Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Economist: Flamanville - Belly of the beast
Normandy, was cancelled at the last moment. The organisers gave two contradictory reasons: one was that a group of VIPs had taken precedence, the other was that the site had to be closed suddenly for two days. Naturally, I assumed the worst-that something dreadful had happened up there on the French coast. A bit paranoid, perhaps, but even two decades on from Chernobyl it is hard to forget the dark side of nuclear power

Reuters: Finland nuclear reactor costs headed to arbitration -TVO
Franco-German consortium Areva-Siemens is to take TVO to arbitration in a dispute over delays and cost overruns at the Olkiluoto 3 reactor, the Finnish nuclear plant operator said on Wednesday. In October, TVO was told by the consortium that the 1,600 MW reactor -- the first to be constructed in Western Europe for more than a decade -- would be further delayed to 2012 from its initial start-up target of 2009. TVO
claimed for compensation from the plant supplier consortium for losses and costs incurred due to the delay.

Business Journal: Nader magazine ranks Constellation in 'worst' top 10
A magazine ranked Constellation Energy Group as one of the top 10 worst corporations in 2008 for its push to build the nation's first nuclear reactor in 30 years. Multinational Monitor, a bimonthly nonprofit magazine on global issues founded by consumer activist Ralph Nader, included the Baltimore energy giant in its annual ranking. "Although it is too dangerous, too expensive and too centralized to make sense as an energy source, nuclear power won't go away, thanks to equipment makers and utilities that find ways
to make the public pay and pay," the publication stated regarding Constellation's pitch for a new nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Southern Maryland.

Rutland Herald: Vermont Yankee: No new power deal for utilities
The owners of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant have decided not to offer a new power contract to the state's utilities, saying the current one is sufficient. Regulators and legislators were awaiting the details of the agreement between the utilities and Entergy Corp. as they prepare to make a decision about whether the plant should be allowed to continue operating when its license expires in 2012. In a letter to the Vermont Public Service Board, Entergy Corp. said the utilities already have a good deal if the plant's license is extended another 20 years and shouldn't expect more.

Hindustan Times: Private firms have to wait to enter India N-power biz
Leading private power producers like Tata Power, Reliance Infrastructure and GVK will have to wait for at least seven to eight years before they are allowed to enter the nuclear power generation business. These companies had announced plans to set up nuclear power projects after the India-US civil nuclear deal was signed on September 6, 2008. Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for power, told Hindustan Times that the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the ministry of power have decided to push for partnerships within the public sector to develop nuclear power projects in India. As a result, a major chunk of the targeted nuclear power capacity by 2020 - 24,000 MW - is now expected to come through the public sector route.

Donga: North Korea Urges Nuke Dialogue With Obama Government
North Korea yesterday stepped up its criticism of the South Korean government and urged the South Korean people to launch anti-government struggles in a joint newspaper editorial. The North, however, conveyed its willingness to engage in nuclear disarmament talks with the incoming U.S. administration and expressed hope for improved relations with the United States.

Times: Gaza rockets put Israel's nuclear plant in battle zone
There were growing fears in Israel last night that Hamas missiles could threaten its top-secret nuclear facility at Dimona. Rocket attacks from Gaza have forced Israelis to flee in ever greater numbers and military chiefs have been shaken by the size and sophistication of the militant group's arsenal. In Beersheba, until a few days ago a sleepy desert town in southern Israel, there is little sign of the 186,000 inhabitants. Schools are closed and the streets of shuttered shops echo with the howl of sirens warning of incoming rockets.

Three months after the nuclear tender fiasco, Turkish Atomic Energy Agency has announced that Russian Atomstroyexport’s bid is meeting their so-called technical criteria. With this decision, they managed to contradict one of the few criteria they set in the beginning such as the technology should be “proven”. As a matter of fact, they had a whole chapter devoted explaining that the technology should have been “proven” in other countries. However when they received only one bid they decided to bin their own criteria and approve a prototype. How assuring for the people of Turkey; that their nuclear regulatory authority does not feel obliged to follow their own criteria.

So lets have a look how the Turkish energy strategy is being planned:

• The tender process was against the competition law.
• The construction license to Akkuyu was given 40 (in writing: forty) years ago, lacking serious considerations such as seismic analysis. If the analysis is done today, Akkuyu would not be given a license.
• Turkish Atomic Energy Agency is contradicting it is own criteria. (More info in Turkish is here )
• One of the proposed reasons to build nuclear power plants was to reduce energy dependency especially from Russia.

So what the energy minister Hilmi Guler of Turkey has been thinking? Well, we are not sure whether he has a smart answer to this question. However if he ever gets the first cement poured to Akkuyu, he sure will have decades to think about it.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Press TV: Depleted uranium found in Gaza victims
‘Norwegian medics told Press TV correspondent Akram al-Sattari that some of the victims who have been wounded since Israel began its attacks on the Gaza Strip on December 27 have traces of depleted uranium in their bodies. ’

AlterNet: 6 Reasons Why Nuclear Power Can't Save Us
‘A new book shows that it is not just the cost of nuke plants and their deadly waste that is the energy source's only problems.’

Business Daily: Kenya eyeing nuclear power
‘When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lands in Nairobi for a state visit this month, the agenda with his Kenyan counterpart will include how Iran can help Kenya develop a nuclear facility to generate cheaper electricity.’

Lituanica: France’s interests might have impeded extension of Lithuania’s N-plant lifespan
‘France’s interests to support the recovery of European nuclear energy sector, which has the sole reactor producer - France’s Areva, might have been one of the obstacles to Lithuania’s intentions to extend the lifespan of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP), which is considered unsafe by the West, by at least several years, Lithuanian government’s nuclear negotiator Aleksandras Abišala admits to the BNS.’

ajc.com: Nuke revival puts all risk on customers
‘While Georgia Power and other utilities eagerly advocate a “nuclear renaissance,” their enthusiasm for building new plants doesn’t extend to sharing the considerable financial risks involved. Nor have private investors flocked to put money in new nuclear plants.’

Over the holiday season there’s been a very interesting development in the construction of the OL3 nuclear reactor in Olkiluoto, Finland. Late last year we told you that the rocketing costs and massive schedule overruns (the project is 50 per cent over budget and three years late) had dented the profits of OL3’s builders, Areva.

With OL3 being a ‘turnkey’ project, the reactor’s buyer – Finnish utility TVO - pays a fixed price and Areva pick up the cost of any delays and budget increases. At least in theory. Unfortunately, in the light of falling profits and out of control costs at Olkiluoto, Areva have decided that they are no longer happy with this agreement:

Franco-German consortium Areva-Siemens is to take TVO to arbitration in a dispute over delays and cost overruns at the Olkiluoto 3 reactor, the Finnish nuclear plant operator said on Wednesday.

So much for Areva’s gleaming, flagship, state of the art, EPR and good relations with customers. TVO aren’t going to back down:

TVO has said it will not share in the losses accrued from the cost overrun.

If the arbitration goes ahead, whatever its outcome, it has the potential to have a huge impact on future nuclear build. If the arbitration process finds in the favour of TVO it may force Areva to abandon ‘turnkey’ projects all together meaning governments will be liable for Areva’s incompetence. If the arbitration finds in the favour of Areva it sends another signal that the taxpayer are ultimately liable for the incompetence and delays of private sector nuclear reactor builders. We can expect precedents to be set in this case that will affect how EPR contracts are drawn up all over the world.

Both outcomes appear to be bad news for the taxpayer. In either event they will be forced to open their wallets once more while the likes of Areva, notoriously now unable to stick to a budget or a schedule or an agreement, help themselves to more and more cash.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

The Guardian: Areva says to operate Imouraren mine in Niger
‘French nuclear energy group Areva said on Monday it had been awarded a licence to build and operate the Imouraren mine in Niger, which it expects to become the largest uranium mine in Africa.’

