TALLINN, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Estonian Maritime Academy has developed a project to construct an underwater nuclear reactor off the Baltic Sea coast, a local newspaper said Wednesday.
The project, submitted to the Estonian Eesti Energia company, proposes the construction of a 1,000-MWt nuclear power plant on a granite shelf of the Muuga Bay.
EUOBSERVER / CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY - For the millions of Europeans who mistrust nuclear power, it may cause goose-pimples to think that at least six new plants will soon join the 152 reactors already fizzing away on EU soil. But despite fresh talk of how nuclear can cut CO2, the industry is still struggling to get over the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
A visitor to a typical reactor could be convinced the atom is a magic key to the EU's energy woes: standing on the core, just 10 metres under one's feet, splitting uranium atoms generate enough power (1,100 MW) to light up all the homes in Finland for a year. There is no sound. There is no smell. As you leave, a scanning machine says "You have not been contaminated."
Number 10 has finally pressed the button. By the end of today, the government should have offloaded a large chunk of its holding in British Energy, the UK's big nuclear generator. This stands to increase the company's free-float by about three-quarters, hence the 6 per cent drop in British Energy's share price yesterday. But the shares could easily have fallen further - were it not for the clever timing of the sale.
Activists chained themselves to the main entrance gate at the plant in Cáceres.
A Greenpeace protest outside the Almaraz nuclear plant in Cáceres on Thursday blocked the main access for a number of hours, as activists demanded that the Spanish government put in place its ‘promised plan to abandon nuclear energy.’
BNP Paribas (BNPP) won the first competition for financing Belene, reported ITAR-TASS on May 14. The bank said that, together with other partners, it would provide the 250 million euro loan needed to start construction.
BNPP defeated 10 other competitors in winning the tender for the funding. In April 2007, the National Electricity Company (NEC) announced the procedure on choosing a bank to give the first loan. The money is planned to be used for planning, acquisition of equipment and construction during the first year of the project.
By Philip Bethge (Der Spiegel)
Is nuclear power on the verge of a renaissance? Its supporters argue that atomic energy is the only way to satisfy humanity’s hunger for more energy without aggravating the effects of global warming. Critics, however, regard the nuclear hype as over-simplistic optimism fueled by an industry in distress.
The nuclear reactor at Petten which carries out research and produces isotopes for medical use was shut down on Monday following the discovery of a small leak in a cooling water pipe.
The Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG), which operates the facility, said there is no risk to the public. NRG has started an investigation into the cause of the leak and expects the unit to be out of use for several days.
Pressrelease: Le 19 avril dernier, lors de l’essai d’un filtre installé sur les équipements de ventilation d’une partie des locaux nucléaires de la centrale de Tihange 2, une manoeuvre erronée a occasionné un rejet gazeux à l’atmosphère. En effet, un échantillon de test d’iode 131 a été injecté au-delà du filtre qu’il devait vérifier. L’iode s’est ainsi retrouvé à l’atmosphère via la gaine de ventilation. La quantité prédéterminée contenue dans l’échantillon correspond à moins de 1% de la limite légale autorisée sur un trimestre.
Dnevnik (Bulgaria) The nuclear decommissioning fund will pay for the transportation of the spent nuclear fuel from Bulgarian nuclear power plant (NPP) Kozloduy's small units under the NPP proposal for amendments to an energy ministry ordinance.
Nuclear Engineering International - The International Energy Agency's review of the UK energy industry has called for a nuclear waste and decommissioning fund to be set up.
The International Energy Agency's (IEA's) recently published The United Kingdom 2006 Review, the second of its Energy Policies of IEA Countries series, praised the UK energy market framework but highlighted the need for a nuclear waste policy, covering all types of waste, and called for the establishment of a liabilities fund to pay for decommissioning and waste disposal.
