Theenergynet's Favorite Links on development from Diigo

Commanding heights (2) | Nuclear diplomacy | Economist.com

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:26:29 -0000

British Energy proves a slow sell

EVEN today, 13 years after it was built, Britain's newest nuclear-power station looks futuristic, with its landmark white containment dome and the blue haze of Cerenkov radiation in the cooling pond. In contrast to the huge furnaces needed to burn coal, a reactor core at Sizewell B roughly the size of a smallish lorry produces 3% of Britain's electricity. But its construction was so controversial—sparking one of the longest planning inquiries ever—that, after it was finished, nuclear power was abandoned for a generation.

Tags: nuclear energy development uk nuke.news

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The nuclear factor - Greenlife - News - Manchester Evening News

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:07:06 -0000

THEY are the slumbering beasts which this government is bringing back from the brink of extinction.

Some regard nuclear reactors as a dangerous relic from the last century, others view them as the only viable option for large-scale, carbon-free electricity generation.

Tags: nuclear energy development uk nuke.news

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The future of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Fri, 16 May 2008 07:59:20 -0000

The United States is seriously discussing expanding the role of nuclear energy to both reduce its carbon emissions and foreign fuel dependence. In a recent online feature, David Lochbaum criticized the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its past regulatory lapses and wrote that it would be challenged to handle the increased responsibilities. What sort of changes in federal oversight would be required to ensure both the public's safety and to allow U.S. nuclear power to grow? Below, our four experts explore the current framework, its strengths and weaknesses, and what reform at the NRC might look like.

Tags: nuclear energy nrc reactor development

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World Politics Review | U.S.-Russia Accord Could Facilitate Nonproliferation, Civil Nuclear Cooperation

Tue, 13 May 2008 09:06:20 -0000

On May 6, during Russian President Vladmir Putin's last day in office, the American and Russian governments finally signed their long-sought civil nuclear energy agreement. The accord facilitates the transfer of technologies, materials, equipment and other components used to conduct nuclear research and produce nuclear power.

Tags: nuclear energy development policy treaty

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SaskPower nuclear reactor report stirs up northern debate

Tue, 13 May 2008 07:40:35 -0000

People in northern Saskatchewan are of two minds about a possible nuclear power station in their region.

A consultant's report prepared for SaskPower and obtained by CBC earlier this week named Lac La Loche as one of two regions where a nuclear reactor might be located.

Tags: nuclear energy debate canada development

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Costs may slow nuclear upswing in U.S. | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:54:39 -0000

CHICAGO — As crude oil prices leapt last week to over $120 a barrel, and one analyst suggested the price might soon reach $200, America would seem poised for a nuclear power resurgence.

But enthusiasm for a nuclear future was muted at an industry conference last week in Chicago, as executives acknowledged that financial, regulatory and waste-storage hurdles have raised uncertainties about costs. Other factors increasing the expense of construction include high demand for nuclear plants among emerging countries, limited supplies of reactor parts and increased prices for iron, steel and concrete.

Tags: nuclear energy development us economics

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WAVY TV 10 - Hampton Roads, Virginia - Duke Energy plans to use river water for new nuclear plant

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:06:20 -0000

GAFFNEY, S.C. (AP) - Water might be the biggest obstacle to Duke Energy's plan to build a new nuclear power plant in South Carolina.\n\nThe facility near Gaffney would be Duke's first nuclear power plant in 20 years and its first not built on a large reservoir.

Tags: nuclear energy reactor development sc

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Mangalorean.Com- Brazil promotes ambitious nuclear programme

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:00:11 -0000

Rio de Janeiro, May 8 (IANS) Brazil plans to move ahead over the next few years with an ambitious nuclear programme that includes power plants and a nuclear submarine, EFE news agency reported Thursday quoting a minister.\n\nSpeaking to foreign reporters Wednesday, science and technology minister Sergio Rezende said that the government had been discussing the entire programme and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva "is close to signing an executive order to create a committee to look after the programme."

Tags: nuclear energy development sam brazil

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EDF faces challenge over nuclear technology - Times Online

Fri, 09 May 2008 09:07:21 -0000

EDF, the French utility, could face a legal challenge over the technology it has decided to use in building Britain’s latest generation of power stations.

EDF announced last May that it planned to employ Areva, the French nuclear energy group, but its decision, which was made without giving rival reactor manufacturers an opportunity to bid for the contract, could be illegal under European law, according to Ros Kellaway, partner and head of EU competition law in Eversheds

Tags: nuclear energy legal edf uk

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Nuclear plant proposed for drinking-water lake

Fri, 09 May 2008 09:05:58 -0000

SASKATOON -- A lake that helps provide drinking water to about 40 per cent of Saskatchewan residents is the provincial power utility's preferred site for a nuclear power plant, a national media outlet reported Wednesday.

