Long haul for South Australia nuclear waste dump project, and serious risks
Australians face big decision on nuclear waste dump, news.com.au MAY 10, 2016 ….. ” it’s not going to be an overnight fix for the state’s budget problems. A permanent facility would take 28 years to build, and this construction could only start once local residents were on board. The commissioner has suggested it could take 10 years to get this approval.
Even if an interim facility was built to take used fuel while the permanent version was under construction, this would still only be operational 11 years after a decision on the project was made.
SAFETY ASPECTS
Used nuclear fuel, stored as a solid ceramic in metal cladding, generates heat and is highly radioactive and dangerous.
According to the commission, radiation levels reduce quickly during the first 30 to 50 years of storage and the most radioactive elements decay within 500 years. But less radioactive elements in nuclear fuel do require storage and isolation for at least 100,000 years.
The commission noted that the most serious consequences of disturbing nuclear fuel were linked to potential exposure to radiation.
And certainly nothing focuses the mind like considering the wasteland of Chernobylor Fukushima………
the difficulty of disposing of nuclear waste, even low-level waste, which needs be stored for up to a few hundred years, have been illustrated in the US and France.
America’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) was compromised when a drum of radioactive waste burst open in the underground facility. Most disturbingly, the rupture was blamed on someone putting the wrong type of kitty litter in the drum, possibly due to a typo in a policy manual.
A WAR BEGINS
Conservationists have accused the commissioner of downplaying the risks of nuclear storage and have threatened to ramp up their campaign against the dump.
“We’ll be increasing our profile, our presence and our concerns,” Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Dave Sweeney told AAP……..
Invitations will be sent this week to 25,000 people seeking an expression of interest in being part of a 400-person jury that will consider the state’s approach…….
Treasurer Scott Morrison said the Federal Government would work constructively with SA to address any issues arising out of the Royal Commission…….
Cameco uranium plan faces rocky road
https://nuclearfree.wordpress.com/media/ , 11 May 16 Traditional Owners from the regions around the proposed Yeelirrie and Kintyre uranium operations in WA have today sent Cameco shareholders and stakeholders a clear message of opposition to any mining plans. The groups have released a joint statement to coincide with Cameco’s Annual General Meeting being held in Saskatoon, Canada.
Both communities have a long history of opposition to uranium mining plans at Yeelirrie and Kintyre, dating back to early uranium exploration in WA during the 1980’s. Both communities have also attracted the support of environment, social justice, union and health organisations and the state Labor and state and federal Greens parties in their fight against uranium mining.
“You can’t reverse what the old people have said before. We’re going to stop it” said Desmond Taylor, Karlamilyi Traditional Owner. “This is my spiritual birthplace, my dreaming place. Warturarra (the proposed Kintyre mine site) became my spiritual home; the bush food there became my totem. To mine there would take away my spirit and the totem, it will destroy the living things around it, that place would become empty.”
The joint statement is going to the Cameco Board, shareholders and major Canadian investors. It conveys the depth of the contest that company will face should it seek to advance uranium mining.
“Our country is special to us” said Kado Muir, a Yeelirrie Traditional Owner and Senate candidate for the National Party. “I’m not anti-mining I am speaking as a Traditional Owner communicating our view that Cameco and uranium mining are not welcome on our country. Uranium is different to other mining, because the risks remain for thousands of years. It is our responsibility to look after the land for future generations. We will continue to challenge the proposal to mine uranium at Yeelirrie.”
Members of the Parnngurr and Martu community will be walking from through the Karlamilyi National Park to the proposed uranium mine at Kintyre from the 4th – 12th of June in protest to Cameco and Mitsubishi’s uranium mine plans. See community interviews here.
The Walkatjurra Rangers and Yeelirrie Traditional Owners will also be walking in protest to the Yeelirrie uranium mine from the 7th of August – 7th September. This will be the sixth annual walk against uranium mining in the region. See community interviews here.
New report attacking environmental groups must be resisted
Green groups are united in calling for the PM and Minister Hunt to reject the report and a number of its recommendations. Any administrative changes to the Register of Environmental Organisations done before the federal election would confirm that the Inquiry was all about politics and not about good management of environmental groups.
