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Joint Regulatory Position Statement on the EPR Pressurised Water Reactor
The UK nuclear safety regulator (HSE's ND), the French nuclear regulator (ASN), and the Finnish nuclear regulator (STUK) are currently working to assess the EPR Pressurised Water Reactor.
In carrying out individual assessments, we have all raised issues regarding the EPR Control and Instrumentation (C&I) systems, which the proposed licensees and/or the manufacturer (AREVA) are in the process of addressing.
Although the EPR design being developed for each country varies slightly, the issues we raised with the current C&I system are broadly similar, our aim being to collectively obtain the highest levels of safety from the EPR.
The issue is primarily around ensuring the adequacy of the safety systems (those used to maintain control of the plant if it goes outside normal conditions), and their independence from the control systems (those used to operate the plant under normal conditions).
Saudi may go it alone on nuclear energy, Saudi Arabia Nuclear Energy, Energy - Maktoob Business
Saudi Arabia is conducting studies into the use of nuclear energy in meeting soaring power demands, the country’s water and electricity minister said on Saturday.
Abdullah al-Hussayen said the kingdom is looking at the use of nuclear power on its own as well as in conjunction with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.
"We are looking into the feasibility of nuclear energy (on our own) … and also with the GCC," Hussayen told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai.
Short-lived nuclear waste watchdog, Citizens For A Clean Idaho, folds | Local News | Idaho Statesman
A group created to protest American Ecology's plan to bring extremely low-level nuclear waste to its Owyhee County burial facility has closed up shop after the company filed a defamation lawsuit.
Rexburg-based Citizens for a Clean Idaho has taken its Web site down and failed to respond to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff report that discounted its claims about Westinghouse Electric's request for a federal exemption to ship 50,000 tons of soil and debris contaminated with extremely low levels of radioactive material to American Ecology's state-regulated facility.
The Idaho company filed a lawsuit in 4th District Court last week claiming the group and its founder Stephen Loosli - with the support of American Ecology's Utah competitor EnergySolutions - made false and misleading statements about American Ecology.
Loosli said the lawsuit was filed to quiet a critic and that the assertions that Citizens for a Clean Idaho is a front group for EnergySolutions are unfounded.
FT Energy Source | A bad week for French nuclear
As if it wasn’t enough that three countries - including France - had raised concerns about safety in the new EPR nuclear reactor design, concerns are building over delays to another big European reactor.
France remains a leader in world nuclear power, with almost 80 per cent of its electricity supply sourced from its reactors. The reactor under development by Electricite de France in Flamanville, northern France, and the Finnish Olkiluoto reactor are meant to be showcases for the new EPR reactor, largely designed by French company Areva.
Delays over Olkiluoto have been well-publicised this year, and it’s also been the subject of a public spat between Areva (which is building the plant) and Finnish utility TVO, which will operate it.
Now the French project in Flamanville is coming under fire for delays, too. It is due to be commissioned in 2012, but sources close to the project told the FT the project is already six months behind, and that EDF is wrestling with Bouyges, the engineering company contracted to build the reactor, over budgets and round-the-clock shifts to advance the project.
What’s the Allure of Nuclear?
Since 2007, there have been applications to license 26 new nuclear reactors in the US. Nine have been canceled or suspended indefinitely in the last 10 months, and 10 have been delayed 1-5 years.
Why? Because, as almost always happens with nuclear plants, they end up being much more expensive than original plans project. In these cases, costs over-runs were triple that of estimates, while the price for natural gas declined, making them even less attractive.
And, importantly, energy efficiency programs combined with reduced energy demand because of the recession dramatically reduced the need for new power supplies.
Nuclear looks good to lots of people - and Republicans are demanding strong incentives for it in the Senate Climate Bill - but the history of nuclear is frought with significant cost over-runs, multiple delays and cancellations. It's a fact that energy efficiency combined with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are much faster to ramp up and much cheaper.
NRC chairman says Vogtle design needs safety changes | ajc.com
Thirty years after the nation's worst nuclear power plant accident, the partial meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island, nuclear is back in the news.
Polls show increased public support, and advocates tout its relatively clean, homegrown power potential. Georgia is at the forefront of the industry's hopes, with Southern Co.'s Plant Vogtle near Augusta scheduled to put the first of two planned new reactors into service in 2016.
