Free Republic

Ever since the end of World War Two, the U.S. has come to regard Saudi Arabia as almost its exclusive oil producing enclave. In February 1945, after the Yalta Conference with Soviet General Secretary Iosif Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, on his way home U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and King Ibn Saud met aboard the New Orleans-class heavy cruiser U.S.S. Quincy in the Suez Canal’s Great Bitter Lake. During the meeting, instigated by Roosevelt, he and Ibn Saud concluded a secret agreement in which the U.S. would provide Saudi Arabia military security, including military assistance, training and...

The implosion of the USSR in December 1991 produced massive economic “collateral damage” in its East European allies, as they simultaneously sought both to assert their new-found independence and draw closer to their potential European allies on the western side of 1946’s “Iron Curtain.” Following the euphoria amity quickly devolved down to practical issues, one of which was that the European Union was leery of welcoming new members after the collapse of Communism that relied on power from Soviet-era nuclear power facilities, especially in the wake of the April 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine. Accordingly, the last two...

Most of the time when we hear John Bolton, we hear him in small sound bites on Fox News. But in this interview John Bolton talks about Iran at length, discussing what we know about Iran’s nuclear facilities, why sanctions won’t work, and what he expects Israel to do in the next couple of years. Very interesting discussion:

The Australian Government, the Labor Party, has recently decided to change Australian legislation to approve the sale of Australian mined Uranium to India for use in Nuclear power plants. That decision was based on the fact that India needs to lower its emissions of CO2. However, the more important decision, whether or not to use that same Uranium for Nuclear power plants here in Australia was not even discussed. The same reason, lowering emissions of CO2 should also apply here in Australia, if we have to lower our emissions by moving away from coal fired power generation. This analysis compares...

TOKYO — After 34 years, the United States is expected to resume construction of nuclear reactors by the end of the year, and Toshiba will export turbine equipment for the reactors to the U.S. early next month, it was learned Saturday. According to sources, construction will begin by year-end on the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors of the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Georgia and the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station in South Carolina. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to shortly approve the construction and operation of the...

Kazakhstan’s international energy image is now that of one of the world’s rising oil exporters, an extraordinary feat given that, two decades ago its hydrocarbon output was beyond insignificant when the USSR collapsed. The vast Central Asian nation, larger than Western Europe, has now quietly passed another energy milestone. Kazakhstan produces 33 percent of world’s mined uranium, followed by Canada at 18 percent and Australia, with 11 percent of global output. Kazakhstan contains the world's second-largest uranium reserves, estimated at 1.5 million tons. Until two years ago Kazakhstan was the world's No. 3 uranium miner, following Australia and Canada. Together...

The good news is that on 8 November the International Energy Agency released its 2011 “World Energy Outlook.” While it will cheer nuclear advocates, overall the report makes for grim reading. Pulling no punches, the report states at the outset, “There are few signs that the urgently needed change in direction in global energy trends is underway.” Stripped of its cautious language, the IEA report essentially noted that should present trends continue, the world’s governments through a lack of progressive initiative embracing alternative energy sources would continue to rely on ‘tried and true” fossil fuels, resulting in increased pollution, more...

Berlin, Germany—For years, environmentalists in America have looked longingly to Germany. There, across the Atlantic, lay a small, cold, gray country whose solar energy production dwarfed big, sunny America’s, a nation that last year pledged to get 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by mid-century while Americans proved unable to agree on energy legislation even a fraction as ambitious. Yet in bowing to the country’s strong anti-nuclear movement, Germany appears to have suddenly gone off track: Within the last year the country has gone from a net exporter of energy to a net importer, and the carbon intensity...

After listening to all the responses last night to the Gentleman from Nevada asking the Candidates what they would do with Yucca Mountain, they all got it wrong IMHO.If my memory is correct, Pres. Carter signed an agreement with the Soviets in regards to Nuclear Proliferation and one of the concessions he made was not to reprocess our spent fuel from Nuclear Power Plants. This would allow to recapture unspent fuel and make pellets of it again for refueling. France does, and it maybe folklore, but I have seen it claimed all their spent fuel would fit in a closet.If...

Forty-one years ago on Sesame Street, Kermit the frog sang a plaintive song, “It’s not easy being green.” In a gesture of solidarity, perhaps he should fax the lyrics to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government is suddenly discovering the costs of weaning itself off nuclear energy. In the wake of Fukushima, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on 30 May that Germany, the world's fourth-largest economy and Europe's biggest, would become the first industrialized nation to shut down all of its 17 nuclear power plants (NPPs) between 2015 and 2022, an extraordinary commitment, given that Germany’s 17 NPPS Germany produce...

