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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) -- The construction of the U.K.'s first nuclear power plant in more than 20 years could be delayed as Electricite de France (EPA:EDF) (Paris) called on the government to dramatically increase its support for nuclear power. The French state-owned company wants the U.K. government to offer greater incentives for nuclear power, suggesting that a carbon tax would help. For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrial Info's Premium Industry News at http://www.industrialinfo.co.uk/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=147716, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.co.uk. Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news. For more information send inquiries to europe@industrialinfo.co.uk or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe (http://www.industrialinfo.co.uk).

Almost 700m tonnes of CO2 would be released into the Earth's atmosphere by even the smallest nuclear conflict, according to a US study that compares the environmental costs of developing various power sources Just when you might have thought it was ethically sound to unleash a nuclear attack on a nearby city, along comes a pesky scientist and points out that atomic warfare is bad for the climate. According to a new paper in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, even a very limited nuclear exchange, using just a thousandth of the weaponry of a full-scale nuclear war, would cause up to 690m tonnes of CO2 to enter the atmosphere - more than UK's annual total.

"Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. are among six Japanese companies that will form a joint venture to sell nuclear reactors and technology to Vietnam and other countries. The group, which includes Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Chubu Electric Power Co. and Kansai Electric Power Co., will seek financial assistance from the trade ministry, they said in a joint statement yesterday. The companies have set up an office ahead of forming the venture this autumn. Japan is holding talks for nuclear cooperation treaties with India, Jordan, and Russia and has had preliminary discussions with Vietnam. The trade ministry will work to speed negotiations for the treaties, which are necessary for Japanese companies to export nuclear technology, the ministry said in a statement yesterday. "

"The formidable Anne Lauvergeon, the CEO of French nuclear giant AREVA, has been doing interviews. She's always worth paying attention to, as much for what she doesn't say as what she does. Take this for example, from her interview with the UK's Financial Times… What is the smartest business idea you have ever had? Setting up Areva and creating the 'CO2-free' strategy. Really? Considering Anne's 'CO2-free strategy' (and it's proper that the term is in quotation marks because AREVA's 'CO2-free strategy' is anything but) is currently eating the company's profits thanks to the botched construction of the Olkiluoto-3 EPR reactor in Finland, we're not sure we'd describe it as the 'smartest' business idea. How about… What do you like most about your job?"

Chubu Electric Power Co. may burn more fossil fuels to keep lights on and machinery running in Nagoya, Japan's third-largest metropolitan area, as the utility finds more earthquake damage to its Hamaoka nuclear plant. Both functioning reactors at Hamaoka shut down after a 6.5- magnitude quake on Aug. 11 and as of today Chubu found 39 problems, including neutron monitor and auxiliary transformer malfunctions. There's no estimate when the reactors will resume operation, spokesman Toshimitsu Shibata said by phone. A monthlong closure at Hamaoka, which generated 16 percent of the Nagoya-based utility's electric power last year, would increase costs by about 10 billion yen ($105 million), according Reiji Ogino, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. For a company with annual sales of more than 2 trillion yen, there wouldn't be any serious affect on Chubu's share price, he said.

Chubu Electric Power Co. may burn more fossil fuels to keep lights on and machinery running in Nagoya, Japan's third-largest metropolitan area, as the utility finds more earthquake damage to its Hamaoka nuclear plant. Both functioning reactors at Hamaoka shut down after a 6.5- magnitude quake on Aug. 11 and as of today Chubu found 39 problems, including neutron monitor and auxiliary transformer malfunctions. There's no estimate when the reactors will resume operation, spokesman Toshimitsu Shibata said by phone. A monthlong closure at Hamaoka, which generated 16 percent of the Nagoya-based utility's electric power last year, would increase costs by about 10 billion yen ($105 million), according Reiji Ogino, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. For a company with annual sales of more than 2 trillion yen, there wouldn't be any serious affect on Chubu's share price, he said.

