council summit, calling for an end to mining on their lands. ABOUT 30 traditional owners and family members drove to Darwin from Maningrida, with some driving all night to make the 1400km from Borroloola by morning.
Conrad Rory, a Yanyula and Garrawa man from Borroloola, told AAP the MacArthur River Mine near his community was having a detrimental impact on the tidal river. The mine’s independent monitor reported last year that 90 per cent of fish caught downstream of the mine exceeded maximum permitted concentrations of metals and isotopes as outlined by the national food standards guidelines.
“What we’re really hoping to accomplish is shutting down the mine,” Mr Rory said. “Since they diverted the river it’s been flowing really slow, the colour’s changed, we’ve found dead fish and crabs.”
Jackie Green, an elder from Borroloola, was critical of mine operators he saw as plundering Aboriginal land and then moving on………. Mr Green accused the government of separating families to obtain consent for mining on Aboriginal land.”They grab one Aboriginal person and take him aside and chuck a chocolate across his table and he eats that and other Aboriginal people don’t know what’s going on.”Five police cars were sent to monitor the small protest, and the doors to Darwin’s convention centre were locked.Media were barred from attending sessions with industry leaders such as Andrea Sutton, CEO of Energy Resources of Australia, and Sam Strohmayr, general manager of Glencore……… http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/traditional-owners-target-minerals-council/story-fni0xqi4-1227144612565
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