High winds over the weekend supplied 53% of Spain's electricity – equivalent to the power output of 11 nuclear plants
Europe
Spain's windfarms set new national record for electricity generation
Friday, November 13, 2009
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German Company Sent Nuclear Material for Open-Air Storage in Siberia
Monday, November 9, 2009The Western media reported last week on how the German company Urenco shipped nuclear material to Siberia, where the highly toxic waste was stored in containers in the open air. The company has stopped deliveries and will store the material with higher standards in Germany in the future.
The radiation warning sign was so small that few passers-by took note in the commuter rail station in Kapitolovo, Russia. Fifty-six steel canisters were sitting there on a summer day three years ago. Just a stone's throw away, people were waiting for trains to take them to downtown St. Petersburg.
Russia's Rosatom still interested in Belene - report
Thursday, October 29, 2009One day after German utility RWE said that it was pulling out of the proposed Bulgarian nuclear power plant at Belene, Russia's state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom said that it was still interested in taking a stake in the project, Russian business daily Vedomosti said on October 29.
Rosatom's interest in the plant, announced earlier by chief executive Sergey Kirienko, remained unchanged by RWE's announcement, Vedomosti quoted a company spokesperson as saying. The spokesperson did not provide further details, the newspaper said.
RWE Has Terminated Belene Bulgarian Nuclear Plant
Thursday, October 29, 2009FRANKFURT (Dow Jones) - German utility RWE AG Wednesday said it has terminated a joint venture agreement with Bulgaria's state-owned National Electricity Co., or NEK, due to problems with the financing of a nuclear power plant that was planned to be built near the town of Belene.
"We have terminated the joint venture agreement with NEK today because of problems financing the project," said Stephanie Schunck, spokeswoman for RWE's power generation unit RWE Power.
European funding extension for Bulgarian decommissioning
Tuesday, October 27, 2009The European Commission decided to extend the period of financial support to Bulgaria for the decommissioning of units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. On top of the EUR550 million already allocated, the Commission has pledged a sum of EUR300 million for the time period 2010-2013.
The CZK 500 billion game
Wednesday, October 21, 2009Although the information hasn’t made front page headlines yet, the biggest behind-the-scenes swarm of lobbyists is now hovering over the construction of two additional reactors at the Temelín nuclear plant. The actual deal looks "somewhat" different. The state-owned energy giant ČEZ is looking to secure five nuclear reactors: two for Temelín and another three for power plants that the energy company plans to build abroad, altogether, a contract worth CZK 500 billion. It’s a gigantic tender, the biggest in Czech history.
Families face nuclear tax on power bills
Monday, October 19, 2009Industry promised subsidy if market price fails to encourage new plants
German parties agree nuclear extension-officials
Thursday, October 15, 2009BERLIN, Oct 15 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have agreed with the Free Democrats (FDP) on extending the life of nuclear plants deemed safe but the timing is unclear, FDP and conservative politicians said on Thursday.
"You can say that," the FDP's Gudrun Kopp told Reuters, when asked about agreement on an extension. She is a member of a working group that is discussing economic and energy issues. A conservative member of the working group confirmed the agreement.
Problems Plague Launch of 'Safer' Next-Generation Reactors
Thursday, October 15, 2009The executives of electric utilities worldwide are dreaming of a renaissance in nuclear power. But problems with a new, state-of-the-art reactor in Finland suggest that this is unlikely to happen. The industry's alternative strategy is to modernize older plants to drastically extend reactor lifetimes.
The managers at Finnish electric utility TVO expressed one last wish before ordering what would be the world's largest nuclear power plant from Siemens and the French nuclear power conglomerate Areva. They wanted the reactor to be painted oxblood red and white, the traditional colors of the picturesque summer homes on Finland's western coast.
Hypothesis: Cernavodă reactors poison us with tritium
Monday, October 12, 2009The contradictory declarations made over time by the management of the National Company Nuclearelectrica and the Autonomous Administration for Nuclear Activities make us believe that something is rotten with the nuclear reactors in Cernavodă: either the emanated tritium concentration is much higher than it should be, thus jeopardizing the environment, or we already have a large surplus of heavy water, in which case it is not justified to continue production until 2017...