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's nuclear chief on Monday proposed to allow the U.N. nuclear watchdog "full supervision" of its nuclear activities for five years provided that sanctions against Tehran are lifted, but the official did not give details of his offer. The United Nations has imposed four rounds of Security Council sanctions over Tehran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or materials for an atomic bomb. Iran's nuclear program is already subject to routine IAEA inspections. IAEA cameras monitor Iran's nuclear activities. including its contentious uranium enrichment sites. Vice President Fereidoun...

Solyndra, the first recipient of a loan from the Department of Energy, told us that it thinks it will produce solar panels at a price that's competitive with standard sources of energy in the next 2-3 years. "We see a clear path," says Kelly Truman, the VP of marketing, sales and business development, "and in 2-3 years we'll hit grid parity." We spoke with Truman yesterday who said the $535 million loan from the DOE will finance 73% of a new factory, though he declined to say how the company would pay for the remainder of the project. The current...

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered just northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much of Washington, D.C., and was felt throughout the Eastern seaboard and iron belt region of the United States. In the wake of the much more powerful Japanese earthquake of earlier this year, and its effect on the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant, this is certain to bring attention to the Virginian nuclear plant that may have been effected as well. While there are no reports yet on the integrity of the local plant, reports of the epicenter being based in Mineral, Virgina suggest that the North Anna nuclear plant...

Connecticut’s electric utilities and the state’s largest power generator cheered a federal panel’s report urging the U.S. Department of Energy to do what the state advocated for years — remove nuclear waste from Connecticut, rapidly. The federal Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future issued its draftThe dry casks storing 412 metric tons of spent uranium at the former site of Connecticut Yankee in Haddam. report on July 29, addressing the problem of storing uranium once nuclear reactors finish with it. The report is a precursor to a final report in January, and the commission is accepting comments through October....

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- A pair of gunmen firing from motorcycles killed an Iranian physicist involved in the country's disputed nuclear program on Saturday in an attack similar to other recent assassinations of scientists that Tehran blamed on the U.S. and Israel. The slaying is sure to add to tension with the West, as Iran moves ahead with an atomic program that four rounds of U.N. sanctions have failed to slow.

A federal judge said Monday he would not order that Vermont's only nuclear plant be allowed to remain open while a lawsuit to determine its long-term future plays out. The state is moving to close the Vermont Yankee plant, with both the governor and the state Senate on record as wanting it to close when its initial 40-year license expires next March. The plant's owner, New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., got a 20-year license extension for Vermont Yankee from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and filed a lawsuit arguing that the federal action pre-empts the state's effort to close the plant....

A nuclear power station in eastern Scotland had to shut down its reactors after "high volumes" of jellyfish were found on its seawater filter screens, the operating company said Thursday. "Both units at Torness power station were manually shut down on 28 June, due to the high volumes of jelly fish fouling the cooling water screens," said a statement from EDF Energy, which runs the power station near Dunbar. It explained that the shutdown was purely a precautionary measure and insisted that "at no time was there a danger to the public", nor had there been any impact on the...

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Attorneys and witnesses have wrapped up the first day of a two-day hearing before a federal judge in Vermont over whether the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant can continue to operate while a protracted legal fight plays out over its future. Entergy witnesses told lawyers that if the plant is forced to shut temporarily, it will lose about $20 million a month in revenue and may shut down permanently rather than wait for the legal fight to be resolved. Entergy lawyer Kathleen Sullivan said Vermont lawmakers tried to hide that they had nuclear safety in mind when they...

Fukushima nuclear crisis pushing up prices of liquefied natural gas The crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has created a domino effect that is fueling price rises for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and causing friction between importers and exporters. The rapid economic growth of China and India had already been pushing up LNG prices on the international market. But moves in Europe away from nuclear power in light of the Fukushima disaster are lifting the prices even higher. The short-term trading price of LNG imported by Japan has more than tripled over the past two years. The...

A good piece on what Fukushima means for the global-warming crowd Published: Wednesday, June 22, 2011, 1:32 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 22, 2011, 1:55 PM By Paul Mulshine/The Star Ledger It's here on the freakonomics blog. What I like about this crowd is that they follow the data wherever it leads them. In this forum on the aftermath of Fukushima, it leads to the conclusion by most of the experts that the abandonment of nuclear power will mean a lot more carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere. The first comment gives a good analysis: /snip These guys don't proceed to...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As record floodwaters along the Missouri River drench homes and businesses, concerns have grown about keeping a couple of notable structures dry: two riverside nuclear power plants in Nebraska. Though the plants have declared “unusual events,” the lowest level in the emergency taxonomy used by federal nuclear regulators, both were designed to withstand this level of flooding, and neither is viewed as being at risk for a disaster, said a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “We think they’ve taken all the necessary precautions and made the appropriate arrangements to deal with the flooding conditions,” said...

