environmental news & information about the UK electricity supply industry
Two ministerial conferences, over 50 review missions and several new partnerships to advance the use of nuclear techniques for sustainable development were among the highlights of 2017 at the IAEA. This article summarizes some of the key achievements of the year.
Friday 29 December 2017 read more »
Secret papers reveal while Chernobyl nuclear fallout was landing on North Wales, government response was ‘shambolic’.
Daily Post 29th Dec 2017 read more »
A sea of brightly colored banners and advertisements decorated Fukushima train station in early November to celebrate coming road races and Fukushima United, the local soccer club. There are new professional baseball and basketball franchises in the region, too. They carry inspirational names like the Hopes and the Firebonds, the latter signifying the spirit of a team connecting to the community, said 21-year-old point guard Wataru Igari. For an area with a growing interest in sports, the biggest boon came in March when the International Olympic Committee approved Fukushima to host baseball and softball games during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Yet Fukushima remains defined by tragedy.
New York Times 29th Dec 2017 read more »
[Machine Translation] In the nuclear power plant Neckarwestheim a leak has been discovered during a tour in Block II in the control area. This was announced by the Ministry of the Environment on Friday in Stuttgart. As a result of the leak on a pipeline behind a circulation pump discovered on 22 December, about 100 liters of radioactive concentrate had leaked into the control area of the reactor auxiliary building. However, this has no or only a very low safety significance, said the Ministry. The operator had shut off the pump. The affected area had been decontaminated, people were not harmed. The cause will be further investigated. The system will be out of service until the repair is complete.
Suddeutsche Zeitung 29th Dec 2017 read more »
Russia plans to start construction next year of a nuclear fuel fabrication facility for its lead-cooled fast-neutron Brest-OD-300 reactor, Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC) said on 27 December. Based in Tomsk, Siberia, SCC is a subsidiary of TVEL, the nuclear fuel manufacturing unit of state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
World Nuclear News 29th Dec 2017 read more »
Construction of China’s 600 MWe demonstration fast reactor at Xiapu, Fujian province, has officially begun with the pouring of the first concrete for the reactor’s basemat. The reactor is scheduled to begin commercial operation by 2023.
World Nuclear News 29th Dec 2017 read more »
Scana Corporation announced yesterday that its principal subsidiary, South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), had filed a formal request with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to withdraw the combined operating licences (COLs) for units 2 and 3 of the VC Summer nuclear power plant.
World Nuclear News 29th Dec 2017 read more »
Energy Business Review 29th Dec 2017 read more »
A number of “deficiencies” in the project to construct and commission units 1 and 2 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant have been identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). A performance audit was conducted to assess whether Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) exercised prudent financial management and implemented the project in an efficient manner.
World Nuclear News 29th Dec 2017 read more »
Jinan, the capital city of China’s Shandong province, opened on Thursday a kilometer-long stretch of solar expressway for testing, joining France and the Netherlands that have tapped into the nascent technology. The solar panels cover 5,875 square meters and can generate 1 million kilowatt-hours of power in a year, or enough to meet the energy demands of about 800 homes, Qilu Transportation Development Group, the project developer, claimed.
Ecowatch 29th Dec 2017 read more »
Wind power is expanding in the UK, offshore especially (now at 5.8GW), but also on land, with 11.4GW installed so far, despite the government’s block on CfD support for on-shore projects and occasional objections on the grounds of adverse local impacts. So it is good to see the 2nd updated edition of an excellent well-researched study of local impacts and issues from the Centre for Sustainable Energy, with evidence-based analysis drawing on peer-reviewed and publicly funded studies covering all the aspects in some detail. The overall message is clear- most of the objections are overblown, some are just based on myths or dubious data, although not all are. For example, it says we should treat perceptions of noise nuisance seriously, since some people are more sensitive, and ‘it is evident that residents who feel wind developments are forced upon their local setting will judge any subsequent noise accordingly’. Visual intrusion is more complex- it’s a subjective issue. While national polls have indicated overwhelming support for on-shore wind projects (typically 74%), that can fall when it comes to nearby projects. Even so, in a YouGov poll, only 24% said they would be unhappy living near an onshore wind farm, falling to 17% for a community-owned wind farm. Nevertheless, local minorities can react strongly to some projects
Environmental Research Web 23rd Dec 2017 read more »
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