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World Nuclear Power Reactors 1951–2024
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25 October 2012
Will Nuclear Construction Begin Again in China and at What Pace?
On the 24 October 2012 the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao announced at a State Council meeting, that China will “steadily return to normal construction” of new nuclear power plants, based on a “steady advance in an orderly manner”. However, no mention was made of when construction would restart, as since the Fukushima accident in March 2011, no new building site was opened and no new reactor was connected to the grid for the past 11 months. Importantly, it was also said that only Generation (...)
25 October 2012
E.
ON
Pulls Out of Proposed New Reactor in Finland
On 24 October 2012 German utility E.
ON
announced that it was going to sell its 34% in the plans to construct a nuclear power plant at Fennovoima in Finland. A spokesman for E.
ON
told Bloomberg that low power use and electricity prices were the cause of decision. However, E.
ON
is also selling its other assets in Finland, in order to focus its attention on the Danish and Swedish market. Two other companies, the meat processing company Atria and the S-Group retail chain announced earlier that (...)
25 October 2012
US
Nuclear Plant to Close After Failing to Attract a Buyer
The 38 year old nuclear power plant at Kewaunee in the United States is due to close in April 2013 after it failed to attract a buyer. The 566
MW
unit was put up for sale in April 2011 by the large nuclear utility Dominion Resources. The lack of interest in the power plant was according to its owners due to poor economics as a result of the region’s low wholesale electricity prices. According to the New York Times, the decision was viewed as an indication that closures of older coal (...)
Antony Froggatt,
5 October 2012
UK
: China Pullout Leaves Nuclear Uncertainty
Guest Post on EnergyDesk, Greenpeace
UK
China pull out leaves nuclear uncertainty 3
rd
Oct 2012 Antony Froggatt Antony Froggatt is Senior Research Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources at Chatham House and co-author, with Mycle Schneider, of the World Nuclear Status Report The European power and utilities sector is facing an unprecedented need for capital investment as European generation assets come to the end of their economic life. The
UK
government is intent on building a (...)
30 September 2012
Iberdrola Exits Nuclear in the
UK
Iberdrola Exits Nuclear in the
UK
The
UK
Government has been actively promoting the construction of new nuclear power and following a competitive process in 2009, three nuclear consortiums Electricité de France (
EDF
), Horizon and NUGeneration (NuGen) were allocated sites for new nuclear construction. However, in September 2011, the
UK
utility,
SSE
, exited the NuGen nuclear group by selling out to partners Iberdrola and
GDF
-Suez. Then at the end of September 2012 it was reported that (...)
20 September 2012
Japan’s Nuclear Phaseout Strategy Raises More Questions Than It Answers
The Japanese government on 14 September 2012 announced, as expected (see Japanese Government Expected to Announce Zero Nuclear Option), that it adopted an “Innovative Strategy for Energy and the Environment”, for a zero nuclear power future by the 2030s. However, due to lack of clarity, the government statements immediately gave way to speculations as to the schedule for the shutdowns, the future of the plutonium fuel industry and of the reactors under construction. The English language (...)
19 September 2012
UK
: ’No Nuclear Power at Any Price’ Says Lobby Group
In a strange turn of events a pro-nuclear lobby group has written to the Chancellor in the
UK
to block any price deal with companies building nuclear stations “unless and until you are absolutely satisfied the nation is getting value for money”. According to
UK
daily The Telegraph, Supporters Of Nuclear Energy (
SONE
) have argued that the suggested ‘strike price’ (a fixed price for the generation of nuclear electricity) of around £130 per megawatt hour (more than double the current baseload (...)
15 September 2012
French President Advances Closure of Oldest Plants
President François Hollande has announced the closure of the two oldest of the 54 French nuclear power plants by 2016, previously planned for 2017 and confirmed the goal to drastically reduce the share of nuclear power from 78% in 2011 to 50% in 2025. However, no long term closure schedule has been presented yet. The president, who spoke at the opening event of the national Environmental Conference on 14 September 2015 in Paris, also announced ambitious targets for energy efficiency and (...)
15 September 2012
Canada: Quebec’s Only Reactor to Close
A spokesperson for the newly elected government of Quebec confirmed that it will keep its pre-electoral promise and close the province’s only nuclear reactor by the end of 2012, when the current operating license runs out. Owner Quebec Hydro had originally planned to refurbish the 635
MW
Gentilly-2 heavy water reactor starting in 2013 and the previous liberal government had accepted the plan. But an analogous upgrading at New Brunswick’s Point Lepreau plant had turned out years late and (...)
12 September 2012
US
: Exelon Withdraws Victoria Licensing Request
Exelon, the largest nuclear operator in the
US
, has decided to withdraw the application for an Early Site Permit (
ESP
) for new nuclear construction in Victoria County, Texas. In a statement dated 28 August 2012, the company stated: “The action is in response to low natural gas prices and economic and market conditions that have made construction of new merchant nuclear power plants in competitive markets uneconomical now and for the foreseeable future.” Exelon had originally submitted an (...)
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