Toshiba Corp., Japan's largest supplier of reactors, will spend 10 billion yen ($103 million) buying a nuclear-fuel manufacturer to help compete with global rivals such as Areva SA for new atomic power plants. Toshiba subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Co. agreed to buy a 52 percent stake in Nuclear Fuel Industries Ltd. from Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. and Furukawa Electric Co., Toshiba said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange today. It plans to complete the purchase in May, it said. Better access to fuel may help Toshiba win orders as competition with France's Areva and an alliance between Hitachi Ltd. and General Electric Co. intensifies. Nuclear power generation is set to increase as developing countries led by China and India build more reactors to meet demand and cut carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

A new "pro-renewable energy" organization, which was founded just last week, paid for full-page ads that ran in newspapers across the state blasting Entergy's claims that Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is safe, clean and reliable. Wednesday's ads were sponsored by the Clean Green Vermont Alliance, which was co-founded by David Blittersdorf, a former president of the American Wind Energy Association and co-owner with his wife Jan of NRG Systems. Other co-founders of the Clean Green Vermont Alliance include Pamela Baker of Marketing Partners and Andy Perchlik, executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont.

Members of the state's main energy policy and planning agency spoke out against the decision by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to apply to renew the company's operating license for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant before addressing their concerns. The topic came up at a Dec. 16 California Energy Commission (CEC) hearing in Sacramento for the adoption of he 2009 Integrated Energy Policy Report, which outlines and analyzes energy-related issues affecting the state. CEC Vice Chair James Boyd chastised PG&E and contrasted their behavior with that of Southern California Edison Co., which operates the nuclear generating station in San Onofre. "I'm very disappointed … with what PG&E has done," CEC Vice Chair James Boyd said at the hearing. "I think now it's time to single out Edison for their statement of wanting to collaborate and cooperate on all the commitments while another utility has chosen to … kind of go around behind us. "I can't speak for Commissioner [Jeffrey] Byron, but I for one know there was great disappointment with that action," Boyd said. "But we'll address it in due time."

Members of the state's main energy policy and planning agency spoke out against the decision by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to apply to renew the company's operating license for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant before addressing their concerns. The topic came up at a Dec. 16 California Energy Commission (CEC) hearing in Sacramento for the adoption of he 2009 Integrated Energy Policy Report, which outlines and analyzes energy-related issues affecting the state. CEC Vice Chair James Boyd chastised PG&E and contrasted their behavior with that of Southern California Edison Co., which operates the nuclear generating station in San Onofre. "I'm very disappointed … with what PG&E has done," CEC Vice Chair James Boyd said at the hearing. "I think now it's time to single out Edison for their statement of wanting to collaborate and cooperate on all the commitments while another utility has chosen to … kind of go around behind us. "I can't speak for Commissioner [Jeffrey] Byron, but I for one know there was great disappointment with that action," Boyd said. "But we'll address it in due time."

U.S nuclear firms said on Monday they were worried land scarcity in India could further delay a joint atomic deal already hobbled by policy holdups over issues such as accident liability protection. A 50-member U.S. business delegation this week is seeking to push the implementation of the deal, which promises to open up India's multi-billion-dollar nuclear market to American firms. U.S. firms already worry over delays such as writing a new Indian law to limit U.S. firms' liability in case of an industrial accident and differences over a fuel reprocessing pact. Recent protests over land acquisition for building reactors has added to their uncertainty. India and the United States signed a civilian nuclear deal last year, ending India's nuclear isolation since it tested a nuclear device in 1974 and opening up its atomic market for firms such as General Electric Co and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Japan's Toshiba Corp.

U.S nuclear firms said on Monday they were worried land scarcity in India could further delay a joint atomic deal already hobbled by policy holdups over issues such as accident liability protection. A 50-member U.S. business delegation this week is seeking to push the implementation of the deal, which promises to open up India's multi-billion-dollar nuclear market to American firms. U.S. firms already worry over delays such as writing a new Indian law to limit U.S. firms' liability in case of an industrial accident and differences over a fuel reprocessing pact. Recent protests over land acquisition for building reactors has added to their uncertainty. India and the United States signed a civilian nuclear deal last year, ending India's nuclear isolation since it tested a nuclear device in 1974 and opening up its atomic market for firms such as General Electric Co and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Japan's Toshiba Corp.

Environmental groups are asking the federal courts to block to plans to build two nuclear reactors at an east Georgia power plant. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said Thursday it is asking a federal judge to review an early-site permit granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow some construction at Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle facility. The groups hinge a part of the appeal on contentious legislation that passed this year allowing the utility to charge ratepayers ahead of time for the costs of building the two new reactors. The east Georgia project is scheduled to be completed in 2017. It could be the first new nuclear project to break ground in the country in three decades. Georgia Power is a subsidiary of Southern Co.