Financial Times: EDF calls on UK to declare nuclear need
‘The British government must declare a national need for new nuclear power stations by the end of this year if EDF is to launch its first new generation reactor by 2017, according to senior executives of the French energy group.’

Tri-City Herald: Safety improvements made at Hanford vit plant
‘Bechtel National is making improvements to its safety program for hazardous energy controls after eight problems in eight months at the vitrification plant that's under construction.’

Forbes: Progress Energy signs contract for nuclear plant
‘Utility Progress Energy Florida on Monday said it struck a deal with Westinghouse Electric Co. and Shaw Group Inc.'s Power Group for the development of two nuclear units for a proposed nuclear power plant in Levy County, Fla.’

Twenty years late and $32 billion dollars over budget before it’s even open for business, is this the end for the nuclear waste depository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada?

A few weeks after Sen. Harry Reid declared that the Yucca Mountain project was going to “bleed real hard” in the coming year, he said Monday the already reduced budget for the controversial nuclear waste plan will be cut “significantly” for the remainder of 2009, and that a 2010 White House spending request will contain “little if anything at all.”

We’ll wait and see but the end of the Yucca Mountain project has another upside beyond the closure of the folly itself. Delays in the construction and opening of Yucca Mountain have been seen as a large obstacle to the expansion of nuclear power in the US. With no viable plan for the safe disposal of nuclear waste in the country how can the go ahead for further nuclear reactors be given?

If President Obama is true to his word, surely nuclear is dead in America. His conditions can never be met.

As if the threat of the closure of Yucca Mountain wasn’t a big enough blow to the US nuclear industry, yet more bad news is emerging.

A new study puts the generation costs for power from new nuclear plants at 25 to 30 cents per kilowatt-hour—triple current U.S. electricity rates!

This staggering price is far higher than the cost of a variety of carbon-free renewable power sources available today—and 10 times the cost of energy efficiency

This follows a Time magazine article describing the capital costs of new nuclear build as ‘out of control’:

The world's only steelworks capable of forging containment vessels is in Japan, and it has a three-year waiting list. The specialized workforce required for manufacturing reactors has atrophied in the U.S., along with the industrial base. Steel, cement and other commodity prices have stabilized, but the credit crunch has jacked up the cost of borrowing.

It’s a situation mirrored on the other side of the Atlantic in the UK. The rapid decline of pound against the euro now means that nuclear technology priced in euros is much more expensive to buy in the UK. On top of that, the disastrous construction of the OL3 reactor at Olkiluoto, Finland is a stark warning that new nuclear build is far more expensive than anyone was expecting:

[I]t is not unreasonable to expect that the current €4.5bn cost [of OL3] will rise still further, perhaps by billions of Euros. But let's be optimistic for once and say that the total construction cost of this plant will be €5.2bn including the initial design work, the groundworks and all the other costs borne by TVO and not Areva. This figure breaches the highest of all the cost estimates produced in the UK government consultation paper.

So, even the most optimistic scenario is a bad one. Decisions need to be made now if the planet is to avoid catastrophic climate change. Waiting for nuclear power to become financially viable or safe methods of waste disposal to appear is not an option.

The US and the UK should now be urgently looking to its renewable and energy efficiency programmes. They should be looking to establish strong indigenous renewable energy technologies – that, as we know, can be planned for and built much faster and cheaper than nuclear – that are not at risk to currency fluctuations.

The clock, as ever, is ticking…

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Daily Nation: Uranium ‘too hot to handle’
‘Uranium seized by police in Nairobi is to be flown out of the country after tests showed that its radioactivity exceeded limits which could be handled locally.’

Thaindian News: Shortage of nuclear fuel hits Indian nuclear power plants
‘India’s nuclear power plants have been working at about half their capacity due to shortage of nuclear fuel despite the efforts of the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to tap indigenous uranium deposits. The power plants are facing shortage of uranium supply due to the slow process of opening up of new uranium mines.’

Taipei Times: Aboriginal protesters call for minister’s resignation
‘Over 300 protesters from the Aboriginal community yesterday threw eggs at the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) building yesterday, demanding the resignation of CIP Minister Chang Jen-hsiang for “betraying her own people” by disregarding tribespeople’s land and hunting rights. The council denied the accusations and stressed it had always striven to preserve the rights of the community. According to the Alliance to Safeguard the Aboriginal Basic Law, the council failed to protect two Aboriginal villages in Pingtung and Taitung County when Chang allegedly agreed to let the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) dump hazardous nuclear waste in the community.’

The Independent: Nuclear power station owners 'allowed leaks'
‘Nuclear power station operators unlawfully allowed radioactive waste to seep from a decontamination unit for 14 years, Chelmsford Crown Court has heard.’

Reuters: Japan nuclear plant operations
‘Chubu Electric Power Co manually shut its 1,267 megawatt Hamaoka No. 5 nuclear generator on Dec. 30 for an unplanned inspection, three days after restarting it. The company still has not given a timetable for the unit's restart.’

A very readable new report called Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power by Craig A. Severance asks and answers the following important question…

Can new nuclear power help the U.S. electric power industry cut greenhouse gas emissions, at a reasonable cost?

Can you guess what the answer is? (Here’s a clue: it isn’t ‘yes’).

We’re just about ready to make our pitch to the TV studios with our comedy show set in a nuclear reactor. It’s got all the ingredients you might expect. It’s got the radioactive leaks ignored for 14 years (or is that too much like The Simpsons?). It’s got janitors guarding the security fences. It’s got nuclear material placed too close to a fan so it’s blown across the plant.

Of course our comedy nuclear reactor will also be built in an earthquake zone and have its own colony of radioactive seagulls that have to be shot by snipers. It’s going to be comedy gold. Imagine Friends crossed with The China Syndrome.

We were considering including security guards who sleep on the job when they should be patrolling the site. We’re not sure. What do you think, is it too clichéd? It’s a very old joke after all. It’s one though, that never goes out of fashion:

Federal regulators are proposing a $65,000 fine against the operator of a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant where security guards routinely napped on the job.

The name of the plant? Peach Bottom. We might use that as well – it’s the perfect example of the cuddly greenwash propaganda that the nuclear industry loves. Yes, the old jokes are still with us. And at 60 years old, not many jokes come much older than the nuclear industry. The show will almost write itself.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Reuters: Equinox to defer Zambia uranium plant
‘Equinox Minerals is delaying construction of a uranium processing plant at its Lumwana copper-uranium mine in Zambia, due to low uranium prices and difficulty raising financing, the Canadian company said on Wednesday.’

The London Times: US joins rush to supply nuclear equipment to India
‘The United States will enter the fray against France and Russia this week in the scramble to supply nuclear power equipment worth an estimated $150 billion to India.’

Bloomberg: Suspicions Grow That North Korea Enriches Uranium
‘Intelligence officials are growing more concerned that North Korea, deadlocked in negotiations to end its nuclear arms program, is secretly enriching uranium, U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said today.’

The Manufacturer: French ONET buys UK’s nuclear engineer Gravatom
‘French company ONET Technologies, a division of ONET Group, has bought Gravatom, a UK nuclear engineering company, for an undisclosed sum. Gravatom designs and manufactures nuclear engineering solutions and employs 130 people in two UK sites, in Fareham and Workington.’

In the face of the Russia-Ukraine dispute over gas supplies, Bulgaria and Slovakia have come up with a novel solution to plummeting winter temperatures: reopen their mothballed and closed nuclear reactors.

Now, for several reasons, this is a very strange thing to do when people in those countries are worried about heating their homes and cooking their food.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

AFP: Taiwan ex-leader accused of embezzling funds meant for NKorea
‘The Apple Daily reported Thursday that prosecutors had begun investigating claims that [ex-president] Chen might have pocketed 300 million Taiwan dollars of financial aid in 2004 and 2005 in exchange for North Korea handling the island's nuclear wastes.’

Bloomberg: Kyushu Electric to Spend $5.9 Billion on New Reactor
‘Kyushu Electric Power Co., the monopoly power supplier to Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu, will spend 540 billion yen ($5.9 billion) to build a third nuclear reactor at its Sendai station.’