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. ***[Snip 12 paras]*** Commercial nuclear reactors in the United States were designed and licensed for 40 years. When the first ones were being built in the 1960s and 1970s, it was expected that they would be replaced with improved models long before those licenses expired. But that never happened. The 1979 accident at Three Mile Island,...

Officials at the Omaha Public Power District say there have been no releases of radioactive material since flooding from the Missouri River caused them to declare a low-level emergency June 6 at the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant. The emergency level, declared as "a notification of an unusual event," is the lowest possible of four standard emergency classifications set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and, as of now, there has been no risk to the public. Officials say they have sandbagged the area surrounding the plant to a level greater than what the projected water levels will reach, and...

It is becoming evident to many that the March nuclear catastrophe at Japan’s six reactor Daichi Fukushima complex has dealt a huge, possibly fatal, blow to the nuclear industry’s hopes of a revival. A year ago even global warming enthusiasts reluctantly embraced nuclear power as a carbon-free energy generating system, and the industry was ramping up for glory days as a result. The triple whammy against nuclear power beginning with the 1979 partial meltdown at Three Mile Island, followed by 1986’s Chernobyl disaster and now Fukushima, effectively present a “three strikes and you’re out” call against civilian nuclear energy power...

Jaczko has broken promises to Congress, put Americans at risk, and treated the lives of our allies with reckless disregard. On April 20, 2005, two men appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for hearings relating to their appointments as members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). One of, them, Peter Lyon, presented credentials including three patents, 160 technical publications, and three decades of experience working at Los Alamos National Lab. The other, Gregory Jaczko, had no patents, no publications, and no technical work experience whatsoever. The contrast in qualifications between Jaczko and Lyon, or...

In a dramatic about face, Angela Merkel agreed last month to phase out nuclear power in Germany by 2022 -- part of a gloabl backlash after the Fukushima disaster. Now many Germans are recognizing the downside to her decision, according to SPIEGEL. First, higher emissions. The German Energy Agency warned that by 2020 they will not be able to achieve a 40% reduction in carbon emissions relative to 1990. Instead they will manage only a 30-33% reduction. Second, higher electricity costs. Jürgen Grossmann, head of energy giant RWE, accused Merkel of creating an "eco-dictatorship" and promoting de-industrialization. On Friday, he...

The narrative of the Obama presidency has been a soap opera, with the lead character careening from one dilemma to another -- never resolving any. Each episode ends on a cliffhanger -- a promise that the next show will grant resolution on whether the economy will grow or descend into a double-dip recession or will the Middle East become a idealized democratic wonderland or the tinderbox of a new world conflict. Yet the lead in this drama is so self-assured that he feels a sense of entitlement to the trappings of the role he now portrays. President Obama has become...

BERLIN (AP) — Europe's economic powerhouse, Germany, announced plans Monday to abandon nuclear energy over the next 11 years, outlining an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power with renewable energy sources. Chancellor Angela Merkel said she hopes the transformation to more solar, wind and hydroelectric power serves as a roadmap for other countries. "We believe that we can show those countries who decide to abandon nuclear power — or not to start using it — how it is possible to achieve growth, creating jobs and economic prosperity while shifting the energy supply toward...

Chancellor Merkel is pinning her hopes on an expansion of wind power Germany's dramatic rethink over nuclear power has thrown up new problems, as the consequences of a retreat from atomic technology emerge. Just after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster in March, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a review of energy policy and ordered Germany's oldest reactors to be shut down immediately, and perhaps permanently. Only a few months earlier, she had decided to keep the reactors running past their original shutdown dates. But only now comes the hard bit. Power companies have warned of higher prices because of the shutdown; Germany...

Despite the managed media campaign by Tokyo Electric Company, the Japanese government and nuclear industry flacks worldwide, the 11 March 9.0 on the Richter scale earthquake, followed by a tsunami that off-lined TEPCO’s six reactor Daiichi Fukushima nuclear power complex represents a global mortal blow to the nuclear power industry, which had been optimistic of a renaissance following worldwide concerns about global warming. While TEPCO’s PR spin doctors along with Japanese government flacks will continue to parsimoniously dribble out information about the real situation at the stricken reactors while blandly assuring the Japanese population and the world that all is...