Environmental groups are asking the federal courts to block to plans to build two nuclear reactors at an east Georgia power plant. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said Thursday it is asking a federal judge to review an early-site permit granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow some construction at Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle facility. The groups hinge a part of the appeal on contentious legislation that passed this year allowing the utility to charge ratepayers ahead of time for the costs of building the two new reactors. The east Georgia project is scheduled to be completed in 2017. It could be the first new nuclear project to break ground in the country in three decades. Georgia Power is a subsidiary of Southern Co.

he argument that nuclear power can contribute to reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions that cause global climate change ("Ban on new nuclear power plants should be lifted" Oct. 16, Green Bay Press-Gazette) is flawed for three main reasons. First, nuclear power is not carbon-free electricity. At each stage of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining, milling, enrichment to construction, decommissioning and waste storage, nuclear power uses fossil fuels and contributes greenhouse gas emissions that accelerate global climate change. Compared to renewable energy, nuclear power releases four to five times the CO2 per unit of energy produced. A recent study of solutions to global warming by Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford University concluded that over its entire lifecycle, nuclear electricity emits between 68 and 180 grams of CO2-equivalent emissions per kilowatt hour, compared to 3 to 11 grams for wind and concentrated solar.

he argument that nuclear power can contribute to reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions that cause global climate change ("Ban on new nuclear power plants should be lifted" Oct. 16, Green Bay Press-Gazette) is flawed for three main reasons. First, nuclear power is not carbon-free electricity. At each stage of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining, milling, enrichment to construction, decommissioning and waste storage, nuclear power uses fossil fuels and contributes greenhouse gas emissions that accelerate global climate change. Compared to renewable energy, nuclear power releases four to five times the CO2 per unit of energy produced. A recent study of solutions to global warming by Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford University concluded that over its entire lifecycle, nuclear electricity emits between 68 and 180 grams of CO2-equivalent emissions per kilowatt hour, compared to 3 to 11 grams for wind and concentrated solar.

At least 19 Norton Co. workers who have cancer - perhaps caused through exposure five decades ago to nuclear materials such as uranium and thorium - will receive compensation and benefits from the federal government. Their survivors may be eligible as well. The U.S. Department of Labor announced yesterday that all former Norton Co. employees who worked at the Worcester plant between Jan. 1, 1945, and Dec. 31, 1957, are part of a "special exposure cohort" that entitles them to the compensation and benefits. To be eligible, workers must have worked for at least 250 days at the plant, according to Michael Volpe, a Department of Labor spokesman. The workers must also have developed one of 22 cancers considered likely to have been caused by exposure to radioactive material. Those cancers include lung cancer, leukemia, bone cancer, liver cancer, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, renal cancer, as well as a long list of other cancers.

At least 19 Norton Co. workers who have cancer - perhaps caused through exposure five decades ago to nuclear materials such as uranium and thorium - will receive compensation and benefits from the federal government. Their survivors may be eligible as well. The U.S. Department of Labor announced yesterday that all former Norton Co. employees who worked at the Worcester plant between Jan. 1, 1945, and Dec. 31, 1957, are part of a "special exposure cohort" that entitles them to the compensation and benefits. To be eligible, workers must have worked for at least 250 days at the plant, according to Michael Volpe, a Department of Labor spokesman. The workers must also have developed one of 22 cancers considered likely to have been caused by exposure to radioactive material. Those cancers include lung cancer, leukemia, bone cancer, liver cancer, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, renal cancer, as well as a long list of other cancers.