Malcolm Turnbull must reject anti-democratic attack on environmental groups, Independent Australia, Cam Walker 9 May 2016, Will Malcolm Turnbull follow Tony Abbott’s witch-hunt on environmental groups, which will see them lose charitable status for “civil disobedience”?
THE DISPROPORTIONATE influence of the fossil fuel and mining sectors over federal government policy is both well documented and long standing.
With the rise of the far right neo-liberal Abbott Government, the agenda of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) also became more influential after several years of being on the “outer” while the ALP was in power.
The IPA is well known for arguing against the environment movement and has campaigned against specific environmental policies like thecarbon tax.
Being fundamentally opposed to mainstream scientific positions on climate change and the work of the environment movement, the IPA has argued for the government to reconsider all funding which is provided to the environment movement.
This convergence of views – conservative MPs, right wing think tanks and influence by the fossil fuel sector – has led to a sustained attack on the environment movement in recent years.
One key aspect of this attack has been the House of Representatives Inquiry into the Register of Environmental Organisations. After narrative in the media and, we have to assume, lobbying by many in the mining and fossil fuel sectors, Minister for the Enviroment Greg Hunt initiated the Inquiry into the tax status of green groups. It was widely seen as being politically motivated. Continue reading
No national referendum on nuclear waste importing? Just shonky “citizen juries”
Citizen juries to weigh SA nuclear dump https://au.news.yahoo.com/sa/a/31561735/citizen-juries-to-weigh-sa-nuclear-dump/
AAP on May 10, 2016 South Australians will be asked to take part in citizen juries to help decide whether the state should host a high-level nuclear waste dump.
A jury of 350 voters will be asked to produce a report in November outlining the community’s views on the proposed dump and other nuclear issues, with the government to outline its decision by year’s end.
The government will also launch an advertising campaign encouraging people to “explore the facts” on the nuclear fuel cycle, Premier Jay Weatherill told reporters on Tuesday.
Both Labor and Liberal supporting South Australian nuclear waste dump importing
SA nuclear royal commission sets 10-year timetable MEREDITH BOOTH THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 10, 2016
South Australians could be ready in 10 years to accept nuclear waste from overseas for storage, royal commissioner Kevin Scarce said yesterday following the release of his final report.
The report, released 14 months after Mr Scare’s appointment, made 12 recommendations. It said the state could “safely increase its participation in nuclear activities”, with a storage facility generating more than $100 billion over a 120-year lifespan.
But Mr Scarce said there would be “10 to 15 years, 10 years I hope, to get to a point where we’ll make a decision’’, with ongoing community support required and consultation to start as soon as possible through an independent agency.
“I would hope that if there’s strong social consent, we might get there faster,” he said. “We need to take the time to explain the steps, to explain the safety concerns.’’
At the same time, the agency should also determine general criteria for an appropriate dump site, he said.
Labor Premier Jay Weatherill said the commission’s findings had bipartisan support but required strong public approval. A community engagement process would begin “within days” to inform the government’s response by the end of the year…..
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said both sides of politics would need to work together……http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/sa-nuclear-royal-commission-sets-10year-timetable/news-story/35c622dec6665e53850407ce47777041
Turnbull government will back nuclear waste dump import plan
Former Governor Kevin Scarce recommends go ahead for nuclear storage in SA The Advertiser, May 9, 2016 DANIEL WILLSSTATE POLITICAL EDITOR SOUTH Australia should immediately start talking to nuclear power nations about whether they would use an international storage facility in this state and seek an indication of how much they would be willing to pay, the Royal Commission has found.
Premier Jay Weatherill on Monday released the final findings of former governor Kevin Scarce’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, which strongly backs an SA waste dump……….
Mr Scarce made 12 recommendations, which include ending bans on the use of nuclear power and enrichment of uranium. He finds only nuclear storage is likely to be viable in the medium term and that it “should be actively pursued, and as soon as possible”.
It is estimated to be about a decade before SA could host a storage facility, because it would need to win both state and federal approval as well as demand the construction of about $2 billion in new infrastructure including a port, rail and roads before waste arrived.
Mr Weatherill is expected to detail further steps later this week. However, Mr Scarce’s report says that should include seeking host community bids and identifying customers.
“A preliminary indication should be sought from potential client countries as to their interest in further discussions on their potential participation,” it states.