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Brazil and Argentina's Nuclear Cooperation
‘In February 2008, Argentine President Kirchner and Brazilian President Lula da Silva signed a nuclear cooperation agreement, one of seventeen signed agreements related to infrastructure, energy, and defense. Since then, technicians from both countries have worked on defining potential joint projects, such as a "uranium enrichment enterprise" and a "model nuclear power reactor that would meet the needs of the electrical systems of both countries and, eventually, of the region."’

The Slovak Spectator: Nuclear energy will not solve natural gas crisis, says Greenpeace
‘Greenpeace in Slovakia is protesting against efforts to solve the natural gas crisis by re-launching the operation of the V1 Nuclear Power Plant in Jaslovské Bohunice, which was shut down on the last day of 2008, the SITA wrote.’

Tasr: JAVYS: V1 Jaslovske Bohunice Can Be Relaunched Within a Week
‘If Government decides to relaunch the mothballed V1 second block of the Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power plant (Trnava region) it could be operating within a week, the Nuclear Decommissioning Company (JAVYS) confirmed on Thursday.’

Electric Light & Power: Serbian energy minister recommends expert discussion on nuclear power
‘Even though there is a ban on the construction of nuclear plants in Serbia until 2015, there is no ban on scientific institutions addressing the question and evaluating whether Serbia needs a nuclear power plant, Minister of Energy Petar Skundric told Novosti. He said that construction of nuclear power plants should not be taboo, that the question should be regarded as any other in the energy sector.’

Fire Rescue: Report questions firefighting capability at NM nuclear plant
‘Recent drills suggest "significant weaknesses" in the capability of firefighters to respond to emergencies in nuclear facilities, according to the report. During one drill, the route used by emergency personnel in responding to a fire at the Plutonium Facility would have spread the contamination, the report states.’

Here’s some very unusual news:

An Ontario company with plans to build a $6.2 billion nuclear power plant near Peace River is considering a second northern Alberta location after hearing concerns from residents about the first.

Bruce Power, headquartered in Tiverton, Ont., wrote a letter to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission this week withdrawing its formal application for approval to prepare a site for future construction.

The news is good because, while it’s a small concession, it sets back Canada’s push for nuclear and is also a clear victory for local activism.

The news is unusual - even unbelievable - in the sense that it is extremely uncommon for the nuclear industry to pay attention to the concerns and welfare of local people. Look at the people of Caetite in Brazil and their contaminated water supply. Look at the sham public consultations where the public are ignored. Look at the childhood leukaemia statistics around nuclear power plants.

Let’s hope the rest of the industry are watching Bruce Power and take heed.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

The Economic Times: AEC wants 10-year tax rebate for nuclear power plants beyond 2010
‘NEW DELHI: Nuclear power plants that come into operation after 2010 may still be able to enjoy ten-year tax holiday if a recommendation by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) is accepted by the government. ’

Livemint.com: India to ink nuclear deal with Kazakhstan by month-end
‘“Kazakhstan has signed strategic agreements with Russia, China and Japan. A similar agreement will be signed with India during the Kazakhstan president’s visit (that starts on 23 January),” said Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for power and commerce.’

Hurriyet DailyNews: Int’l support to anti-nuclear movement
‘Turkish and international environmental organizations gathered in Mersin to protest the projected building of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.’

The Slovak Spectator: Nuclear reactor unplugged
‘IN THE MIDST of an intense debate over energy security in Europe, Slovakia has unplugged the second block of one of its nuclear power plants from the electricity grid and started its decommissioning, an obligation the country assumed when joining the European Union back in 2004.’

The London Times: Nuclear fears as danger plant is reopened in gas war with Russia
‘Fears were raised yesterday over a decision to restart a potentially dangerous decommissioned nuclear power plant in the centre of Europe because of a shortage of gas caused by Russia’s dispute with Ukraine.’

Inquirer.net: Reviving a nuke plant in a fragile world
‘TO help counter recession, the government is examining a range of productivity-enhancing measures. In this context, the National Power Corp. (Napocor) has engaged a Korean firm to study the feasibility of reviving the Bataan NuclearPower Plant (BNPP). Indeed, we must enhance our nation’s ability to foresee and respond to increasingly complex threats, and to plan for major, long-range contingencies.’

North County Times: OCEANSIDE: Steam generators arrive for San Onofre
‘A small fishing boat, headed out of Oceanside Harbor at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday encountered a sight odd enough for its skipper to call out: "You don't see something like that every day." By "that" he meant two ocean tugs muscling a heavily laden barge into the harbor channel. Sitting atop the barge, like a pair of gigantic, sideways milk bottles, were two 640-ton steam generators, vital components in what will be major surgery for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station located 15 miles up the coast.’

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has ordered the country’s Bohunice V1 reactor restarted in the face of the ongoing dispute between Russian and the Ukraine over gas supplies.

As we discussed last week, this really is an pointless act on the part of the Slovakian government. Slovakia uses less than 10 per cent of its gas for electricity generation. Just six per cent of the country’s electricity supply is generated by gas and is only switched on in times of high demand. Bohunice V1 on the other hand will have to run continuously – and cannot be started or shutdown quickly - meaning that it will be generating electricity that is not required.

Under the terms of Slovakia’s accession to the EU, Slovakia was expected to close and decommission the reactor. The EU didn’t stipulate this out of spite or to bring hardship to the Slovak people. They did it because Bohunice V1’s design meant it could not be upgraded to modern safety standards. In short, it is potentially dangerous.

The Slovakian government claims that under its accession treaty, it is permitted to restart the reactor in an emergency. To ram the point home, Prime Minister Fico said, ‘This is happening at a time of crisis. I would even compare the move we made today to the state of extreme emergency.’

The people of Eastern Europe have indeed suffered in the last few days. Restarting reactors isn’t going to help them, however. The dispute between Russian and the Ukraine is its final stages and gas will reach deprived areas within three days of the supplies being resumed. It’s going to take at least six days to get Bohunice V1 ready. How’s that for an empty gesture?

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Portalino: Putin approves financing program for Rosatom until 2015
‘Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved on Tuesday a program worth 2.084 trillion rubles ($83 billion) to finance the state nuclear corporation Rosatom between 2009 and 2015.’

Report on Business: Nuclear renaissance faces a big challenge
‘[I]n practice, outside countries where nuclear is state-subsidized and driven by government-set targets, new nuclear is making little progress, despite increasingly supportive policy environments. Moreover, the financial crisis is having various impacts on the industry, the most critical of which is likely to be the increased cost of capital.’

Reuters: US sanctions 13 tied to Pakistan's AQ Khan
‘The U.S. State Department said on Monday it had slapped sanctions on 13 individuals and three private companies because of their involvement in the nuclear-proliferation network associated with Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan.’

Radio Netherlands Worldwide: Austria furious at re-opening of nuclear plant
‘There are probably few countries in Europe where opposition to nuclear energy is as great as it is in Austria. In 1977, a small majority of Austrians voted against nuclear energy in a referendum. The only Austrian nuclear power station at Zwentendorf, which was due to be taken into service just a few months later, has been left since to become no more than a ruin. As things stand now, no Austrian politician would even dream of proposing the idea of building nuclear power stations.’

Boston.com: Leak fixed at nuke plant; operating at 70 percent
‘Plant spokesman Rob Williams says the source of the leak in the reactor's feedwater system was traced to a faulty weld in a 10-inch wide test port off a 24-inch feed pipe. Williams says the repairs were completed late Friday. The plant returned to full power on Saturday night, but power was reduced again Monday to allow technicians to work on a breaker in the plant switchyard. Williams says the work on the breaker came after operators noticed reduced pressure of insulating gas.’

Radio Slovakia International: Restart of Nuclear Power Plant Bohunice Second Reactor not certain
‘The operation of the second block of the V1 nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice does not necessarily have to be resumed. After a meeting of the crisis-management group on Monday, Prime Minister Robert Fico said that its reactivation would depend on the results of today’s talks between EU energy ministers in Brussels.’

