Nuclear power dead in the water, no chance in Australia
Nuclear,again, John Quiggin, 8 Oct 10, “……. Except in China (and maybe India) nuclear power isn’t getting bigger any time soon. Following the failure of Obama’s energy bill and the GFC, the US “nuclear renaissance” is dead in the water, and the same is true in Europe. Continue reading
Robots to guard 1,360 square miles of radioactive ground
The Nevada National Security Site is the location of a thousand nuclear weapons tests that have left the site contaminated with tens of millions of cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste. The site spans 1,360 square miles
Robo Tanks to Guard Nuclear Facility. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? | Discover Magazine,7 Oct 10, Who needs people to guard a nuclear weapons facility when you can build an autonomous robot to do it? Continue reading
Uranium company ERA fined for radioactive pollution of workers
Twenty-eight workers had fallen ill with spontaneous vomiting, gastric upsets, headaches or skin rashes after drinking or showering in the water, which contained 400 times more uranium than recommended
When PR Goes Nuclear | Green Hybrid Cars , 29 Sept 10, Northern Territory based miner and producer of uranium oxide Energy Resources Of Australia Limited (ERA) were today fined $150,000 Continue reading
USA renewable energy gaining, while nuclear power stagnant
“Renewable energy has proven itself to be a solid investment – growing rapidly and nipping at the heels of the stagnant nuclear power industry.”…..
(USA) Renewables Gaining Ground, Without Congress’ Help , E Magazine.com (By Brita Belli), 4 Oct 10, Continue reading
Renewable energy is happening, and nuclear isn’t
I know that this is supposed to be an anti-nuclear blog. But I get bored with all the stuff in the media about nuclear. For one thing, it’s just not happening – the “nuclear renaissance”.
For another thing, the Australian media is full of hype about uranium. Today – several articles on how wonderfully well Paladin Energy is doing in Africa- oh you gotta invest! Nary a word about how Paladin is pulling out of Niger because uranium workers are getting kidnapped by al-Qaida.
But for the main thing – Renewable Energy is happening! It’s happening both on a big scale – how business and the media love BIG!
It’s happening on a small scale – where communities, schools and households are getting truly clean energy, and making a profit out of it.
Not apparently a scenario for Australia. Are we some sort of cultural outpost – where the idea of energy has to be always BIG, corporate-owned, and coal or uranium fueled?
New strict laws to control in-situ uranium mining
Applicants for in-situ leach uranium mines have to show the technology they want to use has been used before without harming groundwater quality, and they can’t be in violation at another operation
(USA) New rules take effect for Colorado uranium mines | San Francisco Examiner, Associated Press0, 9/30/10 DENVER — New rules for uranium mining in Colorado are now in effect.State lawmakers passed three bills in 2008 that prompted the changes, and the new rules took effect Thursday. Continue reading
Serious doubts on ANSTO and Silex Systems uranium enrichment technology
The technology in question was licensed from Silex Systems, an Australian company that’s been quietly conducting enrichment research at a small facility near Sydney for the last quarter century.But many experts are skeptical….a huge and extremely risky bet.”…..they also present a major headache for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other nuclear watchdog groups attempting to spot clandestine enrichment plants,
Laser Uranium Enrichment Makes a Comeback The controversial technology poses proliferation risks, but nuclear firms press on, IEEE Spectrum: By Sandra Upson / October 2010 Continue reading
Unsolved problem of disposing of dead nuclear reactors
The problem of disposing of this kind of reactors is ripe everywhere, not only in Russia….Meanwhile, this branch of the nuclear industry is least developed technically, technologically and marketingwise,…
Russia to retire uranium-graphite reactors Voice of Russia, Oleg Nekhai Sep 30, 2010 Russian nuclear scientists intend to shut down uranium-graphite reactors on a mass scale……The problem of disposing of this kind of reactors is ripe everywhere, not only in Russia. Continue reading
AREVA’s nuclear spin masks true purpose for nuclear industry
But the reality behind this romantic green image of a nuclear panacea to future energy needs is something altogether different….the obsessional ad campaign run by the French Areva state-backed nuclear monopoly, under the banner of “semi-private” as portrayed in the business press….Everyone is boogying to DJ Friendly Atom in these richly detailed TV and print media offerings…..the real business of the atom – nuclear weapons making and state security which, of course, was a State secret..
