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JPP Nuclear Energy Media
Watch – Mar/Apr, 2006
Russia: Rosenergoatom has received a licence to construct a third-generation
reactor at its Novovoronezh nuclear power plant, according to the Federal Atomic
Energy Agency (Rosatom). The unit would be built as the first reactor of the Novovoronezh-II
plant. The licence - from the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and
Nuclear Supervision - is valid for 10 years. The design for the 1000 MWe unit has
been reviewed by Electricite de France (EdF), as well as by specialists from Germany,
Switzerland, and Canada. Construction of the first unit at Novovoronezh-II is scheduled
to begin in 2007. (Platts Nuclear News Flashes)
China: Plans have been announced for two more nuclear power plants.
Netherlands: 49% of population supports an expansion of nuclear power, while
37% oppose it, according to an Internet poll conducted by the Maurice de Hond organization.
The poll also found that 97% of respondents supported more government investment
in alternative energy sources. On 12 February, Secretary of State for the Environment
Pieter van Geel said that the country could not exclude the construction of a second
nuclear power plant. (NucNet World Nuclear Review)
Romania: The Cernavoda-1 nuclear power reactor generated a record 5.55 TWh
of electricity in 2005, accounting for 9.3% of the country's total electricity production.
(NucNet News)
Lithuania: The three Baltic States have signed an agreement to construct
a new nuclear power plant in Lithuania by 2015. The prime ministers of Latvia, Lithuania
and Estonia want their respective state-owned energy companies to take an equal
share in the project. (BBC News Online)
European energy policy proposal takes shape. Against the background of sharply
increased energy prices and major interruptions in gas supplies from the east, a
discussion paper on achieving Secure, Competitive and Sustainable Energy for Europe
has been released in Brussels, with efficiency and diversity as sub themes.
While individual states will continue to make their own choices, the scope for cooperation
is great. Attention is given to an EU energy grid, maintaining reliable supply
of oil and gas, conservation and renewables, strategy to maintain European leadership
in energy technology, and a common external policy for energy. In the next
20 years the EU's dependency on imported energy will rise to about 70%, and energy
infrastructure will require investment of some EUR 1000 billion.
A major objective of the plan is to achieve 50% of EU energy from secure, low-carbon
energy sources within 20 years. However, it was left to industry group Foratom
to point out that this meant a major role for nuclear power in the overall mix.
The green paper does acknowledge that nuclear energy currently represents "the
EU's main source of largely carbon-free energy", as well as being increasingly
competitive and enabling security of energy supply.(NucNet news #51/06)
Energy ministers representing the G8 nations acknowledged that the world would witness
a 'significant increase' in energy consumption in the 21st century and that diverse
energy sources, including nuclear energy, will be crucial. The energy ministers
met in Moscow ahead of the upcoming G8 Summit in July. In a joint statement, the
energy ministers acknowledge that fossil fuels will 'remain the basis of the world
energy industry' throughout the first half of the 21st century, despite alternative
energy sources. The statement recognizes the need for diversity among energy sources
to 'reduce energy security risks' worldwide. It also stresses that 'for those countries
that wish, wide-scale development of safe and secure nuclear energy is crucial for
long-term environmentally sustainable diversification of energy supply'. (Financial
Times, 15/3/06)
Japan: Hokuriku Electric Power Co's Shika-2 nuclear power reactor began commercial
operation on 15 March, as planned.
(Nuclear Market Review, 17/3/06)
Mexico plans new power reactors. The Federal Electricity Commission plans
to construct a new US$4 billion nuclear power plant by 2020 at the latest to help
meet Mexico's rising electricity demand, now growing 4% annually. The Commission
is also spending US$150 million on uprating both 675 MWe reactors at its Laguna
Verde plant, currently generating about 5% of the country's electricity. (TradeTech
NMR 17/3/06)
European Parliament votes on energy. When the European Parliament voted on
economic strategy on 15 March several anti-nuclear amendments were thrown out and
a very positive nuclear energy statement adopted. It Recalls that the EU possesses
globally acknowledged expertise in the area of nuclear energy, which is one possible
response to energy dependence and climate change" and "Recognises the
role that nuclear energy currently plays in maintaining security of electricity
supply, constituting a significant part of the energy mix and avoiding an estimated
312 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year."