Trading Markets: Analysts tip GDF Suez for 2nd French EPR contract
‘French energy and utilities group GDF Suez is well-placed to win a deal to build and operate France's second state-of-the-art EPR nuclear reactor, analysts said.’

Could there be trouble ahead between the UK’s heir to the throne Prince Charles and his brother, Prince Andrew? It certainly looks like it…

Prince Andrew, as the UK's special representative for international trade and investment, is to host a gala lunch on 5 February at Buckingham Palace for representatives of British companies involved in the nuclear energy industry. However, critics say that nuclear energy represents a 'startlingly fraught arena for a member of the British royal family to enter.' Kate Hudson, chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), said the event should be cancelled, adding, "It's outrageous that Prince Andrew and the Palace are being used to promote nuclear power. This has always been a contentious political issue and is likely to become more so as the government's plans move forward." Andrew's big brother, Prince Charles, has not commented on the lunch. He recently appointed Benet Northcote as his deputy private secretary, fresh from a role as chief policy advisor to Greenpeace where he directed campaigns against, among other things, nuclear energy.

Strangely, Prince Andrew doesn’t have the event in his special representative for international trade and investment diary. We wonder why. It would certainly be in keeping with the levels of secrecy and cover-up (not to mention embarrassment) we’ve come to expect from the nuclear industry.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Associated Press: Poland aiming at own nuclear power by 2020
‘Poland's prime minister says the ongoing natural gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine is pushing his government to speed up plans to build nuclear power plants.’

UPI: [US] Energy secretary nominee supports clean coal, nuclear power
‘Chu has made statements supporting nuclear -- a stance he reiterated Tuesday. "The nuclear industry has to be part of our energy mix," Chu told senators. "It's 20 percent of our (total) electricity production today, but it's 70 percent of the carbon-free electricity we produce today." As a result, Chu said he would support the construction of new nuclear reactors.’

Reuters: Entergy Arkansas 2 reactor cut to 60 pct power
‘Entergy Corp's (ETR.N) 988-megawatt Unit 2 at the Arkansas Nuclear One power station in Arkansas dipped to 60 percent power by early Tuesday from full power early Monday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.’

Power Engineering: Areva introduces BWR fuel to U.S. nuclear industry
‘Areva is introducing its advanced Atrium 10XM boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel to the U.S. commercial nuclear power industry. Exelon delivered and accepted the first U.S. lead test assemblies for operation beginning in early 2009 in the LaSalle Unit 2 reactor. ’

Haaretz: Israel denies Syria claim it left traces of uranium at nuclear site bombed by IAF
‘An Israeli official, who could not be identified by name, said Israel had replied to the IAEA since Jan. 1. "Our ambassador to the IAEA told them, in essence, that there was no possibility that the uranium found at the site could have originated with the Israel Air Force," the official said. ’

WSMV Nashville: Congress To Resubmit Nuclear Waste Ban
‘Wednesday, Congress will resubmit a bill to ban the United States from taking in nuclear waste from other countries.’

China View: Brazil to produce enriched uranium on industrial scale
‘Brazil will produce enriched uranium from next month in a factory in the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Nuclear Industries (INB) said Tuesday. Brazil will use technology developed by the Brazilian Marine Technology Center in Sao Paulo (CTMSP) and the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN) to produce enriched uranium, according to Samuel Fayad, a high-ranking official at INB.’

Reuters: Finland muclear plant delayed to mid-2012 –TVO
‘"The Areva-Siemens Consortium, the turn-key supplier of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant unit, has now confirmed TVO´s earlier estimation that the Olkiluoto 3 unit will not be completed until 2012," TVO said in a statement.’

The London Times: E.ON and RWE to build £10bn UK nuclear reactors
‘E.ON and RWE, Germany's two largest utilities companies, are set to announce the creation of a joint venture to build at least four nuclear reactors in the UK at a cost of at least £10 billion, The Times has learnt.’

World Nuclear News: Seoul sends nuclear team to North Korea
‘South Korea's Foreign Ministry announced that it will send a team of officials to North Korea to discuss the purchase of unused nuclear fuel rods at North Korea's Yongbyon facility.’

World Nuclear News: Dutch nuclear plant part of RWE deal
‘RWE's offer for Dutch utility Essent will see the formation of the fourth largest energy supplier in Europe and will also include Essent's half-ownership of the Netherlands' only operating nuclear power plant.’

Good news from Slovakia as the government announces it is postponing restarting the Bohunice V1 reactor after gas supplies were resumed.

Greenpeace have work hard in the last few days to show politicians and journalists just what a dangerous precedent restarting the reactor would have been, setting the example to other Eastern European countries that they could restart their own nuclear plants.

It would have taken at least a week before the reactor could have been restarted. It would have been a breach of international treaty and there is in fact no risk of electricity blackouts (which was confirmed both by Slovakia’s transmission grid operator and by all three of its regional distributors).

The last few days in Slovakia have been a dangerous distraction. The nuclear industry's spin is that it is the best solution to gas dependency. It can’t be stressed enough that the untapped potential of efficiency and domestic renewable sources can hugely cut the gas consumption in Slovakia and everywhere else. Pointless talk of restarting reactors diverts precious time and resources from those cheaper, easier and safer alternatives.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

World Nuclear News: Fennovoima seeks decision on new Finnish plant
‘In the decision-in-principle application, Fennovoima presents to the Finnish radiation and safety authority, Stuk, all plant-related information required by Finnish rules. Stuk will review the designs and prepare a preliminary safety assessment on each. The Ministry of Economy and Employment will subsequently prepare the decision-in-principle based on Stuk's findings and statements from all other stakeholders. The government and parliament are expected to make the decision in 2010.’

Global Security Newswire: Clinton Vows Iran Diplomacy, Supports Arms Control Measures
‘The incoming Obama administration would pursue new diplomatic efforts aimed at persuading Iran to halt potential nuclear-weapon development activities, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton indicated at her confirmation hearing yesterday.’

The South Africa Time: SA develops nuclear fuel
‘South Africa’s pebble bed company has successfully manufactured the uranium dioxide-coated particles which form the basis of high-temperature reactor fuel, it announced today.’

Charleton Regional Business Journal: Raitt to rock against new reactors
‘Local environmental groups opposing two new nuclear reactors are bringing in help from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Singer-guitarist Bonnie Raitt will headline an anti-nuclear fundraiser March 21 at Columbia’s Township Auditorium.’

New Scientist: Top 7 alternative energies listed
‘The US could replace all its cars and trucks with electric cars powered by wind turbines taking up less than 3 square kilometres – in theory, at least. That's the conclusion of a detailed study ranking 11 types of non-fossil fuels according to their total ecological footprint and their benefit to human health.’

Project on Government Oversight: 67 Percent of DOE Budget Overlooked During Confirmation Hearing of Steven Chu for DOE Secretary
‘While it is no surprise that the parochial interests of Senators dominated the questions directed at Steven Chu, Obama's pick for DOE Secretary, at today's confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, it is a surprise that there were virtually no substantive questions about the nuclear weapons complex.’

Tehran Times: Russia will fulfill duties on Iran’s nuclear power plant
‘Russia will fulfill its commitments on completing Iran’s first nuclear power plant in Bushehr despite of any pressures, said Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi. ’

Reuters: Vattenfall CEO sees nuclear issue moving in Germany
‘The issues of climate change and energy security will play an increasingly important role in a German debate on whether to extend nuclear power beyond 2021, Vattenfall chief executive Lars Josefsson said on Wednesday.’

Business Week: Abu Dhabi Probes Nuclear Power
‘David Scott, an Abu Dhabi official, says that the UAE would eventually like to get some 25% of its power from nuclear power. That might mean six or more nuclear plants, which cost $5 billion or more each today.’