“To provide the SA community with more detailed information regarding economic viability and potential benefits, it is necessary to determine with more confidence whether potential client nations would be willing to use an international used fuel storage and disposal facility.”
Countries with large stockpiles include Korea, Japan, Germany, Spain and Belgium.
The report stresses that “from the outset, it should be acknowledged that there would be a substantial package of community benefits” and says there could be multiple bidders.
There would also need to be significant scientific studies of the Outback to find land which is dry and stable. Previous analyses have identified the Gawler Craton and Officer Basin, which cover much of the state west of Adelaide, as potentially viable regions….
Federal Resources and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the report was a “sound basis” for further discussion and he would develop a thorough response.
“A re-elected Turnbull Government stands ready to work with the SA Government if they choose to pursue any new economic opportunities in this area,” he said.http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/technology/former-governor-kevin-scarce-recommends-go-ahead-for-nuclear-storage-in-sa/news-story/c320cdebf7f0b3bc745ecb447abf9aef
Climate Change Authority report recommending ‘a mandatory carbon price’ held back until after election
May 6, 2016. A report that recommends putting a price on emissions from the electricity sector has been held back by the Climate Change Authority until after the election, prompting calls from Labor and the Greens that it be made public to inform debate.
The independent authority, whose board is now dominated by appointments made last October by Environment Minister Greg Hunt, was to have released its policy options paper for the power industry by the end of April. http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/climate-change-authority-report-recommending-a-mandatory-carbon-price-held-back-until-after-election-20160506-gonw88.html
Aboriginal award winner calls on Premier Weatherill to save Flinders traditional land from nuclear waste dumping
Premier silent while Flinders Ranges threatened, INDAILY, 6 May 16 One of the traditional owners of the Flinders Ranges land earmarked for a low level nuclear waste dump, Regina McKenzie, writes about the significance of the site and why Premier Jay Weatherill should intervene…….
Last year I was awarded the SA Premier’s Natural Resource Management Award in the category of ‘Aboriginal Leadership − Female’ for working to protect land that is now being threatened with a nuclear waste dump.
But Premier Jay Weatherill has been silent since the announcement of six short-listed dump sites last year, three of them in SA. Now the Flinders Ranges has been chosen as the preferred site and Mr Weatherill must speak up.
The Premier can either support us ‒ just as the SA government supported the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta when their land was targeted for a national nuclear waste dump from 1998-2004 ‒ or he can support the federal government’s attack on us by maintaining his silence. He can’t sit on the fence.
Regina McKenzie is a Yappala Station resident and member of Viliwarinha Yura Aboriginal Corporation. http://indaily.com.au/opinion/2016/05/06/premier-silent-while-flinders-ranges-threatened/
Legal battle ahead for The Australian govt’s plan to impose nuclear waste dump on sacred Aboriginal land
Plan for Flinders Ranges nuclear waste dump faces legal battle MEREDITH BOOTH, VERITY EDWARDS THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 5, 2016 Environmentalists and traditional owners say eight years of legal wrangling, which saw the withdrawal of Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory as a site for a nuclear waste dump, is a precedent for the fight they are prepared to wage against a dump planned in South Australia.Wallerberdina Station, part-owned by former Liberal senator Grant Chapman and adjoining Adnyamathanha sacred sites in the northern Flinders Ranges more than 550km north of Adelaide, has been chosen ahead of five others as the preferred site for a national low-level nuclear waste dump.
The decision was made independently of the state’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, which hands down its findings tomorrow and is expected to recommend that the state stores high-level radioactive waste from overseas.
Conservation Council of South Australia chief executive Craig Wilkins said he hoped the fight to stop the Wallerberdina dump did not reach court, but he was prepared to support a legal battle. “Muckaty Station was an eight-year campaign. We’re deeply hopeful that we don’t need to do that again,’’ he said yesterday. “Not only is it incredibly sacred country for the Adnyamathanha people, the land is subject to flash flooding and frequent earthquake activity.’’
Elder Regina McKenzie, who lives next to the station, said she was prepared to go to court to prevent a nuclear waste dump being built on burial areas and through a 70km storyline that was particularly sacred to indigenous women.