ANDECHS, Germany (AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that 2022 was "a good time" for Germany to end nuclear power, backing a proposal by the Bavarian wing of her party. ... Following the earthquake and tsunami which wrecked the Japanese nuclear plant of Fukushima in March, Merkel ordered the closure for three months of Germany's seven oldest reactors. She also announced a moratorium for the same period of an earlier decision by her government to extend the lifetime of Germany's 17 reactors by an average of 12 years.

New satellite images have shown the alarming speed at which Pakistan is constructing a weapons-grade nuclear reactor. The aerial images, taken on April 20, show the rapid building progress of the fourth reactor to produce plutonium in Pakistan's Khushab facility. The site was barren in 2009 and the facility 'costing billions' was undetectable by satellite just 17 months ago, but has since grown at an alarming rate. The facility in Khushab is the fastest growing nuclear program in the world, with the speed of the latest reactor's construction prompting concern from U.S. officials

Why is nobody talking about safe nuclear power? By Julian Cribb - posted Wednesday, 4 May 2011 Sign Up for free e-mail updates! In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the most extraordinary thing is the lack of public discussion and the disturbing policy silence – here and worldwide – over safe nuclear energy. Yes, it does exist. There is a type of nuclear reactor which cannot melt down or blow up, and does not produce intractable waste, or supply the nuclear weapons cycle. It's called a thorium reactor or sometimes, a molten salt reactor – and it is...

(Reuters) - Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station has begun operating at a low level in a crucial step toward bringing it online, the Russian company that built the plant said on Tuesday. The reactor near the Persian Gulf was brought to the "minimum controllable level of power" on Sunday, state-run RIA reported, citing the state company Atomstroyexport.

There is revival of interest in small and simpler units for generating electricity from nuclear power, and for process heat. This interest in small and medium nuclear power reactors is driven both by a desire to reduce capital costs and to provide power away from large grid systems. The technologies involved are very diverse. As nuclear power generation has become established since the 1950s, the size of reactor units has grown from 60 MWe to more than 1600 MWe, with corresponding economies of scale in operation. At the same time there have been many hundreds of smaller power reactors built...

A vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Company says he believes the nuclear crisis at Fukushima nuclear power plant is a man-made disaster. TEPCO vice president Norio Tsuzumi visited Iitate village in Fukushima Prefecture on Saturday and apologized to about 1,000 villagers who gathered to hear him speak. When he was asked if he thinks of the nuclear crisis a man-made disaster or a natural disaster, he said personally he thinks it is a man-made disaster. All of the 6,000 residents of Iitate were instructed to evacuate by late May based on accumulated radiation exposure levels caused by emissions from...

Wednesday’s storms took out all of TVA’s electric power transmission lines in Mississippi and North Alabama, and forced Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant unto diesel backup power and into emergency and automatic cold shutdown. Bill McCollum, the chief operating officer of Tennessee Valley Authority, said it may be weeks before power can be restored to all of the 300,000 customers whose power is supplied by the federal utility. “With the level of damage we have, it will be — we hope it will be days until we get most of the customers back on, but it will be weeks before we’ve...

The original moonbat, GeorgeMonbiot, columnist for the left wing UK Guardian, now admits that he was bamboozled by fearmongers whipping up anti-nuclear fears. Over the last fortnight I've made a deeply troubling discovery. The anti-nuclear movement to which I once belonged has misled the world about the impacts of radiation on human health. The claims we have made are ungrounded in science, unsupportable when challenged, and wildly wrong. We have done other people, and ourselves, a terrible disservice. I began to see the extent of the problem after a debate last week with Helen Caldicott. Dr Caldicott is the...

April 18, 2011 - Officials from the Surry nuclear power station in southeastern Virginia say this weekend's strong storms forced a shutdown of the facility's reactors. Download Dominion Virginia Power reports that an apparent tornado touched down on the switchyard supporting the Surry Power Station and the facility's access road Saturday. The storm cut off the electrical feed from the grid to the station, which is located in Surry County, Va. Both reactors at the station shut down automatically as designed and backup diesel generators started immediately to provide the electricity necessary to maintain both units. A spokesperson for the...

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The owners of Vermont's troubled nuclear plant sued state officials Monday to stop them from closing the plant down next year, setting up a court fight about who has jurisdiction — the state or federal nuclear regulators. Entergy Corp. has a new federal license in hand for the Vermont Yankee power plant, but state officials are vowing to shut it down next year. The company's federal lawsuit says Vermont's law giving it the power to block relicensing violates the Atomic Energy Act and the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. Vermont contends it has the power...