French electricity generator EDF were quick to gloat over the thousands of Eastern Europeans left in the cold by the Russia/Ukraine gas dispute this last week. ‘The French must be delighted that the country didn't bet only on gas when we see what is happening with the gas,’ crowed EDF's Chief Executive Pierre Gadonneix as the company eyes selling nuclear technology to the rest of the world.

Gadonneix’s words were richly ironic considering a week ago he admitted that EDF couldn’t ‘rule out selective blackouts, that is to say, cutting the power to certain clients for short periods’ if France’s winter gets any colder and putting further strain on the national grid. Where’s nuclear power’s magic gone? ‘The French must be delighted’ at their reliance on it as the lights go out.

The French must also be less than delighted at other news about EDF that Gadonneix has been rather more circumspect about:

The French Nuclear Safety Authority (Autorité De Sûreté Nucléaire, ASN) has decided to refuse or suspend the accreditation of laboratories run by Electricité de France (EdF) for monitoring radioactivity in the environment around its plants.

[…]

The ASN said that applications submitted by EdF in the second half of 2008 for the accreditation of its in-house monitoring laboratories highlighted inconsistencies in the radiation measurement methodologies used.

In other words, EDF’s methods used to monitor how much radioactivity has escaped from EDF’s nuclear facilities into the environment can’t be trusted. They now have until February 1 to get a proper monitoring programme in place.

Mr Gadonneix really should think twice next time before he has a laugh at the expense of other countries.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Helsingin Sanomat: Fortum holding back nuclear application
‘Fennovoima, an energy company hoping to get authorisation to build a sixth commercial nuclear reactor in Finland, submitted its application for a licence on Wednesday to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. An application is also expected from the energy company Fortum, which runs two of the four reactors that operate in Finland, but which appears to have been dragging its feet in the matter.’

KNDO/KNDU: Sen. Murray Wants $6-7 Billion for Nuclear Waste Cleanup
‘Senator Murray wants $6 to $7 billion included for nuclear waste cleanup projects around the country. That means in a couple of years we could see an extra $2 billion at the Hanford Site. Not only would this be good for the Tri-Cities economy but also for the environment.’

iStockAnalyst: Kazakh uranium output fails to meet target
‘Kazakhstan increased uranium production by almost one-third in 2008, but fell short of its previous output projection of more than 9,000 tons amid falling demand, the state-owned nuclear energy company said Thursday.’

The Straits Times: Sanctions on Scomi chief
‘KUALA LUMPUR: The decision by the United States to slap sanctions on a Malaysian businessman with close ties to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's son is set to revive debate over the country's role in the clandestine nuclear-smuggling network headed by rogue Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.’

The Peninsula: Germany reports damage at nuclear waste storage site
‘Germany’s radiation protection office came in for criticism yesterday after it revealed only this week that damage had been detected late last year at an old salt mine storing nuclear waste.’

Yahoo! News: Japan eyes restarting controversial 'dream nuclear reactor'
‘Japan, an economic giant with almost nonatural energy resources, is eyeing restarting its "dream nuclear reactor" this year after a raft of safety scares closed the plant for more than 13 years. The state-run Japan Atomic Energy Agency is putting the final touches to Monju, the nation's only fast-breeder reactor.’

Wall Street Journal: U.S. and U.A.E. to Sign Nuclear-Cooperation Pact
‘The Bush administration plans to sign a nuclear-cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, according to officials involved in the negotiations, despite concerns in Congress.’

We’re about to write to the producers of the James Bond movies with an idea for the story of the next film. We wanted to know what you thought.

In our story, a supervillain uses radiation to give a group of people cancer. The people go to a doctor for help but unknown to them, the doctor has been paid by the supervillain to tell them that they have HIV/AIDS instead.

What do you think? Too bleak? Too far-fetched and unrealistic? Who could suspend their disbelief when presented with such a preposterous plot?

Try the executives of France’s own nuclear supervillains, Areva. Here’s Areva’s citation for its Public Eye 2008 Award:

Did you know you could get HIV/Aids from radioactive radiation? No? Well, the French Nuclear Corporation Areva figures as much – and the company-owned hospitals prefer to diagnose the cancers of its mineworkers as cases of the deadly HIV virus. Are we kidding you? No, this is actually happening in the north of Niger where Areva is the majority shareholder of two companies (Somaïr and Cominak) that mine for uranium. But why the false diagnoses? The state-owned French company would rather not pay for the treatment of its former employees. The mineworkers and their families receive little or no information about the health hazards of uranium mining.

Read that again. Digest it. In Areva’s glorious plan for a nuclear future, some people don’t have a future. In order to save a little money, Areva lie to people about how and why they are dying. At least the villains in James Bond movies are honest about their plans for death and destruction.

For such disgusting contempt for human life, Areva was entered into Public Eye’s 2008 Hall of Pain. Prison or one of the more terrifying circles of Dante’s Inferno would be preferable. But that’s the nuclear industry for you. Whether it be in Caetite, Brazil or Kakadu, Australia or Arlit, Niger, the nuclear industry’s lack of concern for human life is all too evident.

Areva and their competitors clearly believe it a price worth paying. Do you?

(You can vote in Public Eye’s Worst Corporation of the Year 2009 here.)

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Digital Chosunilbo: Korea Resources Corp. Seeks US$1 Billion Uranium Mine
‘Korea Resources Corporation President Kim Shin-jong vowed on Sunday to bring the state-run company into the ranks of the world's top 20 mining and resource development companies by investing heavily in uranium and copper mines in Africa and South America.’

UPI: N. Korea says has weapons-grade plutonium
‘North Korea says it has enough weapons-grade plutonium to make up to six nuclear bombs and has ratcheted up its saber-rattling against its southern neighbor. The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported Saturday that in response to the reports, South Korea has ordered its military to heighten its efforts along its fortified border with North Korea.’

Farming UK: Argentina-Nuclear Power
‘Argentina and Brazil, were scheduled to address the creation of a bi-national nuclear energy agency, when the countries two presidents met in Brazil. The agency could become one of the worlds leading providers of enriched uranium, which is one of the objectives of the Brazilian government. Nuclear power could be provided to Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Bolivia if the plans go through.’

The Economic Times: Canada, UK eye nuclear power deal with India
‘NEW DELHI: After the US, it is the Canadians and British who are eyeing nuclear power deals in India. Officials from the nuclear power industry of the United Kingdom and Canada will be here from Monday to talks on the subject. ’

Times of India: France first to get piece of Indian N-pie
‘NEW DELHI: Stealing a march over US, Russia and UK, France will take the first bite of the lucrative Indian nuclear pie. Over the next few months, France will deliver 300 tonnes of enriched uranium to India, and by the end of this year will have a contract for six nuclear reactors.’

ajc: Nuclear proposal exempts big business from higher bills
‘A Senate bill that would allow Georgia Power to charge customers a special nuclear power fee largely exempts some of the state’s biggest businesses. That could leave residents and smaller businesses shouldering most of the $1.6 billion interest cost of a planned nuclear expansion for Georgia Power.’

The London Times: Pressure on to hasten nuclear reactor construction
‘Plans to build a fleet of nuclear reactors in Britain could be accelerated under a scheme being considered by the Government and some of Britain’s biggest power companies. If implemented, the plans could chop as much as 18 months off the time required to complete nuclear stations by applying new construction methods and by shortening a detailed review of the technology proposed for use in the UK.’

If you want a glimpse of the fantasy land that the nuclear industry lives in, you couldn’t do better than take a look at what’s going on in Turkey right now.

After three previous attempts had to be abandoned, the latest process to commission and build the country’s first nuclear power plant descended into farce almost from the outset and hasn’t improved since. After 13 companies expressed an interest in the project, in the end just one – a consortium led by Russia’s state-run Atomstroyexport – bid in the contract tendering process.

Despite this putting the tender in contravention of Turkey’s competition laws and the country’s nuclear strategy being fraught with problems and dangers, the government has decided to press ahead.