Entergy CEO: Possibility of New Entergy Nuclear Builds in Southeast Is Faint :: POWER Magazine
Entergy Corp. reportedly won’t pursue new nuclear builds in the U.S. Southeast because of lower demand seen after Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, the recession, and abundant but unused independent power generation in the region, the company’s CEO J. Wayne Leonard told reporters at this week’s Edison Electric Institute financial conference.
"[Nuclear new builds are] not off the table, but the economics are really not supportive and not likely to be supportive in the near future," Reuters reported Leonard as saying on Tuesday. “There's no need to embark on the riskiest piece of the business.”
At the end of last year, Entergy Nuclear asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to suspend reviews for potential projects at its nuclear sites at Grand Gulf, near Port Gibson, Miss., and River Bend, near St. Francisville, La.—even though Louisiana and Mississippi have passed legislation offering cost-recovery incentives to build the new reactors.
The company, the second-largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., had then said it had made the decision after “unsuccessful attempts to come to mutually acceptable business terms” with GE-Hitachi for its Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor.
NRC checks unplanned shutdown at Indian Point 2 | LoHud.com | The Journal News
Federal investigators are examining what caused an electrical fault that shut down a nuclear power reactor at Indian Point 2 Monday night.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said the plant went to "hot shutdown" at 10:42 p.m. Monday, which means the reactor coolant system remains heated and pressurized, allowing the plant to be returned to service quickly.
"There's no danger posed to the public or the workers due to the shutdown," Sheehan said Tuesday. "The operators followed the appropriate procedures and shut it down, but there's still work to be done as far as what caused the shutdown and the complications that occurred."
NRC investigators visited the site late Monday night.
Independent citizens panel needed for nuclear dilemma
Last week's revelation that the proposed STP nuclear expansion may cost $4 billion (31 percent) more than expected, is a blessing and an opportunity for San Antonio.
Courageous leadership is now needed, especially in light of the apparent attempt by CPS Energy management to hide this information before a council vote.
If this news had not been discovered, ratepayers would have been saddled with $400 million more for nuclear paperwork, setting a path for billions more in uncontrolled spending.
Warning about CPS debt, bond-rater Moody's dropped CPS' outlook from “stable” to “negative,” and noted council must be readily willing to raise electric rates.
How high will rates go? The cost overruns imply nuclear costs of 13-15 cents/kWh — much higher than projected.
What to do now? A completely fresh start is needed.
Areva shares fall over nuclear safety concerns | Markets | Markets News | Reuters
* New reactor design criticised by French politicians
* Follows calls for modification by nuclear safety bodies
* Shares close almost 4 percent down
PARIS, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A new generation of French nuclear power reactors came under attack on Tuesday as opposition parties called for an inquiry into their security systems, after three nuclear safety bodies asked for changes to their design.
In a rare joint statement, nuclear safety bodies in France, Britain and Finland on Monday ordered France's Areva (CEPFi.PA) and EDF (EDF.PA) to modify the safety features on its European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) due to insufficient independence between the day-to-day systems and the emergency systems.
Opponents to nuclear power latched on to the news, with France's opposition socialist party calling for a parliamentary inquiry.
At nuclear plant site, another village says no | Top News
The second round of the land acquisition process for the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant has also met with dissent.
On October 31, residents of Karel village in Ratnagiri district, about 450 km from Mumbai, refused to accept acquisition notices for about 70 hectares to set up colonies for the staff employed at the plant site.
The notification summoned around 165 villagers to collect their compensation cheques on November 10.
“I did receive information that some villagers did not accept the acquisition notices. However, we are yet to decide the next course of action,” said Makarand Deshmukh, special land acquisition officer.
Of the five villages — Madban, Mithgawane, Karel, Niweli and Ansure — from which land has to be acquired, Karel is the second village where the notice has been sent.
Vermont Yankee misses deadline | burlingtonfreepress.com | The Burlington Free Press
A Nov. 1 deadline set by legislative leaders came and went, and still no deal between Vermont Yankee and the state’s largest utilities on a post-2012 power contract.
House Speaker Shap Smith said that means it will be “very difficult” for the Legislature to vote next year on whether Vermont Yankee should be allowed to continue operating after its license expires in 2012. The Vernon nuclear power plant needs the Legislature’s approval before the state Public Service Board can decide on a new 20-year operating agreement.
France's Areva agrees to modify reactor design | Reuters
France's Areva (CEPFi.PA) said on Monday it would modify the design of its European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) before the end of the year, following a request by the French, UK and Finnish nuclear safety bodies.
The bodies asked in a joint statement that the control and safety systems within the reactor be independent from each other to avoid both systems failing at the same time.
