Power politics in Japan: A silent majority speaks | The Economist - http://www.economist.com/node/21554239?fsrc=scn/tw/te/ar/asilentmajorityspeaks

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The Japanese government is launching a large-scale cleanup of the fields, forests, and villages contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. But some experts caution that an overly aggressive remediation program could create a host of other environmental problems.

Read More: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_fukushima_cleanup_begins_long-term_impacts_are_weighed/2482/

in Nuclear Energy Cleantech Government Policies and Regulations Regulations, Policies and Incentives

Germany’s government has decided to shutter all 17 of its nuclear plants (23 reactors); eight plants are now closed for business, six more will be closed by 2021, and the final three will close by 2022. What is lacking is an honest discussion of the rising cost Germans will pay for electricity for what The Economist describes as “the greatest change of political course since unification.” - http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/Irrational-Exuberance_4176.html?hq_e=el

in Nuclear Energy Regulations, Policies and Incentives

Saudi Arabia's Nuclear Energy Ambitions

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) plans to build 16 nuclear reactors over the next 20 years spending an estimated $7 billion on each plant. The $112 billion investment, which includes capacity to become a regional exporter of electricity, will provide one-fifth of the Kingdom's electricity for industrial and residential use and, critically, for desalinization of sea water.

This past April, the Saudi government announced the development of a nuclear city to train and house the technical workforce that will be needed to achieve these ambitions. It is clear that KSA's plans for spending its sovereign wealth fund will be mostly focused on the home front.

http://theenergycollective.com/ansorg/63481/saudi-arabia-s-nuclear-energy-ambitions

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India Maps Out a Nuclear Power Future, Amid Opposition - a detailed and objective news report from The National Geographic - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2011/07/110722-india-nuclear-jaitapur/

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Whats the status of nuclear fusion?

in Nuclear Energy

I had no idea how much nuclear energy cost until I read a news report earlier today that Areva has quoted a capital cost of Rs 18 crores per MW ($4 million). The Indian government wants this reduced to 10 crores ($2.2 million). Let's assume they accept $2.2 million, that's still a high number (solar PV capex is currently $3.5 million per MW). The operating costs will be about 2 cents per kWh is what I understand - source - http://nuclearfissionary.com/2010/03/15/operating-costs-of-a-nuclear-power-plant/ . Solar PV opex is about 1.5 cents including insurance.

(By the way, I checked out estimates for capital cost for nuclear from the good ole Wikipedia and I am told it could be as high as $7000 / MWe)...

With the cost of solar PV coming down really fast, surely very soon the capital cost of solar will be lower than the lowest estimate of the nuclear capex I have seen so far ($2.2 million per MW, and that's only a target, not a cost!). Solar PV's opex is already lower than that for nuclear. (One however has to note than nuclear power plants have a lifetime of about 40 years while solar PV for 25 years, so while amortizing capital costs over the entire project lifetime, nuclear might yet have a small lead).

One is then tempted to ask why the world would want nuclear at all? Well ok, the answers are not too difficult to see:

1. Nuclear power is baseload, solar is erratic (unless batteries get so cheap that 50 MW solar PV farms could use them, damn too far away, such a scenario)

2. Nuclear can be very large scale - 1500 MW of nuclear power plants are not unknown. The largest solar PV power plant in the world is less than 100 MW.

3. Area required: For a 1000-MW nuclear plant, site requirements are estimated as
follows: nuclear, 1-4 km2; solar or photovoltaic park, 20-50 km2; a wind field, 50-150 km2; and biomass, 4,000-6,000 km2. (source: http://local.ans.org/savriv/power.pdf ). Just to complete the picture, a thermal power plant will require about 4 Km2 per 1000 MW. So essentially, all renewables do poorly compared to nuclear on the land requirements aspect.