CBC News said a report by Stantec Consulting Ltd., prepared in February 2007, says a power plant at Elbow, near Lake Diefenbaker in southern Saskatchewan, would be preferable to other sites.

Tags: bc canada nuclear energy development

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House Kicks Off Debate Over Future Of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex

Fri, 09 May 2008 09:03:40 -0000

WASHINGTON (May 7, 2008) — A House Armed Services Committee subcommittee today will kick off the debate over the future of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, the infrastructure used to design, build and maintain the thousands of nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal. The subcommittee will review a Department of Energy (DOE) revitalization plan that would dramatically increase the complex's ability to produce new nuclear weapons.

Tags: bombplex2030 nuclear n-weapons development doe

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URS opens nuclear power plant design and construction HQ - East Bay Business Times:

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:56:41 -0000

URS has designed or built 49 nuclear power plants around the world. It expects most upcoming work of this type in the United States to be in the southeastern states.

Tags: nuclear corporate us reactor design

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Alberta faces fight for reactor

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:52:31 -0000

Alberta and Saskatchewan are competing to house Western Canada's first commercial nuclear power plant, Saskatchewan's Natural Resources Minister Bill Boyd confirmed Tuesday.

The energy point man for the recently elected and decidedly pro-business Saskatchewan Party said his government has held "early" talks with Bruce Power LP, the private nuclear operator from western Ontario, which laid out plans in March for a $10-billion-plus nuclear complex near Peace River, in Alberta's northwest Peace Country, operating by 2017.

Tags: nuclear energy development alberta canada

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www.kansascity.com | 05/07/2008 | Nuclear power bill passes Kansas Legislature

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:48:12 -0000

TOPEKA | Legislation allowing utilities to recover the cost of planning for a nuclear generating facility from ratepayers has been sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

The House approved it 101-22 and the Senate endorsed it a few minutes later 29-3.

Supporters say the bill is needed if utilities are going to seriously consider nuclear power. Opponents said it will mean higher bills for utility customers.

Tags: nuclear energy legislation development ks

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allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Electricity - Postpone Nuclear Power Project Until 2020 (Page 1 of 1)

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:46:49 -0000

Professor Georg Erdmann, an Energy Economist from Germany, has advised the Nigerian government to play down the issue of nuclear power until 2020.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja, Erdmann said with the country's current installed capacity of only 6,000 megawatts of electricity, nuclear power was not feasible.

Tags: nuclear energy development nigeria africa

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A Nuclear Energy Renaissance Wouldn't Solve Our Problems, But It Would Rip Us Off | Environment | AlterNet

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:37:57 -0000

If you listen to the rhetoric, nuclear power is back. Smashing atoms will replace burning carbon-based coal, gas and oil. In the face of a disaster movie-like future of runaway climate change -- bringing drought, floods, famine and social breakdown -- carbon-free nukes are cast as the deus ex machina to save us at the last minute.

Tags: nuclear energy development economics us

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Electric bills will rise to pay for new nuclear plants - 05/05/2008 - MiamiHerald.com

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:24:46 -0000

Your electric bill is likely to go up $2 a month or more next year to start paying for the new nuclear power plants that Florida Power & Light hopes to put in service in 10 or 12 years.

Tags: nuclear energy economics reactor development

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Nuclear reactors will cost twice estimate, says E.ON chief - Times Online

Tue, 06 May 2008 08:46:16 -0000

The Government has vastly underestimated the cost of building a new generation of nuclear power plants, according to the head of the world's largest power company.

Wulf Bernotat, chairman and chief executive of E.ON, the German energy giant that owns Powergen, has told The Times that the cost per plant could be as high as €6 billion (£4.8 billion) - nearly double the Government's latest £2.8 billion estimate.

His figures indicate that the cost of replacing Britain's ten nuclear power stations could reach £48 billion, excluding the cost of decommissioning ageing reactors or dealing with nuclear waste. “We are talking easily about €5 billion to €6 billion [each],” Dr Bernotat said.

Tags: nuclear energy development economics uk

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Green Left - Nuclear power and climate change

Tue, 06 May 2008 08:43:39 -0000

Nuclear analyst Mycle Schneider noted in “Climate Change and Nuclear Power”, published in April 2000 by the World Wide Fund for Nature, that countries and regions with a high reliance on nuclear power also tend to have high greenhouse gas emissions. Following is an extract from his findings.

Tags: nuclear energy development australia climatechange

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TheStar.com | Business | Nuclear revival bumps against atrophy

Tue, 06 May 2008 08:17:31 -0000

Possible shortage of super-forged parts threatens to delay renaissance

Tags: nuclear energy development canada japan

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