To 27 March – Climate and Nuclear News Australia
Why single out one ecological disaster – when there are so many? I originally dedicated this weekly post to nuclear issues. Now it’s hard to prioritise nuclear. We have the biodiversity crash now going on, and picking up speed. Climate change is always there -its most notable expression this week is in the drowning of Mozambique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toInwS5pE6c&t=151s
AUSTRALIA
CLIMATE.
- Cyclones Veronica and Trevor continue to wreak havoc across northern Australia.
- Australia’s carbon emissions do have an impact .
- The Stop the Adani Convoy: An Interview With Bob Brown.
- Coalition’s Canavan launches the sausage sizzle climate scare campaign. Home Affairs Minister, and wannabe Australian P.M .Peter Dutton rubbishes the climate action schoolkids. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL8a1YEhk_o NSW goes to the polls as major parties go quiet on climate, renewables. Coal became a dirty word in NSW poll, but wind and solar face uncertainty.
NUCLEAR. Australia is to build new nuclear reactors, in partnership with China (does Parliament know?) Nuclear waste, and court actions. Independent report found ANSTO’s health staff lacking in knowledge about radiation exposure.
RENEWABLE ENERGY. Court rejects bid to block South Australia wind and ‘biggest’ battery project. Wind generation hits peak output of more than 4,000MW in Australia. CEFC tips $10m into home solar and battery-focused green bond.
INTERNATIONAL
A huge global wake-up call- the human devastation of climate change.
Drastic decline in insect numbers – the bugocalypse.
Small and Medium Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) – cost estimates, and what they cost to build. The sorry history of small nuclear power reactors.
NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR AUSTRALIA
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NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR AUSTRALIA – AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE , Climate Council, Periodically, as with the changing of the seasons, various individuals appear in the media extolling the virtues of nuclear energy, promising a panacea of clean and reliable electricity to solve Australia’s energy crisis. But the truth is far less rosy. …. nuclear energy is not “renewable”. Uranium is a finite resource just like coal or gas. Nuclear energy doesn’t make sense in Australia
……….there are a number of reasons why nuclear power is not appropriate for Australia.
Nuclear power stations are expensiveNuclear power stations are extremely expensive to build. For example, the Hinkley nuclear power station under construction in the UK will cost 20 billion pounds (AU$36 billion). Nuclear cannot compete on a cost basis with wind and solar, which are the cheapest forms of new generation. The cost of energy from the Hinkley Power station is significantly higher than large-scale solar, windand offshore wind energy in the UK. On average, nuclear power stations take a decade to buildThe Hinkley power station will take nine years to build. The global average is 9.4 years. This would be even longer in Australia given there is currently no nuclear industry here. It is not unusual for nuclear power stations to take over a decade between the start of approvals and coming online. For comparison, wind and solar farms take just one to three years. Australia cannot wait this long to replace our ageing fleet of coal power stations, which are already struggling to cope with extreme heat. Nuclear power stations are inflexible and ill-suited to a modern gridNuclear power stations are inflexible – that is, they cannot quickly increase or decrease the amount of electricity they produce. Nuclear power generation is not well suited to modern, fast and flexible electricity grids with large amounts of wind and solar generation. Unlike inflexible nuclear, fast response technologies such as batteries, pumped hydro and solar thermal can be turned on and off, or ramped up and down to balance electricity supply and demand. In California, where wind and solar provides more than 30% of the state’s power needs, the last nuclear power plant will shut by 2026. Nuclear power stations need a lot of waterNuclear power stations require massive quantities of water to operate. In a dry continent like Australia, prone to hot summers and drought conditions which are only likely to get more severe as climate change worsens, it would be reckless to rely on a water-hungry power source like nuclear. The bottom line is this: it makes no sense to build nuclear power stations in Australia. For more information on what Australia needs to build a modern electricity grid, read the Climate Council’s report ‘Powering a 21st Century Economy: Secure, Clean, Affordable Electricity’. https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/nuclear-power-stations-are-not-appropriate-for-australia-and-probably-never-will-be/ |
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Public will never know truth behind Three Mile Island
Chaos at Three Mile Island
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Public will never know truth behind Three Mile Island, anti-nuclear energy advocates say https://www.witf.org/news/2019/03/public-will-never-know-truth-behind-three-mile-island-anti-nuclear-energy-advocates-say.phpWritten by Ivey DeJesus/PennLive | Mar 26, 2019 he public will never know the truth behind some of the most basic facts about the nation’s worst nuclear disaster nor the actual amount of radiation that was released.Those were some of the messages underscored on Monday by the head of Three Mile Island Alert, an anti-nuclear advocacy group, and other advocates at a press conference in the Main Rotunda of the state Capitol. Just days shy of the 40th anniversary of the partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Londonderry Township, TMI Alert’s Eric Epstein excoriated the nuclear industry for misrepresenting the facts of the accident, and in the process misleading and misinforming the public. “Three Mile Island is an accident without an ending,” Epstein said. “There’s no bookends to it. If you look at the holy trinity of nuclear accidents, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, we can probably pretty much tell you when they started. The reality is there is no ending. This is a funeral where the pallbearers need to stand in place for 500 years. That’s tough for a society that has the memory of a fruitfly.” Epstein was joined by Tim Judson, executive director of Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer, who over the years converted from a proponent to an ardent critic. Judson and Gundersen outlined the chain