And this is where things take a turn for the ludicrous. Today, the bidding consortium announced how much the electricity produced by the new plant would cost: 21 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s three times the current average price of electricity in Turkey. Electricity would have to triple in price before the reactor became economically viable.

This would make Turkey’s reactor the most expensive electricity generating power plant in the world.. Wind power by comparison is currently generating electricity at one third of this offer.You really have to wonder what was going through the consortium representative’s minds when they wrote down the 21 cent figure. We’d have paid good money to see the looks on the government officials’ faces when they opened the envelope.

So much for nuclear’s promise of cheap electricity. Do you know they once said nuclear energy would be too cheap to be metered? Stop laughing, it’s true.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Indybay: The San Onofre Nukes and the M Word
‘Last December we learned that critical safety systems at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Station were potentially threatened by a disabled battery--and had been for almost 5 years. Could this have lead to a meltdown at the plants?’

Gulfnews: UAE signs deal with Japan for peaceful nuclear power
‘The cooperation agreement was signed by Saif Sultan Al Aryani, the UAE Foreign Minister's undersecretary, and Takamori Yoshikawa, Japan's senior vice-minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.’

iStockAnalyst: Atomstroyexport Concludes to Place Extra Share Issuance, Rosatom Stake Grows to 89.31% - Source
‘The Russian contractor for building nuclear power plants abroad, ZAO Atomstroyexport, concluded to place extra stock issuance, and thus the stake of the state corporation Rosatom grew to 89.31%, a source in the nuclear sector told Interfax.’

Focus Information Agency: It is not true that units 5 and 6 were modernized with EU funds: NPP Kozloduy
‘Sofia. The claim that units 5 and 6 of NPP Kozloduy had been modernized with EU funds is categorically untrue, reads a statement of the management of the power plant in relation to the recent claims spread in the media over the last days.’

World Nuclear News: Transport plan puts Yucca back to 2020
‘Plans to transport used nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain repository would not be enacted before 2020, according to a new filing by the US Department of Energy (DoE).’

Daily Yomiuri Online: Rivals vie for competitive edge
‘Toshiba Corp.'s expected deal to be the first Japanese firm to win a contract to build nuclear plants on its own in another country has put it decisively ahead of its rivals Hitachi, Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. in the U.S. nuclear power market.’

Denying yesterday’s news that they were about to adopt ‘modular’ construction techniques for their nuclear reactors, EDF said in a statement:

‘EDF is proposing to use the same construction method for EPRs in the UK as it is using at Flamanville in a project which is on schedule to be operational in 2012.’

Flamanville? What, this Flamanville? The Flamanville which is a year behind schedule despite only being under construction for a year? The Flamaville whose costs have increased by 20 per cent? The Flamanville with the cracked concrete in its foundations and poor welding in the steel reactor liner?

That Flamanville? EDF are going to use the same construction method for EPRs in the UK as it is using at Flamanville? Yikes!

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

The News & Observer: NC Nuclear power plant inspected after malfunction
‘The Brunswick power plant is being inspected after a malfunction was discovered in a diesel generator during routine testing.’

Reuters: Inspection for 7 French nuclear reactors in 2009
‘France's nuclear safety authority ASN said on Tuesday it would carry out a total of seven re-licensing inspections in 2009 at nuclear power sites.’

Reuters: Iberdrola, SSE plan British nuclear venture
‘Scottish and Southern Energy and Spain's Iberdrola plan to work together to build nuclear power plants in Britain, the companies said on Tuesday.’

BBC News: Anger over nuclear money appeal
‘A request from a council for cash from nuclear firms bidding to build a new power station in Hinkley, Somerset has angered protesters.’

Rutland Herald: Ten percent: Facts on Vermont Yankee
‘Vermont uses a miniscule amount of electricity compared to other states. VY provides only nearly 2 percent or 3 percent to the New England power grid, (of which New York is not a part). There is enough power in the New England Grid to absorb Vermont Yankee going off-line.’

Rutland herald: Entergy, with $5,000, belle of governor's ball
‘With the future of its Vermont Yankee nuclear plant hanging in the balance, Entergy Nuclear gave $5,000 as a "platinum sponsor" of Gov. James Douglas' Inaugural Ball last week.’

Nuclear Engineering: Major row brewing over Olkiluoto 3 delays
‘TVO says that it is “extremely disappointed” that the consortium building the EPR project at Olkiluoto has not been able to accelerate work at the site and reduce delays.’

ABC News: Almost 15,000 unused nuclear fuel rods in N Korea: officials
‘A delegation of South Korean officials which has just returned from North Korea says the communist state has almost 15,000 unused nuclear fuel rods.’

Kuwait Times: 'Middle East vying for nuclear energy'
‘Since 1950s, the world has been seriously mulling over resorting to nuclear energy as an alternative to sky-high prices of fossil fuel and the slowly dwindling oil reserves. Many countries in the world use nuclear energy. However, the Chernobyl explosion of the 1980s many countries reconsidered the idea and some abandoned it completely. The Middle East countries, though, will soon join the nuclear fraternity.’

Remember earlier in the week when the consortium bidding to build Turkey’s first nuclear reactor announced the cost of the electricity produced would be three times Turkey’s current price?

Well, it seems the Turkish government weren’t as amused as we were:

The Turkish government is likely to cancel a tender for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant by rejecting a bid from a Russian reactor builder, a Turkish paper said on Wednesday.

Excellent news. And this was after the Russian-led consortium had revised their ludicrous first figure. It seems Tetas, the energy company commissioning the reactor, didn’t like the second price either. If all nuclear commissioning processes were like this, we could pack up and go home. The nuclear industry is its own worst enemy.

The cancellation of the tendering process now brings the number of failed attempts to commission a nuclear reactor in Turkey to five. You would have thought the government would have got the message. But are they downhearted? Are they discouraged? No...

In this case, new tenders for the construction of the nuclear power plant will be held.

We await the next tendering process with anticipation. Can the Turkish government outdo itself and make it even more farcical than the last?

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Daily Times: IAEA to investigate Gaza uranium ammo allegations
‘The UN nuclear watchdog said Wednesday it would investigate allegations by Arab countries that Israel may have used ammunition containing depleted uranium during its 22-day military offensive in Gaza.’

Fort Worth Weekly: Nuclear Fallout
‘Thought reactors were anachronisms? So did some concerned Glen Rose folks.’

Discover Magazine: The “Dirtiest Place on Earth” Still Has a Lot of Nuke Waste to Clean Up
‘It’s one of the biggest cleanup jobs the United States has ever undertaken, and it’s a long way from being done. Near the Columbia River in Hanford, Washington, contractors are decontaminating a nuclear fuel processing site that has 177 underground tanks holding 53 million gallons of nuclear waste, some of which has already leaked into the soil and groundwater. And the cleanup crew has learned that the known hazards are just the beginning.’

Global Security Newswire: U.S. Nuclear Sales to India Could Face Long Delays
‘Bureaucratic restrictions could delay U.S. nuclear sales to India by at least two or three years even though major trade barriers were removed last year, theWashington Post reported today.’

GPB News: Federal Officials Question Financial Discrepancies at Savannah River Site Near Augusta
‘Federal officials are questioning serious accounting discrepancies at a massive federal site that processes nuclear materials near Augusta. The U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general says the Washington Savannah River Company can't properly account for $1.4 billion spent at the Savannah River Site in 2007.’

More evidence today that the wheels are coming off the so-called “nuclear renaissance.” New Brunswick’s attempt at rebuilding its ageing Point Lepreau nuclear station has suffered delays and cost over-runs.

Read the rest…

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

GMA News: Bishop opposes revival of Bataan nuke power plant
‘MANILA, Philippines - A ranking Catholic bishop voiced opposition late Thursday to reported plans to revive the controversial Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Manila auxiliary bishop Broderick Pabillo cited "potential dangers" resulting from the plant's operation to the health of residents in Morong town.’

