Nuclear renaissance a myth
‘The recent past provides a glimpse of the dangerous nature of confrontations governments are getting into vis-à-vis their citizenry, thanks to their obsessive pursuit of predatory development projects. Take Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, where the disaster called Enron was located. The government is preparing to impose another Enron on Ratnagiri—this time, a nuclear one, with potentially far worse consequences. This is a “nuclear park”, comprising six 1,600 mw reactors to be made by France-based Areva.’
Bulgaria bags additional decommissioning funds
‘The European Parliament (EP) has approved a European Commission (EC) proposal to extend its financial aid for the decommissioning of four shut-down reactors at Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant until 2013. Meanwhile, neighbouring Serbia is said to be considering taking a stake in the proposed new plant at Belene.’
DOE Backs 2nd Nuclear Project with Loan Guarantee
‘Looks like the Department of Energy is making good on its plan to dole out $54.5 billion in loan guarantees to build nuclear power in the U.S. On Thursday afternoon the DOE said it has offered a $2 billion loan guarantee to French nuclear giant AREVA to help it build its uranium enrichment facility in Idaho that will provide uranium services to the nuclear power industry. Loan guarantees serve essentially as promises by the government to back a loan if the company can’t make good on it.’
Obama backs nuclear energy loan guarantees
‘WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is poised to ask Congress to agree to $9 billion more in loan guarantees for the nuclear energy industry, a Democratic aide said Thursday, in a renewed push for nuclear power as the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico highlights the risks of fossil fuel production. At the insistence of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, the request for more spending on nuclear energy would be coupled with $9 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy such as wind and solar, according to the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.’
VY critics: Report just ‘varnish’
‘BRATTLEBORO -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Ground Water Monitoring Inspection Report is nothing but "varnish," said a critic of Entergy’s management of its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon. "NRC takes a lot of words to say that neither they nor Entergy has a clue how vulnerable any aquifer that may lie below or next to the VY site may be to pollution from reactor water leaks," said Ray Shadis, technical consultant for the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution. "The report amounts to paraphrasing and repeating what Entergy told them."’
Russia invests N$8bn in uranium sector
‘MOSCOW – Russia is ready to invest about US$1 billion, nearly N$8 billion, to develop uranium deposits in Namibia, Sergei Kiriyenko, Chief Executive Officer of Rosatom, said yesterday following talks between President Hifikepunye Pohamba and his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.’