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World Nuclear Power Reactors 1951–2024
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5 July 2012
Japanese Reactor Restart and Parliament Report on Fukushima
On 5 July 2012 unit 3 at the Ohi nuclear power plant restarted and became the first working nuclear unit in Japan since May. Since the Fukushima accident in March 2011, the country’s reactors were all gradually closed for refuelling, for further safety assessments and due to local opposition to their restart. Public attitude towards to restart will likely be a determining factor to how many more reactors will be re-opened. Simultaneously "The official report report of The Fukushima (...)
16 May 2012
Incoming French Government and Nuclear Power
The incoming French President François Hollande and his Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault have presented the composition of the new government. Designated Ministers include explicit opponents of nuclear power as well as outspoken proponents. Relevant positions for energy policy include the following positions (unofficial English translation): • Jean-Marc Ayrault, Socialist Party, Prime Minister • Nicole Bricq, Socialist Party, Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy • (...)
14 May 2012
EDF
Ground Work Delayed at Hinkley Point,
UK
French utility
EDF
(Électricité de France) has delayed ground work for a planned new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in the
UK
. The British daily The Guardian reports today: “Work to move millions of cubic metres of soil and rock at the Hinkley site was due to begin in August, according to West Somerset council’s planning department. But
EDF
staff have been told the work will now start in 2013.” The information comes just three days after
EDF
junior partner Centrica’s
CEO
Sam Laidlaw (...)
11 May 2012
Brazil Abandons New Build Plans
A top level Brazilian government official announced on 9 May 2012 that the country will not proceed with the previously stated plans to launch up to eight new nuclear power plants. “The last plan, which runs through 2020, does not envisage any (new) nuclear power station because there is no need for it”, the energy ministry’s executive secretary Marcio Zimmermann stated. “Demand is met with hydro-electrical power and complementary energy sources such as wind, thermal and natural gas.” (...)
9 May 2012
New French President Plans to Reduce Nuclear Share
The incoming French president François Hollande plans to close the two Fessenheim reactors, France’s oldest plants, during his term of office. Hollande also confirmed during his final
TV
debate with outgoing president Nicolas Sarkozy on 2 May 2012 to progressively reduce the share of nuclear power in the electricity generation from three quarters to about half by 2025. However, the extent and schedule of the upcoming energy transition remains unclear and will also depend on the composition (...)
9 May 2012
Last Japanese Nuclear Power Plant Closed
On 5 May 2012 the last nuclear power plant in Japan closed. As planned, Tomari-3 in Hokkaido was taken off the grid for maintenance, safety inspections and refueling. While, in spite of intense government pressure, local authorities continue to oppose the restart plans for the Ohi-3 and -4 reactors in the Kansai region. Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa told the government that he would not allow restart without consulting local residents. The governors of Kyoto, Osaka and Shiga Prefectures (...)
30 April 2012
Construction at Russian Kaliningrad Project?
On 29 April 2012, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (
IAEA
) Power Reactor Information System (
PRIS
) announced the start of the construction at the Baltiisk-1 reactor, also called the Baltic nuclear power plant. The announcement backdates the construction start as the 22 February 2012. However, nuclear builder/operator Rosatom published on 27 February 2012 a statement under the title “Baltic
NPP
: Construction of the nuclear island foundation has started”, saying that “construction has (...)
26 April 2012
Early Final Shut‑down of
UK
Reactor Wylfa‑2
Yesterday, 25 April 2012, the 41-year-old Wylfa-2 reactor was disconnected from the
UK
electricity grid. “Originally planned for the 30
th
April, the reactor shut down five days earlier than planned after an issue was identified with the plant”, stated the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (
NDA
) in a press release issued only one day after the plant closure.
NDA
did not state, what the “issue” was that had been identified with the reactor. The plant closure reduces the number of operating (...)
26 April 2012
US
Reactor Watts Bar 2 Start‑up Delayed Again
In April 2012 the Tennessee Valley Authority (
TVA
) in the United States announced that its plans to complete the second unit at the Watts Bar nuclear power plant would be delayed again. Construction originally started in 1972 (nineteen-seventy-two) and makes it the longest building project in nuclear history. The revised start-up date is now 2015, a delay of three years and the estimated construction cost has risen by between 60-80% from $2.49 billion to between $4-4.5 billion. The cost of (...)
17 April 2012
GDF
‑Suez Questions Nuclear Investments in the
UK
GDF
-Suez Questions Nuclear Investments in the
UK
“We are, with our partners, going to take a decision in 2015 [on building a new plant at Sellafield]. Today it is very difficult to invest in a nuclear power plant without clear visibility.” This declaration by Gérard Mestrallet,
CEO
of the French group
GDF
-Suez, published by The Guardian, is the second blow in a month for nuclear new build plans in the
UK
after E.
ON
and
RWE
announced to withdraw from their projects. The
GDF
-Suez boss (...)
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