NEW YORK - When parts of Japan were devastated recently by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami, news of the human toll was quickly overshadowed by global fears of radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant. The concern was understandable: radiation is very frightening. I grew up in Denmark at a time when fear of nuclear power was pervasive. But our latest nuclear fears have broader implications, especially for energy supply and our desire to shift away from reliance on fossil fuels. It is difficult to step back at the time of a natural disaster to gain a broader...

When parts of Japan were devastated last month by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami, news of the human toll was quickly overshadowed by global fears of radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The concern was understandable: Radiation is very frightening. I grew up in Denmark at a time when fear of nuclear power was pervasive. But our latest nuclear fears have broader implications, especially for energy supply and our desire to shift away from reliance on fossil fuels. At the time of a natural disaster, it is difficult to step back and gain a broader perspective; even...

Waterford is Connecticut's home of nuclear power. The town relies on the two reactors at Millstone for jobs and tax revenue. "I like Millstone, get power from it, and I have no problem with 'em," said Steve Byrne of Waterford. Still, after the havoc in Japan two state legislators wanted to give townspeople a forum to ask questions about safety at Millstone with officials of the plant's operator, Dominion. "I think you have to understand that in our community, in Waterford, we've hosted the power plant of course for decades and are very used to conversations like this," said Rep....

In the aftermath of a disaster, the strengths of any society become immediately visible. The cohesiveness, resilience, technological brilliance and extraordinary competence of the Japanese are on full display. One report from Rikuzentakata — a town of 25,000, annihilated by the tsunami that followed Friday’s massive earthquake — describes volunteer firefighters working to clear rubble and search for survivors; troops and police efficiently directing traffic and supplies; survivors are not only “calm and pragmatic” but also coping “with politeness and sometimes amazingly good cheer.” Thanks to these strengths, Japan will eventually recover. But at least one Japanese nuclear power complex...

April 6, 2011 Core of Stricken Reactor Probably Leaked, U.S. Says By MATTHEW L. WALD and ANDREW POLLACK WASHINGTON — The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that some of the core of a stricken Japanese reactor had probably leaked from its steel pressure vessel into the bottom of the containment structure, implying that the damage was even worse than previously thought. The statement came as the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, started to inject nitrogen into the reactor containment vessel of unit No. 1 to prevent a possible explosion. The Nuclear Regulatory...

Pollution from coal-fired power plants is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths per year, whereas the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant is unlikely to kill a single person. People are getting nervous about nuclear power in the wake of the problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, questioning whether nuclear power is a sensible option for energy production in light of the perceived risks. It has been three weeks since the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. There have been problems at the Fukushima plant with cooling, gas explosions (not nuclear), and radiation leaks – all serious issues,...

People think that Fukushima will mean the end of nuclear power, but I'm convinced it's the opposite. We're going to lose our nuclear virginity over this accident and start seeing the world as adults. In fact it's already happening. Exhibit A is George Monbiot, the left-wing British columnist and global warming fanatic with the Guardian who explained to readers three days after the earthquake, "Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power." You will not be surprised to hear that the events in Japan have changed my view of nuclear power. You will be surprised to hear how...

The extraordinarily powerful magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Japan were truly terrible — many lives were lost and there was great destruction. President Obama’s heart went out to the people of Japan and he did his presidential best “during this enormous tragedy, please know that America will always stand by one of its greatest allies during their time of need.” We know that’s true because he wrote it and because he told us, compassionately, to assist the Japanese while filling out brackets for the NCAA basketball tournaments. . . . As White House press secretary Jay Carney stated, it...

Japanese officials have conceded that the battle to salvage four crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant has been lost. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco], said the reactors would be scrapped, and warned that the operation to contain the nuclear crisis, now well into its third week, could last months. Tepco's announcement came as new readings showed a dramatic increase in radioactive contamination in the sea near the atomic complex. Tens of thousands of people living near the plants have been evacuated or ordered to stay indoors, while the plant has leaked radioactive materials in to the...

Leadership: As Palin jousts with Biden on energy independence, the government reports that we lead the world in energy reserves. From oil to gas to coal, we are sitting on prosperity. So why are we importing anything? One of the interesting sidelights of the NY-23 race was an exchange on energy independence between Vice President Joe Biden and the former governor of energy-rich Alaska, Sarah Palin. Biden, who came in to campaign for Democrat Bill Owens, was reminded of the issue of energy. "The fact of the matter is that Sarah Palin thinks the answer to energy was 'Drill, baby,...