No New Nukes at North Anna
Nuclear projects face financial obstacles
By Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 2, 2010; A01
Hopes for a nuclear revival, fanned by fears of global warming and a
changing political climate in Washington, are running into new
obstacles over a key element — money.
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February 22, 2010
Dear Friends,
President Obama wants to triple the loan program for construction of new nuclear reactors, to $54 billion.
As we pointed out last week, these are not loan “guarantees”–they are direct taxpayer loans to wealthy nuclear utilities from the government’s Federal Financing Bank. And this is just a proposal–it’s not a done deal.
We won’t let him get away with it.
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By Julio Godoy
BERLIN, Feb 12, 2010 (IPS) – The enormous technical and financial
risks involved in the construction and operation of new nuclear power
plants make them prohibitive for private investors, rebutting the
thesis of a renaissance in nuclear energy, say several independent
European studies.
The risks include high construction costs, likely long delays in
building, extended periods of depreciation of equipment inherent to
the construction and operation of new power plants and the lack of
guarantees for prices of electricity.
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The revival of the nuclear energy industry carries the risk of a Wall
Street-level financial meltdown, and then some.
SAM MCPHEETERS | February 19, 2010 | web only
The cooling tower of Trojan Nuclear Plant, near Rainier, Oregon, which
has been out of operation since 1993. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
It’s a little misleading to call America’s renewed interest in nuclear
power a full-blown renaissance. For one thing, the renaissance hasn’t
happened yet. Even with the perfect storm of global warming, dwindling
fossil fuels, and the second Bush presidency, the current zeal for new nuclear power has fed on speculation for the last decade. It will have to do so for a long time to come. Tuesday’s news that President Barack Obama agreed to provide $8 billion in federal backing for two reactors in the state of Georgia — the first nuclear plants cleared for construction in nearly 30 years — ignored the massive financial, political, and technical hurdles between announcement and production.
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February 10, 2010
Like a decayed flotilla of rickety steamers, at least 27 of America’s
104 aging atomic reactors are known to be leaking radioactive tritium, which is linked to cancer if inhaled or ingested through the throat or skin.
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First published: Friday, February 5, 2010
A report that radioactive tritium may be leaking from at least 27 of the nation’s nuclear power plants would be worrisome in itself. But news that a leading nuclear energy company misled regulators about the matter should raise a red flag for Congress and the Obama administration as they consider building more reactors.
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WASHINGTON — The Obama administration soon may guarantee as much as $18.5 billion in loans to build new nuclear reactors to generate electricity, and Congress is considering whether to add billions more to support an expansion of nuclear power.
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About a year and a half ago the RTD published an editorial critical of my decision to appeal the jail sentence I received for protesting Dominion Resources plan to build a third reactor at North Anna (Opinion Sept 28, 2008, “Power Play”). You said,
(T)he essence of civil disobedience consists in accepting an unjust
punishment in order to highlight the inequity of a circumstance.
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On January 12, 2010, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (SLOMFP) filed comments on a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposal to “simplify and streamline” utility applications for nuclear power plant license extensions. The NRC’s intent is to cut costs and time in the review process.
The NRC, in its Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants proposes to lump together numerous issues as “generic”, meaning the standard would be the same for all nuclear plants. Some other issues would have to be examined at each specific site.
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Search for leak continues at Yankee
By BOB AUDETTE, Brattleboro Reformer, Jnauary 13, 2010
BRATTLEBORO — A former nuclear industry insider turned nuclear safety advocate said the inspection team looking for the source of a tritiated water leak might consider the condensate storage tank, which contains 500,000 gallons of water that is used for normal auxiliary feedwater pump supply.
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