A week later a resolution on security of energy supply in the EU was passed
It "recognises the role that nuclear energy currently plays in some member
states maintaining the security of electricity supply as part of energy mix and
for avoiding CO2 emissions". An amendment which was negative about nuclear
power was rejected. The preamble says that "energy security should be
considered as an essential component of the global security concept and has an increasing
impact on the overall security of the European Union".(Foratom 17, 21 &
23/3/06)
UK: Phased deep geological disposal was the option preferred by most people
who participated in public consultations on radioactive waste disposal, according
to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM). The Committee had received
views from 2800 members of the public at more than 550 open meetings. Phased deep
geological disposal means storing waste deep underground in a rock chamber for up
to several hundred years before sealing it off, meaning it is retrievable for many
decades should a more effective solution be developed. In April 2005, CoRWM narrowed
an original 15 options down to the existing shortlist of four. (NucNet World Nuclear
Review, 12/06, 24 March)
Japan: Commercial operation of Hokuriku Electric Power Co's Shiga-2 nuclear
power reactor is set to start on 15 March. The 1358 MWe ABWR will become Japan's
55th operating nuclear power reactor. The unit has been undergoing a test run since
July 2005. (Reuters, 10 March)
Germany: The former Konrad iron mine is 'very likely' to serve as a low-level
and intermediate-level waste (LLW/ILW) repository, according to Sigmar Gabriel,
Federal Minister of Environment and Nuclear Safety, following a court decision on
8 March.(Nucleonics Week, 9 March)
French waste bill in parliament. France's National Assembly is expected to
vote on the Nuclear Materials and Waste Management Program bill in April and the
Senate to follow in May. This formally declares deep geological disposal as
the reference solution for high-level and long-lived radioactive wastes, and sets
2015 as the target date for licensing a repository and 2025 for opening it.
The bill also affirms the principle of reprocessing used fuel and using recycled
plutonium in mixed oxide (MOX) fuel "in order to reduce the quantity and toxicity"
of final wastes, and it calls for construction of a prototype fourth-generation
reactor by 2020 to test transmutation of long-lived actinides. The cost of
the repository is expected to be around EUR 15 billion: 40% construction, 40% operation
for 100 years and 20% ancillary (taxes and insurance). The bill will leave
funds for waste management and decommissioning segregated but with the producers
rather than in an external fund. (NuclearFuel 27/3/06.)
Russian threat to Europe's gas. After a meeting with EU ambassadors, the
head of Russia's Gazprom has warned that if its expansion into the EU is blocked
it will redirect its gas supplies away from Europe to North America and China.
Any "attempts to limit Gazprom's activities in the European market will not
lead to good results." Gazprom is state-owned and supplies a quarter
of Europe's gas. The UK government has expressed concern about Gazprom's reported
intention to take over Centrica, UK's largest gas company. The UK is increasingly
reliant on imported gas supplies for electricity generation. (Times 20/4/06)
UK: Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a strong indication that the government
will approve the construction of new nuclear power reactors when an energy review
is completed in June. When asked whether the UK should rely on nuclear power or
renewables to fill the country’s future energy gap, he replied, ‘I have a feeling
it is possible we may need both’. He added, ‘We are investing a lot in renewable
energy, it is very, very important, but we are going to lose 20% of our power from
nuclear, which is what we get at the moment. Looking forward, for reasons of energy
security as much as for reasons of climate change, I think there is going to be
a huge need to develop all of this’. However, the House of Commons Environmental
Audit Committee has recommended that the UK should meet its electricity needs by
relying on gas-fired plants and renewable energy sources in the next decade rather
than nuclear power. The 16-member cross-party group said that nuclear power plants
would take too long to construct, would need subsidies and might cut carbon emissions
less than expected. (Guardian, 17/4)
Site for first Turkish nuclear plant. The province of the port city of Sinop
on the Black Sea has been chosen to host Turkey's first commercial nuclear power
plant. A 100 MWe demonstration plant is to be built first, then 5000 MWe of
further plants to come into service from 2012. Some kind of public-private
partnership is envisaged for construction and operation. (TradeTech NMR 14/4/06)
Students return to nuclear courses. In the USA there is a strong resurgence
of interest in nuclear engineering courses. Most such departments have seen
a doubling or tripling of undergraduate enrolments in the last five years, and a
recent Department of Energy survey showed 1759 nuclear engineering students compared
with only 450 in 1999. in the last year, graduate students have increased
from about 600 to 1008.
(ASEE Prism, Jan 2006)
We would like to thank the World Nuclear Association for providing
most of this news.
(Cut off date for this edition of ‘Media Watch’ is 30/4/2006)
Jim Willson
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