"The safety of the EPR is not called into question," a spokeswoman at the world's largest nuclear reactor maker told Reuters.
Nuclear Engineering International: Maryland PSC slams "orchestrated parade" promising Calvert Cliffs 3
The Maryland Public Service Commission has approved EDF's 50% purchase of Constellation Energy that could lead to the construction of an EPR at Calvert Cliffs, provided the two utilities meet several conditions.
First, they must hand residential ratepayers a $110 million rebate before March 2010. Second, the utilities must invest $250 million cash in Baltimore Gas & Electricity, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Constellation Energy, before July 2010. There were several other additional financial stipulations.
In September, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the investment structure and license transfer related to EDF's investment in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group. The New York State Public Service Commission approved the deal in April.
EDF Authorized to Invest in Nuclear in the U.S. | Reuters
EDF welcomes the decision of the Board of Directors of its American partner Constellation Energy to approve moving forward based on the conditions set forth in the order issued by the Maryland Public Service Commission with respect to the creation of a nuclear joint venture between EDF and Constellation Energy. The Maryland PSC has attached conditions designed to preserve the independence and financial strength of Constellation Energy`s regulated subsidiary. Approval from the Maryland PSC completes the regulatory review process, and the companies now have received all necessary approvals at the federal and state levels to proceed with the transaction. EDF and Constellation Energy will complete the transaction without modification to the previously agreed terms of the transaction. EDF will commence the process to enable the close of the transaction, for which it has already received the authorization of its own Board of Directors. The consummation of the transaction is the result of a partnership between EDF and Constellation Energy that began over two years ago.
Approval helps clear way for reactors' construction | Lynchburg News Advance
A Maryland agency has given a key approval to a deal between two companies that hope to build an Areva-designed nuclear reactor.
The approval lets Electricite de France buy about half of Constellation Energy Group’s nuclear business, seen as an important step in the two companies’ plans to build new nuclear reactors.
The two companies partnered two years ago to form UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture. UniStar has been working to promote the construction of Evolutionary Power Reactors in the U.S.
Associated Press: Green groups appeal Ga. nuclear plant expansion
Environmental groups are asking the federal courts to block to plans to build two nuclear reactors at an east Georgia power plant.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said Thursday it is asking a federal judge to review an early-site permit granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow some construction at Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle facility.
The groups hinge a part of the appeal on contentious legislation that passed this year allowing the utility to charge ratepayers ahead of time for the costs of building the two new reactors.
The east Georgia project is scheduled to be completed in 2017. It could be the first new nuclear project to break ground in the country in three decades.
Georgia Power is a subsidiary of Southern Co.
Nuclear regulator broke rules, says inspector general - washingtonpost.com
Ex-official said to have sought jobs from firms while on panel
A former member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated government ethics rules by directly contacting potential employers with business before the NRC before the end of his term in mid-2007, according to a report by the commission's inspector general.
Jeffrey S. Merrifield twice cast votes on matters involving companies he had contacted about job prospects, the report says. The firms -- the Shaw Group, Toshiba's Westinghouse Electric and General Electric -- "could potentially have benefited financially from his votes . . . during the specific timeframes in which Merrifield was negotiating with the three companies," the report concludes.
Nuclear firms pay £70m for Sellafield site - Business News, Business - The Independent
A multinational consortium of energy companies is paying £70m for land adjacent to Sellafield suitable for building a new atomic power station.
Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE), Spain's Iberdrola and France's GDF Suez have acquired the 470-acre site, which is the fourth piece of land to be sold by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The consortium plans to build an installation with a capacity of up to 3.6 gigawatts, starting in 2015.
The SSE/Iberdrola/GDF group is the third new entrant to the UK nuclear industry after France's EDF bought British Energy for £12.5bn in January, and a consortium of Germany's RWE Npower and E.ON was successful in earlier NDA land auctions in April.
SSE/Iberdrola/GDF was also a bidder in previous auctions for land at Wylfa, Oldbury and Bradwell. But the group pulled out after competition became so fierce it ran for six weeks rather than the expected one, and netted the Government a whopping £387m rather than the expected £100m.
Trio buy Sellafield site to build giant nuclear plant - Telegraph
A consortium of utility companies is planning to build a giant nuclear power station at Sellafield, the former home of the world’s oldest reactor, as part of Britain’s next generation of cleaner energy sources.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said yesterday that it had sold the right to develop the land for a 3.6 gigawatt station to Scottish and Southern, Iberdrola and GDF Suez for £70m.
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