of events that took place on March 28, 1979, the start of the partial meltdown, as well as the levels of radiation released and subsequent impact on the health of the region. Judson said the Three Mile Island story amounted to a “mistelling of history” of what could have been a preventable accident. He said that as a result of inconsistencies provided by the nuclear industry, the public was not given – nor will never have – a clear picture of the facts and the risks surrounding the meltdown. Gundersen explained that because inadequate radiation monitors were in place at the time, officials were never able to get an accurate reading of radiation levels. All analysis of radiation releases were based on mathematical corrections to estimates derived from off-site dose readings, he said. “How much radiation was released? Nobody knows,” said Gundersen, who began a change of heart on nuclear energy in the 1990s when he served as an expert witness for plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Three Mile Island. He is today chief engineer of Fairewinds Associates, an advocacy group for clean, renewable energy. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has long stood by its 40-year-old estimate that 10 million Curies of radiation were released. The NRC has also long held that the radiation released during the accident was well within levels deemed safe. The industry has reiterated that no one died or was harmed as a result of the accident. Gundersen said that according to his own analysis of raw data, he calculated that 10 times that amount was released. Epstein further excoriated legislative efforts to “bail out” Pennsylvania’s nuclear power plants, including Exelon Corp., current owner of TMI-1. He said proposals to bail out the nuclear industry in Pennsylvania – to the tune of nearly $3 billion – were “fundamentally and manifestly unfair,” adding that Three Mile Island Alert categorically opposed any bailout.Proposed legislation would lead to the reclassification of Pennsylvania’s nuclear plants as “zero emission energy” and create new requirements on how electric companies purchase power. Among the members of the audience, were several visitors from Fukushima, Japan, site of the 2011 post-tsunami nuclear disaster that led to the evacuation of a quarter of million people. “The same (tactics) used to minimize the damage and risk of health is the same between Fukushima and TMI,” said Hiroko Aihara, a journalist from Fukushima. She said citizen engagement has been pivotal in the case of Three Mile Island and continues to be so in the Fukushima aftermath. “It’s very important to work together. To know we are not alone,” she said. Aihara said the Japanese people – like residents of central Pennsylvania 40 years ago – were not provided with the truth. “Many people are still suffering… about evacuation, radiation, contamination and economic situation,” she said. “We are still suffering or fighting the situation.” |
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More stunning falls in solar and battery storage costs put fossil fuels on notice — RenewEconomy
BNEF says stunning cost falls mean clean technologies are beating coal and threatening to steal the grid balancing role from gas-fired plant operators. The post More stunning falls in solar and battery storage costs put fossil fuels on notice appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via More stunning falls in solar and battery storage costs put fossil fuels on notice — RenewEconomy
Morrison government says no electric vehicle policy until mid-2020 — RenewEconomy
Federal Coalition government says it does not plan to release an EV strategy before mid-2020. The post Morrison government says no electric vehicle policy until mid-2020 appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Morrison government says no electric vehicle policy until mid-2020 — RenewEconomy
March 26 Energy News — geoharvey
Science and Technology: ¶ “NASA Is Using Lasers In Space To Measure The Size Of Trees On Earth” • A laser imaging system on the International Space Station provides highly refined measurements to calculate the size and shape of individual trees from 250 miles above the Earth. It will help scientists gauge how much carbon […]
No new coal in Coalition generation shortlist, just an upgrade, gas and storage — RenewEconomy
No new coal plant made the Coalition’s shortlist for new generation, although Morrison has bowed to the far right and agreed to a feasibility study for Queensland coal plant. The post No new coal in Coalition generation shortlist, just an upgrade, gas and storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via No new coal in Coalition generation shortlist, just an upgrade, gas and storage — RenewEconomy
Coalition climate scare campaign continues, in desperate pitch to farmers — RenewEconomy
Federal agriculture minister claims 1% emissions reduction could slash national herd and flock by 10% – “more than 2.5m cattle and six million sheep.” Says Labor being “tricky.” The post Coalition climate scare campaign continues, in desperate pitch to farmers appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Coalition climate scare campaign continues, in desperate pitch to farmers — RenewEconomy
The lies being told by coal lobby to push for Queensland coal plant — RenewEconomy
The campaign for a new coal generator in Queensland has been underpinned by lies and misinformation. A feasibility study should confirm the stupidity of the idea. The post The lies being told by coal lobby to push for Queensland coal plant appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via The lies being told by coal lobby to push for Queensland coal plant — RenewEconomy
Australia gets bottom of class on energy transition, as government clings to coal — RenewEconomy
Australia singled out as one of least prepared of world’s advanced economies to transition to low-carbon energy, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. The post Australia gets bottom of class on energy transition, as government clings to coal appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Australia gets bottom of class on energy transition, as government clings to coal — RenewEconomy
It’s cheaper to replace most US coal plants with renewables than keep them open — RenewEconomy
New research finds that replacing 74 per cent of existing coal plants with renewables would immediately reduce costs. The post It’s cheaper to replace most US coal plants with renewables than keep them open appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via It’s cheaper to replace most US coal plants with renewables than keep them open — RenewEconomy
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 