Nuclear news 18/02/2008

China starts building Fujian nuclear power plant
Reuters

China on Monday started building the first nuclear power plant in southeastern Fujian province, the official People's Daily reported, quoting the Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
The first phase of the Ningde plant will have four reactors with 1 gigawatt (GW) of generating capacity each, and cost 51.2 billion yuan, the largest energy investment project in the province, the newspaper said.
Investors of the plant include Guangdong Nuclear Power Investment Co, Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd and Fujian Coal Group, it said, without detailing the stake each holds.

Indonesian nuke plant
The Jakarta Post

The idea of introducing nuclear power to Indonesia is nothing more than a vehicle for a few needy individuals to gain public attention.
Any moderately educated engineer will agree that Indonesia's need for electricity is widely decentralized so nuclear power or large coal power plants are the ideas of people lacking technical understanding.
It should be common knowledge that "the transmission of electricity over long distance comes with huge loss." There are very few countries in the world with better chances than Indonesia to realize enormous decentralized energy generation at low cost or even free for the country.
Indonesia has a potential 27,000 MW of geothermal sources requiring low investment of which currently only 837 MW are in use. Why? Because Pertamina, PLN and the government have not, over the past 30 years, managed to give the many waiting investors investment security.

Nuclear energy enjoys renaissance
AP

Global warming and rocketing oil prices are making nuclear power fashionable, drawing a once demonized industry out of the shadows of the Chernobyl disaster as a potential shining knight of clean energy.Britain is the latest to recommit itself to the energy source, with its government announcing support Thursday for new nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants produce around 20 percent of Britain's electricity, but all but one are due to close by 2023.However, some countries hopping on the nuclear bandwagon have abysmal safety records and corrupt ways that give many pause for thought.

Nuclear news 10/01/2008

UK: First new nuclear power plant 'will be completed before 2020'

TimesOnline

The Government today gave the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power plants, provoking a sharply polarised response from the supporters and opponents of nuclear energy.
Announcing the plans in Parliament, John Hutton, the Business Secretary, said that the proposals made sound commercial and environmental sense, and hoped that the first new nuclear power station would be completed well before 2020.

A dark shadow behind nuclear power

TimesOnline
Talk about toxic. Nuclear power brings out the petulant in everybody. The industry fudges its figures. The green lobby stokes up safety fears. Liberal Democrats bleat that renewables should fill the energy gap, but oppose wind turbines in their own constituencies. Tories prevaricate and Gordon Brown, whose new year resolution is apparently to take “tough decisions” as long as they involve almost nothing of substance, will declare today that the British door is open to nuclear energy. In fact, the door has always been open. The only reason it was ever perceived to be closed was government's inability to guarantee a return to investors. But here the PM is indeed resolute: there will be no subsidy.

Finance, not politics, remains biggest hurdle to nuclear power
Guardian
A host of issues remain before Britain greets the first batch of nuclear plants since construction started on Sizewell B in Suffolk 20 years ago.
Planning constraints, a shortage of skills and complex waste arrangements are among the main obstacles. But the biggest hurdle remains the uncertainty over whether the right financial conditions exist to encourage private investment.

Indonesia pushing for nuclear power, despite safety concerns
ABC News
The Howard government made no secret of its support for nuclear power both at home and in the region.
Now, one of the country's closest neighbours, Indonesia, is ramping up its own nuclear industry.
It is hoping for Australia's continuing technical support - and its uranium. But the threat of earthquakes in Indonesia continues to prompt safety concerns.

Nuclear power around the world
BBC World
A look at nuclear energy production and policies around the world, as the UK government announces its long-term nuclear energy plans.