“It’s desecration on all fronts, it’s an attack on our religion, it’s cultural genocide,” she said. “There are Aboriginal bones that have calcified and turned to stone and what right do they have to move those?”
The Greens have slammed Labor and the Liberals for “teaming up” to defeat a motion calling on the government to acknowledge traditional owners’ opposition to the dump.
Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg said that a final decision had not been made.
Australia’s pro nuclear politicians want to be nuclear industry leaders
AUSTRALIA JOINS INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR RESEARCH FORUM 29 Apr 2016
Australia has overnight been approved as a member of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), a co‑operative international endeavour, joining 12 other nations and the European Union to work together on long‑term research on advanced nuclear technologies.
The Forum develops Generation IV technology and addresses not only the construction and operation of the next generation of nuclear power reactors, but also considers fuel efficiency, reducing waste production, and meeting stringent standards of safety and proliferation resistance.
Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Christopher Pyne said Australia’s success in gaining membership is based on the landmark research infrastructure and world-class research capabilities and expertise at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to contribute to the GIF’s goals.
“Australia’s invitation to join this important global project marks an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of global innovation in the nuclear industry,” Mr Pyne said…..GIF research is focused on six reactor designs that will deliver safe, secure, sustainable, competitive and versatile nuclear technology…
[Frydenberg]“This forum will help develop the technologies that will be integral to the future of the international nuclear industry.”https://www.pyneonline.com.au/media-centre/media-releases/australia-joins-international-nuclear-research-forum
Sickening pro nuclear spin from THE AUSTRALIAN today
Here’s an example:
“…..Politically, the need for a centralised facility has bipartisan support across multiple levels of government. Socially, the government has moved from suggesting sites to prioritising community consultation in all stages of the project, especially site selection. Environmentally, international experience has demonstrated that highly engineered and well-regulated low- and intermediate-level repositories can be managed safely with no impact on the community or agricultural industry….”
Climate change doesn’t get a mention in Turnbull’s budget
Turnbull’s first budget ignores climate change and dumps clean energy: That’s #innovative?, Independent Australia , Giles Parkinson 5 May 2016 So much for Turnbull’s trumpeting of a ‘transitional economy’ with zip $ for climate initiatives and $1.3 billion stripped from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.RenewEconomy‘s Giles Parkinson reports.
CLIMATE CHANGE, prime minister Malcom Turnbull once said, is the ultimate long-term problem that needs to be acted on urgently. But in his first budget as government leader, it is as though the issue does not exist.
Climate change was not even mentioned as a word, or a concept, or even an issue — despite Tuesday’s budget apparently being about growth and jobs for the future. T
here was no new money for climate initiatives and the only mention renewable energy got was to confirm that $1.3 billion in funds would be stripped from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
“There was nothing in the speech, not a word,”Professor John Hewson, a former leader of Liberal Party, told the SolarExpo conference in 2016.
“The slogan is jobs and growth. I would have though that one of the most significant sectors for economic and jobs growth is renewables — I am staggered that it didn’t get a mention in the speech or in the documents.”
Hewson said the decision to remove funding from ARENA was an “absolute tragedy.”
In the budget papers, for instance, there is no extra funding for the Direct Action plan that Turnbull once ridiculed and dismissed as a “fig-leaf” for a climate policy and now forms the basis of the government’s emissions reductions plan, including the Paris agreement it signed just a few weeks ago.
Once the government has spent the current $2.5 billion allocation for handouts to polluters to do pretty much what they were doing anyway, there is zero extra funding for emissions abatement.
The Coalition government might have been expected to shift towards a “modified” scheme that would see Direct Action evolve with its safeguards mechanism to become a baseline and credit scheme. But that’s what Labor suggested last week, and rather than accept the tentative offer of a return to a bipartisan approach to climate policies, the government slammed the door.
It slammed the door, too, on renewable energy innovation. The $1.3 billion of unallocated funds for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency remains excised from the budget papers – even though it remains legislated – while $1 billion is transferred from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and rebadged as a new Clean Energy Innovation Fund.
Don’t expect Labor to stand in the way of that initiative. It voted with the Coalition earlier this week against a Greens motion to protect ARENA, and has since blamed NGOs for not standing up to the Coalition move to de-fund ARENA,so it won’t stand up either.