NRCU: Energoatom about to broker nuclear fuel deals with TVEL in January-February
’National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom (NNEGC Energoatom) announced plans to sign contracts in the area of nuclear fuel with the Russia-based JSC TVEL in January-February 2009, Energoatom President Yuriy Nedashkovsky said.’

Reuters: Siemens aims to sell Areva nuclear stake-report
‘German industrial group Siemens AG intends to shed its 34 percent stake in the nuclear power plant unit of France's Areva, French business daily Les Echos said, in an extract from an article from Friday's edition.’

International Herald Tribune: Report: Obama should act quickly on NKorea nukes
‘President Barack Obama must not continue his predecessor's "bad practices" in dealing with North Korea and should act quickly to end a standoff over the country's nuclear programs, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper said Thursday.’

Reuters: France could order two nuclear power plants
‘An official at the Elysee presidential palace said on Thursday that a decision on at least one new European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) nuclear power plant would be taken in the next few weeks.’

Back in August last year, Greenpeace revealed the shockingly lax safety standards and inspection regime at the OL3 reactor being built in Olkiluoto, Finland.

Welding working on the steel framework of the reactor had no welding specifications for an entire year. The contractor responsible for the welding had no qualified welding supervisors at the site. Tests to ensure the quality of the welding were not done. Evidence came to light that critical load-bearing welds had not been done properly.

Finally, after six months, Finland’s nuclear watchdog, OL3’s owners TVO are finally taking action. Finally, after six months ‘improvements are being planned in the safety culture at the construction site’. Finally, after six months ‘employees are being encouraged to report on shortcomings that they find in issues of security and quality’ (they had previously been threatened about speaking out). Finally, after six months TVO are to hold ‘a systematic evaluation of the security culture, including inquiries and interviews at the construction site’.

Is it enough? Finland’s nuclear watchdog STUK isn’t so sure and has been critical of the proposed measures. Language differences between management and workers are still causing communication problems. Proper training on nuclear safety is still not being given to workers. As late as October last year there was still no proper system administering mandatory welding guidelines and to verify the qualifications of welders.

The question must also be asked, what has exactly been going on at Olkiluoto if TVO is only now proposing these measures? What confidence can there be in OL3’s construction?

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

Daily News Online: 20 companies to explore uranium deposits
‘Tanzania: The government has contracted 20 companies to explore uranium deposits that could be used in producing nuclear energy. The Minister of Energy and Minerals, Mr William Ngeleja, told this reporter over the weekend that the government was currently examining the volume of uranium deposits before the companies actively start exploration.’

EasyBourse: Areva SA: Would Buy 34% Areva NP Stake If Siemens Sells It
‘French nuclear group Areva SA would buy the 34% stake Siemens AG holds in its reactor division, Areva NP, if the German company sells it, the company said Friday.’

The Hindu: 'Kazakh uranium will solve India's power problem'
‘Long-term cooperation in the supply of Kazakh uranium for nuclear reactors will help in solving India's power demand, said Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev here on Saturday.’

ABC News: Canada under fire for planning nuclear trade with India
‘Activists say the country's reputation as a non-proliferation advocate is being tarnished by the actions.’

Forbes: Siemens eyes nuclear j/v with Russia firm –report
‘German engineering conglomerate Siemens plans to set up a nuclear power joint venture with Russia's Atomenergoprom, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) said on Saturday.’

Balita Ponoy: Solons inspect bataan nuclear plant
‘The committee on energy of the House of Representatives, headed by Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, on Thursday conducted an inspection of the controversial Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) here. […] At present, he said some 190 congressmen have already expressed support for the immediate passage of a measure seeking to rehabilitate and utilize the "moth-balled" Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).’

Almasry Alyoum: Electricity Minister Sends Nuclear Project To Cabinet
‘The Ministry of Electricity and Energy announced yesterday the completion of the bill regulating nuclear and radioactive activities. The Ministry sent the bill to the Cabinet, which will discuss it and submit it to the People's Assembly and the Shoura Council [Egypt's lower and upper chamber of parliament]. The aim is to have it adopted during this parliamentary session.’

Energy Minister George Smitherman is making another good news announcement today on the government’s support for wind power. What Minister Smitherman won’t mention is that he’s capped the development of green energy to make space for all of the big and expensive nuclear plants he wants to build. Despite all his talk about expanding green power, Smitherman has remained stubbornly committed to maintaining nuclear at historic levels and preventing the growth of green power.

Read the rest…

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown demonstrated the strength of his green credentials late last week when he took a helicopter to the Sellafield nuclear plant in the north of the country. Because nothing shows you care for the environment more than flying to one of the most radioactive places on the planet, don’t you find?

Brown’s visit was the latest PR stunt in his government’s campaign to kick-start the UK’s nuclear ‘renaissance’. Giving his seal of approval to the building of a new nuclear reactor on the Sellafield site, the Prime Minister showed his blind ignorance to the facts on the ground.

Some other stories from the nuclear industry you may have missed:

International Herald Tribune: Siemens pulls out of nuclear venture with Areva
‘Siemens, the German engineering company, withdrew late Monday from a joint venture with Areva, the French builder of nuclear reactors. The move adds financial challenges for Areva even as demand for nuclear power appears to be on the rise.’

Reuters: Worker guilty in bid to sell France nuke secrets
‘A nuclear industry worker who tried to sell uranium enrichment technology to NATO ally France pleaded guilty on Monday to illegally disclosing restricted information, the Justice Department said.’

Fulton Sun: Nuclear plant foes shift from environmentalists to consumer groups
‘Unlike the first nuclear reactor to be constructed in Missouri, opposition to the second nuclear reactor at the Callaway Nuclear Plant has come more from consumer groups than anti-nuclear activists and environmentalists.’

Contract Journal: Spanish target UK's £40bn new nuclear programme
‘The race to deliver the UK’s £40bn new nuclear programme geared up a notch this week with Spanish utility Iberdrola and Scottish and Southern Energy teaming up to build an undisclosed number of new nuclear plants in the UK.’

Yahoo! News: 'Nuclear' could return to Okla. energy vocabulary
‘Oklahoma, long a producer of fossil fuels, traditionally has relied mostly on natural gas and coal -- and in recent years wind -- to produce power. But more than a quarter-century after the failed Black Fox project near Inola, state legislators including House Speaker Chris Benge are openly discussing the potential use of nuclear power in Oklahoma.’

Reuters: U.S. wants direct talks with Iran on atom work: envoy
‘The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Monday the new administration would make Iran's nuclear program a top diplomatic priority and would pursue direct talks with Tehran.’

NTI: North Korea Reasserts Nuclear Status
‘Pyongyang has argued that its October 2006 nuclear test blast cemented its position among acknowledged nuclear-weapon states. Nuclear powers such as Russia and the United States have rejected that assertion.’

Did you know you can't insure nuclear reactors and their decommissioning processes? The commercial insurance companies just won't touch them. The costs of cleaning up a major nuclear accident are so huge they would bankrupt any company stupid enough to offer cover.

So governments have to step in and offer to pay the costs in the event of an accident. That's what the British government did over the summer while Parliament was in recess and MPs were on holiday.

However, doing so involved a circumvention of the democratic niceties - which isn't uncommon when it comes to dealings with the nuclear industry. But this particular dirty, backroom deal might be back to bite the government:

A government decision to rush through a scheme indemnifying a US-led private consortium who took over Sellafield from any liability for a nuclear accident is to be investigated, the Speaker of the Commons, Michael Martin.

He has accepted a complaint from Paul Flynn, the Labour MP for Newport, that former energy minister Malcolm Wicks had not properly consulted MPs when he granted the consortium, made up of the American company URS Washington, French firm Areva and the UK company Amec, an indemnity.

[...]

The consortium had threatened to walk away unless Britain waived its rights to charge companies the first £140m for the costs of any accident.

You see this kind of thing all over the world – rigged public consultations, a blurring between the roles of politician and nuclear lobbyist, and – as in this case – the blackmailing of governments.