Funky Town Finance Meets The Nuclear Renaissance :: The Market Oracle by Andrew McKillop (Project Director, GSO Consulting Associates Former chief policy analyst, Division A Policy, DG XVII Energy, European Commission )30 Sept 10, . Like a Marlene Dietrich show in a remake of 1945 Berlin, surrounded by Soviet troop hordes, the nuclear sales show has to go on. Continue reading
Australian miner Paladin backing out of deal because of share price fall
Paladin pallid at prospect of insecurity in Niger, The Age, David Symons, September 30, 2010 “…..Take a step back, and it’s tempting to surmise that Paladin’s efforts to back away from the acquisition have nothing to do with the kidnappings in Arlit……For its part, the market is overly sceptical regarding NGM’s prospects. If it goes through, the Paladin offer works out at about 15¢ for each NGM share. But NGM shares closed yesterday at 9.2¢, down 39 per cent.
Nuclear issue has galvanised support for Germany’s Green Party
The nuclear issue has galvanized support for the Green party, which has grown to be a major force in national politics.
Germany: Greens See Red Over Nuclear Power Extension, TIME, By Tristana Moore / Berlin , Sep. 29, 2010 “Nuclear power harms Germany’ is the Greenpeace message projected on the cooling systems of the nuclear power plant in Grafenrheinfeld near Schweinfurt, southern Germany, Continue reading
Global nuclear industry takes Sovereign Debt to Global Debt
Financing the Nuclear Renaissance in 2010-2020 will almost surely shift to international and multilateral debt financing methods. The IMF will surely be there, and all creative methods will have a look-in to using nuclear power plants as the underlying security in a vast new upsurge in global debt trading.
Funky Town Finance Meets The Nuclear Renaissance :: The Market Oracle : by Andrew McKillop, 30 Sept 10, Project Director, GSO Consulting Associates Former chief policy analyst, Division A Policy, DG XVII Energy, European Commission
Sovereign Debt to Global Debt The UN’s Nuclear Suppliers Group has an impressive 45-nation list of supposed nuclear equipment and service suppliers, but these include countries like Iceland, Malta, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania, everyone short of the Vatican. Continue reading
Terrorism in Niger causes Australian uranium miner Paladin to pull out
According to Paladin, on September 16, forces associated with al-Qa’ida kidnapped the seven people employed by French uranium company Areva and its contractor, Vinci, from the town of Arlit in Niger’s uranium mining region.
Areva has subsequently evacuated expatriate personnel and France has dispatched anti-terrorism forces to the region
NGM Resources shares fall as Paladin bid is threatened * Michael Bennet * The Australian * September 29, 2010 NGM Resources shares today plunged 43 per cent on the likelihood Paladin Energy’s takeover offer will fall through….. Continue reading
AREVA involved as Chinese nuclear executive gaoled for 20 years
Jiang was charged with disclosing information to France’s Areva, the world’s largest builder of nuclear reactors, about a 2004 bid for China’s inland nuclear programme
China exec gets 20 years for leaking secrets Reuters, By Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING, Sept 28 – The disgraced president of a Chinese state-owned enterprise has been jailed for 20 years for leaking state secrets in connection with a bid for foreign-made nuclear reactors, Continue reading
New research shows France’s failed nuclear power model
Widely Misunderstood in U.S., the French “Nuclear Miracle” is Plagued by Fast-Rising Reactor Costs and “Crowding Out” of Renewables, Vermont Law School -September 9, 2010 C ooper Analysis Shows French Approach Touted by Some For U.S. Reactor Build-Up Is a Failed Model; U.S. Wind & Solar Industries Would Suffer Under Embrace of “French Nuclear Socialism.”SOUTH ROYALTON, VT. – The so-called “French nuclear miracle” embraced by some U.S. policymakers as a model for this nation is a misconception masking a pattern of fast-rising nuclear reactor construction costs and a “crowding out” of investments in renewable energy, such as wind, solar and hydro-electric power, according to a new study by Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment….
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