To me, the first possibly is the most important. Nuclear can supply clean power at baseload today; the only renewable energy source that can provide such large scale power is large hydro, and that is not without its ecological problems...

in Nuclear Energy

Japan fight to end Fukushima crisis takes giant step forward
Tepco claims new cooling system will ease pressure on build up of contaminated water

With the crisis approaching its fourth month, Japanese officials have today announced that efforts to bring the Fukushima nuclear reactors under control have taken a "giant step forward" with the installation of a new cooling system.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said the new system allows it to decontaminate and recirculate water previously used to cool the three overheating reactors at the facility.

Source : http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2081890/japan-hails-giant-step-forward-fight-fukushima-crisis

in Nuclear Energy

Intellectual Ventures Designing New Type of Nuclear Reactor - Intellectual Ventures of Bellevue, WA hired 30 nuclear engineers in Aug 2008 to design a new type of nuclear reactor that doesn't require enriched uranium for its fuel. - http://www.theenergycollective.com/TheEnergyCollective/27710

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John Gilleland a Nuclear Expert - John Gilleland is a powerhouse in the reactor physics field. Anyone who wants to work on the new reactor design will need to be able to keep up with him. - http://www.theenergycollective.com/TheEnergyCollective/27710

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Malaysia to Go Nuclear by 2023 - Malaysia will turn to nuclear energy to generate electricity by 2023 as supplies of fossil fuel eventually run out - http://www.theenergycollective.com/TheEnergyCollective/27718

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Malaysia's Tenaga to Construct Nuclear Power Plant - State utility Tenaga has said it could construct the country's first 1,000 MW nuclear power plant at a cost of US$3.1 billion after being asked by the government to look at the option - http://www.theenergycollective.com/TheEnergyCollective/27718

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France generates 80% of electricity from nuclear energy! - France, the world's leading country in nuclear power which produces 80 per cent of electricity from atomic energy - http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/France-will-launch-ncoop-with-India-Sarkozy/366937/

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Dominant energy sources for now - The chart below has data I compiled from the International Energy Agency's 2007 World Energy Outlook. It's clear that coal, oil, natural gas and hydro will all experience significant growth over the next 25 years. - http://seekingalpha.com/article/97360-the-best-alternative-energy-play

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Nuclear Waste at Yucca Mtn. Clears Another Hurdle - The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established final radiation standards for the proposed spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

The EPA has determined that the final standards (pdf) for the planned Yucca Mountain high-level waste disposal facility are “fully protective of human health” and the repository will not be allowed to open unless it meets these requirements - http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/30/nuclear-waste-at-yucca-clears-another-hurdle/

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Nuclear Power Corp of India Diversifying When Biz Should be Booming - As the doors of India's nuclear market are being opened to global suppliers, an Indian public sector company, expressly set up to produce nuclear power, is ironically shedding its brand image. The Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) in Mumbai has said in its latest annual report that "business sense has propelled" the company into diversifying into wind, hydel and solar thermal power plants. - http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-27782.html

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Nuclear power plant capacity - A typical nuclear power plant has between 600 and 1500 MW installed capacity - -

in Nuclear Energy

21 nuclear power projects planned in India - Senior sources in the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) point out that each of these reactors is likely to cost a minimum of 2 billion dollars and will collectively produce 30,000 MW of nuclear energy. "The NPCIL has to keep its price competitive. Coal-based power is available at Rs 2.50 per unit. Nuclear power will also have to compete against wind and solar energy. Nuclear fuel cannot be sold at a rate higher than other energy sources available in India," said Raman. - http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2583135813

in Nuclear Energy

Some Nuclear Energy Backers Say Uranium Alternative Could be a Magic Bullet - An overlooked nuclear fuel, thorium, is being re-examined as a solution to some of the industry's most daunting problems, including disposal of waste. Widely available in the sandy beaches of India, Australia, and the US, among other places, thorium is a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive element that is heralded as a safer alternative to uranium that could help limit the production of nuclear waste and prevent nuclear technology from being used for weapons instead of energy - http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2008/10/14/some-nuclear-energy-backers-say-uranium-alternative-c

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Obama doesn't like nuclear? - He thinks we are better off with 'clean coal' technology and a mix of renewables.... -

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