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. led Japanese utilities in rallying around a nuclear future, defying growing public opposition to atomic energy after the worst radiation accident in 25 years. Shareholders of Tepco, as Japan's biggest utility is known, voted to continue with nuclear power yesterday at the company's first annual meeting since the crisis at its Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant wiped about $36 billion off its market value. Kansai Electric Power Co. today reinforced the status quo, with shareholders rejecting a motion to halt reactors. The votes in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused meltdowns at Fukushima show Japan's reliance on atomic energy even as opposition grows. Shareholders of Tohoku Electric Power Co. and other regional energy providers also voted down proposals against nuclear power. "

Joe Farmer turns 80 next week. On Thursday, the retired nuclear bomb engineer drove 50 miles round trip on snow and ice to the FedEx office in Salida. He sent federal officials in Denver an affidavit about the irradiation of a former co-worker at the Rocky Flats bomb factory. Farmer was told his information could help the co-worker's widow get compensation given to those whose health or lives were lost making the nation's Cold War nuclear weapons. Farmer's wife didn't think it was really necessary for him to take a risk driving on slippery roads 7,000 feet high in the Rocky Mountains. Turns out, she was probably right.

Toshiba Corp. has reached an agreement with IHI Corp. and South Korea's leading heavy industries corporation over a business tie-up in the production of nuclear reactors, company sources said Tuesday. The latest accord means IHI, a major shipbuilding and engineering corporation formerly known as Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., and Doosan Heavy Industries Co. will participate in a nuclear power business framework established in 2006 when Toshiba acquired the U.S. company Westinghouse Electric Corp.

Exelon and GE Hitachi are considering a joint venture to produce the isotope cobalt-60 at Exelon's Clinton power reactor in Illinois, Exelon spokeswoman Krista Lopykinski said March 19. Co-60 is used in various medical applications and radioactive sources. On March 31, Exelon representatives and NRC staff will hold a meeting to discuss "a potential license application" by Exelon Generation regarding Co-60 production at Clinton, NRC said in a March 18 notice. Lopykinski declined to provide further details.

Hitachi Ltd. and Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd. announced Monday that they had found falsified data in the inspection records of components they manufactured for use in nuclear power plants. The falsified data related to the welding of pipes to moisture separator reheaters manufactured by the companies for use in the No. 5 reactor of Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, and the No. 3 reactor of Chugoku Electric Power Co.'s Shimane nuclear power plant, which is under construction, in Matsue.

"President Barack Obama's award of billions of dollars in federal nuclear loan guarantees to Southern Co. has angered environmentalists who say the president is embracing the energy powerhouse that worked aggressively to defeat a key climate change bill championed by his administration. The Atlanta-based company had nearly twice as many climate lobbyists as any other company or organization during last year's debate over cap and trade legislation, according to the Center for Public Integrity. The company hired 16 outside firms to supplement their stable of in-house lobbyists and spent $16.5 million on Capitol Hill lobbying in 2009. The company maintains the report overstates their lobbying role. Some environmentalists - while not surprised that Obama is moving forward on nuclear power - are upset that Southern Co. is the recipient of such federal largesse."

10 years later, couple still fights in court while village grapples with how to move forward On Sept. 30, 1999, Shoichi Oizumi and his wife Keiko couldn't figure out why helicopters were hovering over their auto parts factory in the village of Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture. "Firefighters came to our factory to tell us to close the windows as an accident took place at JCO Co.," a nuclear fuel processor across the street, the 81-year-old Oizumi said. "But they did not know precisely what happened. "I looked out the window, but I did not see any abnormal signs, such as smoke. I called the village office, but the officials did not know what really happened either," he said.

10 years later, couple still fights in court while village grapples with how to move forward On Sept. 30, 1999, Shoichi Oizumi and his wife Keiko couldn't figure out why helicopters were hovering over their auto parts factory in the village of Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture. "Firefighters came to our factory to tell us to close the windows as an accident took place at JCO Co.," a nuclear fuel processor across the street, the 81-year-old Oizumi said. "But they did not know precisely what happened. "I looked out the window, but I did not see any abnormal signs, such as smoke. I called the village office, but the officials did not know what really happened either," he said.

Toshiba Corp. has proposed decommissioning four troubled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in about 10 years, much shorter than the 14 years needed to dismantle the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, industry sources said Friday. Toshiba filed the proposal with Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, after compiling it with U.S. nuclear energy firms, including its Westinghouse Electric Co. subsidiary, according to the sources. Toshiba believes it can rely on the U.S. firms' experience of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident to decommission Tepco's Fukushima reactors. According to the proposal, it will take about 10 years to remove the fuel rods in the containers and the spent nuclear fuel rods in the storage pools from the four reactors, as well as demolish various on-site facilities and improve the soil condition.