Fukushima

Web Resources For The Fukushima Anniversary

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Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) staffs watch monitors of real time image of reactor buildings of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant at the emergency operation center of the stricken TEPCO nuclear power plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan on February 28, 2012. TEPCO opened up its stricken Fukushima plant to foreign journalists for the third time, ahead of the anniversary of the March 11 disasters, and insisted the crippled complex was in cold shutdown.

Over the past few weeks, Breaking Energy has received and discovered literally dozens of leads to opinions, content, infographics and other kinds of internet content related to the anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. As a service to our community as they seek out more information, we wanted to highlight the best of what we’ve seen on the internet related to the Fukushima anniversary. This is an evolving list, and comments on other resources are welcome. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 9, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Fukushima Anniversary: The Road Ahead

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There was no way for the nuclear industry to succeed at handling Fukushima. The disastrous and poorly-managed shutdown of a nuclear reactor built too close to shore, hit by an earthquake and an even-more-devestating tsunami, gave birth to a year’s worth of images and heartbreak no normal business could handle in normal ways.

In the days after the Fukushima disaster the US industry dialed up its responsiveness in ways that ranged from a North Carolina-based disaster response center handling technology questions, sending personnel to Japan, and handling a leap in internet traffic to relevant websites. Most of what the general public wanted was information that could reassure, and the US nuclear industry sought to supply that information. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 9, 2012 at 9:00 AM

U.S. Experts Help and Learn at #Fukushima – http://bit.ly/yeTYEl #nuclear

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US Experts Help and Learn at Fukushima – http://bit.ly/yeTYEl #nuclear N_E_I

 /  Published March 5, 2012 at 3:15 PM

Nuclear Power: 2012 And Beyond

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“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future,” quipped Niels Bohr. And so it is with the uranium industry. Some uranium companies and several nations with an interest in the sector are bullish, while some analysts strike a more cautious note. Despite lacking a crystal ball, it is possible to offer a reasonably confident analysis of how the industry will fare going forward.

All such predictions are guided by one fact: The effects on the nuclear industry of the Fukushima accident in Japan-whose one-year anniversary is March 11-is less than some pundits had feared, and in turn this will have less of a negative impact on the uranium market overall. According to a report in the Washington Post last October, for example, the Czech Republic is planning to sharply increase its nuclear power production. That nation currently relies on six nuclear reactors for 33% of its total electricity, and the government hopes to at least double that output by the year 2050. In its decision to pursue nuclear power, the Czechs are not alone: Slovakia is currently building more nuclear facilities, and Poland has engaged in talks with companies in France, Japan and the U.S. about technology for its first nuclear plant to be completed by 2030. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 1, 2012 at 9:00 AM

New Reactors Signal US Nuclear Energy Resurgence

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The United States has taken an important step toward efficiently meeting the country’s rising electricity demand by ensuring a greater supply of clean, safe nuclear power.

With plans in place in Georgia for the construction of the next generation of nuclear energy facilities, this industry expansion will promote economic prosperity and continued development of a sustainable clean energy source. We need a cost-efficient, low-carbon solution to the nation’s increasing electricity demand- projected to rise 24 percent by 2035. Expanding nuclear energy as part of the mix of electricity generation options is necessary to meeting our nation’s growing power needs cleanly and cost-effectively. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 13, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Fukushima Cited In Sole NRC Vogtle Dissent Vote

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Federal safety officials voted 4-to-1 to approve the first nuclear reactor construction permit in almost 35 years, overriding US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Greg Jaczko. The commission’s vote on Thursday will allow Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power to expand operations at its plant in eastern Georgia, paving the way for the construction of two new nuclear power reactors at its Vogtle site. The last such project to be approved was in 1978. Chairman Jaczko in his dissenting vote cited concerns stemming from Fukushima, underscoring long-standing tensions on the commission over the regulatory response to Japan’s 2011 nuclear power disaster.

 /  Published February 10, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Nuclear Power Decline In Numbers (INFOGRAPHIC)

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Nuclear power has more than just an image problem.

With huge up front development costs, it is increasingly seen as dangerous and governments are responding to people’s fears by closing plants, blocking new construction and even halting reactor construction mid way. In its latest Vital Signs Online (VSO) report, Washington DC-based think tank Worldwatch Institute documented the numbers for falling nuclear power usage across the globe. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 3, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Is Nuclear Power Being Phased Out?

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Nuclear is not so hot these days.

The percentage of nuclear electrical generation worldwide is shrinking as countries slow or halt new construction and in some cases even close existing plants in favor of other types of power, according to the latest Vital Signs Online (VSO) report released by the Washington DC-based think tank Worldwatch Institute. Although nuclear provided 6% of the world’s energy in 2001, it constituted only 5% of the world’s energy portfolio in 2010. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 8, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Nuclear Power In 2012: Challenge Of Complacency

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US nuclear plant operations, while still very good, are trending in the wrong direction, says Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, and complacency from years of safe operations, combined with overload from backlogged and new safety requirements, could mean trouble ahead in 2012.

Speaking to nuclear CEOs at their annual Institute of Nuclear Power Operations meeting in November, Jaczko fingered what he fears are declining performance trends. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 2, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Nuclear’s Annus Horribilis

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For the nuclear industry, 2011 was Biblical.

Earthquakes. Tsunamis. Tornadoes. Floods. Fires. 2011 had everything but plagues of locusts. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 30, 2011 at 2:30 PM
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