Be Careful What You Wish For

It's ironic that in places that allowed the later very expensive nuclear power plants to go forward (even if not to completion) those plants jacked the price way up for electricity in those areas.  As a result of these high prices, these areas are much more friendly to renewable energy developments today. 

Maybe we should have let that Ft. Calhoun second reactor be built after all.  Cripes!

Be Careful What You Wish For

It's ironic that in places that allowed the later very expensive nuclear power plants to go forward (even if not to completion) those plants jacked the price way up for electricity in those areas.  As a result of these high prices, these areas are much more friendly to renewable energy developments today. 

Maybe we should have let that Ft. Calhoun second reactor be built after all.  Cripes!

Not Just for Japanese Nukes

This just in from the Christian Science Monitor, my all-time favorite source for international news.

Accidents Dim Hopes for Green Nuclear Option - CSMonitor.com - 19 July 07

"Meanwhile, accidents at two German nuclear reactors last month prompted German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel to call for the early shutdown of all older reactors there, reports Bloomberg News.  Concern about the safety of Germany's 17 reactors has grown after a fire at Vattenfall's Kruemmel site June 28 and a network fault at its Brunsbuettel plant on the same day.

Der Spiegel online adds:"It took the fire department hours to extinguish the blaze. Even worse, the plant operator's claim that a fire in the transformer had no effect on the reactor itself proved to be a lie. 

In short, the incident made clear that nuclear energy is by no means the modern, well-organized, high-tech sector portrayed until recently by politicians and industry advocates. Indeed, the frequency of problems occurring at Germany's aging reactors is on the rise. Just as old cars succumb to rust, nuclear power plants built in the 1970s and '80s are undergoing a natural aging process."

Not Just for Japanese Nukes

This just in from the Christian Science Monitor, my all-time favorite source for international news.

Accidents Dim Hopes for Green Nuclear Option - CSMonitor.com - 19 July 07

"Meanwhile, accidents at two German nuclear reactors last month prompted German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel to call for the early shutdown of all older reactors there, reports Bloomberg News.  Concern about the safety of Germany's 17 reactors has grown after a fire at Vattenfall's Kruemmel site June 28 and a network fault at its Brunsbuettel plant on the same day.

Der Spiegel online adds:"It took the fire department hours to extinguish the blaze. Even worse, the plant operator's claim that a fire in the transformer had no effect on the reactor itself proved to be a lie. 

In short, the incident made clear that nuclear energy is by no means the modern, well-organized, high-tech sector portrayed until recently by politicians and industry advocates. Indeed, the frequency of problems occurring at Germany's aging reactors is on the rise. Just as old cars succumb to rust, nuclear power plants built in the 1970s and '80s are undergoing a natural aging process."