For his part, Australian Solar Council chief John Grimes was taking a stand on the matter, telling the Energy Storage Conference in Melbourne on Wednesday that the federal government had “taken a backwards step” in defunding ARENA, and not making the Agency’s competitive grants available any more……..https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/turnbulls-first-budget-ignores-climate-change-and-dumps-clean-energy-thats-innovative,8955
Australian govt not able to meet its Emissions Reduction goal
Budget 2016: Funding hole may leave Emissions Reduction Fund out of money, think tank says, ABC News, 4 May 16 By environment reporter Sara Phillips The Coalition may be left without a functioning climate policy after no new funding was announced for one its flagship climate policies in last night’s budget, according to a think tank specialising in climate change.
The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is the centrepiece of the Direct Action policy and is designed to do the heavy lifting in reducing Australia’s emissions.
After two auctions to purchase emissions reductions from businesses last year, around half its funding was exhausted.
A third auction was held last week, with the results yet to be announced, leading the Climate Institute to speculate that the ERF may now be running low.
“If the next two auctions are anything like the last two then we will run out of money in that Emissions Reduction Fund a bit later this year — well before the next election cycle,” said John Connor, chief executive the Climate Institute. Continue reading
Australian Greens plan to subsidise households’ solar batteries
Greens to hand households 50% battery cost https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/31522244/greens-to-hand-households-50-battery-cost/ Elise Scott – AAP on May 5, 2016 The Australian Greens would spend billions handing back half the cost of battery storage to households to encourage the uptake of renewable energy.
The five-year program would be funded by savings through slashing fossil-fuel tax breaks.
The $2.9 billion plan would allow individuals to claim a 50 per cent refundable tax credit on battery storage for their homes, up to $5000 in the first year.The credit would taper off to $1500 by 2021 which the Greens say reflects the projected decline in battery storage costs.
The minor party will on Thursday reveal the policy, which also includes a grant scheme for low income households.”Our battery storage plan will help people power up their home and power down their bills,” Greens leader Richard Di Natale said.
Business would be able claim depreciation on the battery storage asset over an accelerated period of three years.
Batteries enable simpler storage of renewable energy, which otherwise needs to be consumed as it is generated. New technologies are emerging, however battery storage remains relatively expensive for households and business.
Parliamentary Budget Office costings obtained by the Greens showed $2.85 billion would be needed over the forward estimates for the household policy.
The business incentives would cost an additional $38 million. The Greens said it would be funded through by savings, including $2.75 billion from removing accelerated depreciation from fossil fuel intensive industries.
Origin Energy to buy whole output from new Queensland solar farm
Origin Energy signs up for output from new Queensland solar farm, The Age, May 4, 2016 Angela Macdonald-Smith Energy Reporter A 13-year deal signed by Origin Energy to buy all the electricity produced at a new 100 megawatt solar project in north Queensland has accelerated the recovery of the renewable energy sector after a stalling in new investment over the past two years.
The contract, which will have Origin buy both the output and the renewable energy certificates generated by the Clare Solar Farm, also underscores how large-scale solar is improving in competitiveness, catching up with wind power…….
The Clare project will be built by Spanish company Fotowatio Renewable Ventures at a site 35 kilometres west of Ayr. Production is due to start next year and Origin will buy all of the output until 2030.
The deal follows Origin’s commitment in March to buy the output of FRV’s 56MW Moree solar farm, a project that is already in production in northern NSW. It has also applied for government funding for its own solar project in south-east Queensland.
Origin is one of the biggest liable parties under the RET regulations, which requires it to buy an increasing proportion of renewable energy for its electricity retailing activities. The deal with FRV for the Clare output will take Origin’s portfolio of renewable energy generation and purchase contracts to more than 700MW.
Origin’s head of energy markets Frank Calabria said the cost of solar “is falling rapidly compared with other renewable resources”.
“Now is the ideal time to invest in solar and we have been actively looking for opportunities to diversify and add more renewable energy to our portfolio,” Mr Calabria said.
For FRV, the contract with Origin kicks off a third new investment in Australia, after the Royalla solar project in the ACT and the Moree venture. http://www.theage.com.au/business/energy/origin-energy-signs-up-for-output-from-new-qld-solar-farm-20160503-gollf5.html
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