The added bonus for this consortium? The British taxpayer will pay up even if the accidents are the fault of the consortium itself. It's a sweet deal to be sure. Whether you're for or against nuclear power, though, surely you can agree that this isn't the way to do things. It doesn't do the already poor reputations of nuclear energy or politics any favours.

Today's big stories from the nuclear industry:

BBC News: Nuclear plant 'quake ban' lifted
‘An outright ban on locating new nuclear power stations in areas of the UK which are susceptible to earthquakes has been lifted by the government.’

Reuters: UK's Hartlepool 1 nuclear reactor shuts again
‘British Energy's (BGY.L) Hartlepool 1 nuclear power reactor was stopped again on Tuesday for more work just two days after restarting from a 14-month boiler repair outage, a spokesman for the company said.’

Reuters: Japan nuclear capacity to fall as Chubu scraps units
‘Japan's nuclear power generation capacity will fall by 1,380 megawatts, or 2.8 percent, to 47,935 megawatts from Friday, a government official said, reflecting a utility's move to scrap two nuclear reactors and replace them with a new one.’

Today's big stories from the nuclear industry:

Forbes: NRC: Pa. nuclear plant workers fear retaliation
‘Some workers at a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant are afraid to raise safety issues because they fear retaliation, federal regulators said Wednesday.’

EasyBourse: Areva Signs LT Uranium Conversion Contract With EDF
‘French nuclear operator Areva Wednesday said it has signed with French state-controlled giant power operator Electricite de France a long-term uranium conversion1 contract worth several hundred million euros.’

LA Times: Steam generators en route to San Onofre nuclear power plant
‘The first of four new steam generators needed to keep the San Onofre nuclear power plant in operation is making its way -- slowly and carefully -- to the facility in northern San Diego County by ship, barge and a tractor-trailer-like vehicle with 256 wheels.’

The Telegraph: Floods, erosion or earthquake risk will not be a bar to nuclear power sites
‘Risk of flood, coastal erosion, environmental damage or even earthquake will not be an automatic bar to the siting of a new nuclear power station, the Government has said.’

Review Journal: Yucca Mountain project faces more budget cuts
‘The already scaled back federal funding to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain would drop by close to $100 million more through the rest of fiscal 2009, continuing a steep downward spiral that raises new questions about the future of the project.’

The Guardian: Peers failed to declare paid consultancies when tabling questions
‘Several peers [UK lawmakers] failed to declare paid consultancies with private companies when they tabled parliamentary questions or spoke in debates about issues of interest to their sponsors […] [Lord] Christopher, who spoke in a debate about nuclear waste, did not mention his role as a self-employed non-parliamentary consultant to Sellafield Ltd.’

Reuters: Areva needs 2.7 bln euros for investments – report
‘French state controlled nuclear reactor group Areva (CEPFi.PA) needs to secure financing for 2.7 billion euros worth of planned investments in 2009, French daily Le Figaro reported in its Thursday edition.’

Tehran Times: Diplomat: Iran able to export uranium
‘“Iran’s reserves are identified with many of them being discovered prior to the (1979 Islamic) Revolution by western states themselves and that’s not a secret. Iran has not only the potential to supply fuel to Bushehr nuclear power plant but can also be a major exporter,” [Veteran Iranian diplomat Mahmoud-Mehdi] Soltani told IRNA.’

NTI: Missing Russian Plutonium Could Fuel 25 Nuclear Weapons, Former Air Force Chief Says
‘Soviet-era plutonium that was never accounted for after the Cold War could fuel roughly 25 nuclear weapons as powerful as the "Fat Man" atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in World War II, former Air Force Secretary Thomas Reed said Monday.’

Today's big stories from the nuclear industry:

Platts: French strike cuts power output by around 10 GW: union
'A widespread national strike in France has cut power output by "about 10
GW," Eric Hugelmann, spokesman for the FNME energy and mining union said at
0900 CET Thursday (0800 GMT).'

World Nuclear News: MOX gets ready to sail
'Companies have confirmed that a shipment of mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel from Europe to Japan is being prepared, although the exact departure date has not yet been announced. '

The Korea Times: Frequent Problems Cloud Nuclear Power Plan
'The government has decided to build more nuclear power plants in order to secure a greater percentage of the country's electricity needs from this energy source. But a recent series of ``incidents'' reported at current facilities has cast doubts on the industry's credibility, and the efficacy of the administration's energy plans.'

The Tennessean: Nuclear waste bound for U.S.
'For a nation that still hasn't found a sure-fire way of storing its own nuclear waste without worry, it certainly shouldn't be taking waste from other nations.'

The Economist: Nuclear fission
'“THIS is not the way you behave in business—normally you send signals,” spluttered a French nuclear executive this week at the news that Siemens, Germany’s engineering giant, would divest the 34% stake it has held since 2001 in Areva NP, a Franco-German joint venture in nuclear reactors.'

CNN: US Senate Stimulus Bill Opens Nuclear Loan-Guarantee Door
'The Senate economic recovery bill as passed through the Appropriations Committee earlier this week opens the door for potentially $ 50 billion in loan guarantees for the nuclear-power industry.'

Business Report: Nuclear bid had funding - Areva
'Johannesburg - Areva, one of two bidders in South Africa's stalled nuclear power programme, said yesterday that 85 percent of the financing for the country's second nuclear plant would have been forthcoming as part of the French group's tender.'

Gazette: Essex: A cordial approach to explaining N-waste
'A top scientist has used Ribena to demonstrate how nuclear waste was dealt with at a power station. A court has heard how there was an alleged leak of nuclear waste from a site at Bradwell power station for 14 years before the problem was discovered.'

The big news today for France, and indeed for the rest of the world, is that the French government has announced its intention to build a second European Pressurized Reactor (EPR). The plan will be to build it at the Penly nuclear plant, six miles from Dieppe.

The Areva-designed EPR is a third generation state of the art reactor. With many countries around the world considering building EPRs of their own, France is showing that it leads the way in global nuclear technology.

What we mean is that France is leading the way to danger, scandal, failure and ridicule. Let us not mince our words: The EPR nuclear reactor is an enormous and dangerous joke.

There are only two currently under construction in the world today, in Olkiluoto, Finland and Flamanville, France. Both projects have faced an almost identical set of massive problems and shortcomings. The EPR reactor design is unimaginably complex and so the construction of one involves the employment of hundreds, if not thousands, of contractors, sub-contractors, sub-sub-contractors, sub-sub-sub…

This complexity - and the project leaders’ inability to manage it - has led to spectacular displays of incompetence and scandal during the construction at both sites.

Construction began first at the Finnish site – the project is now more than three years late and seriously over budget. However, when construction later began on the second EPR in France, it was clear from the outset that lessons had not been learned from the Finnish experience.

Foundation concrete was not poured properly at both sites leading to cracking. Welding processes in both reactors’ framework and support structures was not done properly and the welders were not trained or supervised to the vital required safety standards. The same contractor, Bouygues, was responsible for the welding scandals in both cases.

Because that is what EPR is – a scandal. Both current projects are massively over-budget and behind schedule. The reactor at Olkiluoto was supposed start generating electricity in April this year but will not now go online until 2012 at the earliest. The Finnish project in particular has seen the concealment and cover-up of information concerning extremely serious safety failures. Workers were threatened with sanctions if they spoke out about safety concerns.

Again we see the French government throwing away billions of euros on a failed technology in which we can have no confidence or trust. EPR is a dangerous distraction from the fight to beat global climate change. This money could and should have a direct impact in establishing proven and long term renewable energy and energy efficiency programmes in France – programmes that can be established in a fraction of the time it takes to build an EPR reactor.

We’ve seen nothing to suggest that the nuclear industry can or will learn from its mistakes or that this new EPR will not follow the same pattern. When it comes to the fight against new EPR reactors, this is the reason to be optimistic: the incompetence, greed and mendacity of those designing, financing and building them are some of the best weapons in our armoury.