McCain Wants 45 New Nuclear Reactors by 2030

Once again, Republican presidential nominee John McCain is proving that his ideas about ‘saving the environment’ don’t mesh with the majority of environmentalists’ views. McCain is advocating nuclear power in a big way – he plans to set the nation on course to build 45 new nuclear reactors by the year 2030.

From Reuters:

“If I am elected president, I will set this nation on a course to building 45 new reactors by the year 2030, with the ultimate goal of 100 new plants to power the homes and factories and cities of America,” he said.

There are 104 operating nuclear reactors nationwide at present, which generate about 20 percent of the nation’s power supply.

McCain has argued forcefully for further nuclear plants, seeing them as part of a solution to fighting climate change and establishing U.S. energy independence.

Obama, on the other hand, taking a more realistic stance. Last week, his campaign said that they see nuclear power as an important part of setting the U.S. on a path toward clean energy, but that the issue of disposing of nuclear waste and solving nuclear proliferation concerns are also crucial. On June 20th, Obama said that nuclear power was worth careful consideration but that it was not a panacea.

Link [Reuters]
Photo credit: Flickr user Christopher Peterson

Tornado Hits University’s Nuclear Reactor in Kansas

This could have gone really, really badly. A tornado hit a nuclear research reactor on the Kansas State University campus last week. Though the tornado flattened other buildings on the campus, including the Wind Erosion Laboratory, the reactor was untouched. Luckily, someone had the forethought to shut the thing down properly earlier in the day.

From Reuters:

The tornado caused extensive damage to the building, but no damage to the reactor, which had been shut down properly earlier in the day, the university said.

The reactor is located in Manhattan in Riley County, about 120 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri.

Because of the event, the university declared an alert, which is the second lowest of the NRC’s four emergency classifications.

There are more than 30 operating research and test reactors in the United States, according to the NRC’s website.

Link [Reuters]
Photo credit: Flickr user Chimothy27

Green Meme Killers: Nukes Are Good For You

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the viability of nuclear power; the loudest and most obnoxious voice in the chorus has been Wired magazine, who took it upon themselves to launch a bright orange cover telling us wacky enviro types that we should start gunning down spotted owls, guzzling pesticides, and give nuclear power a big hug.

Totally safe. For real. We promise this time. From Stuckincustoms.

The reason behind all this lunacy? Carbon Dioxide. Wired thinks that it’s the Holy Grail of the environmental movement, and the only concern that any of us should have for the next 75 years or so. Environmentalism, the magazine trumpets, is too important to be left to the environmentalists. Because we care too much about spotted owls to actually save the world.

Look at the environmental protection agency’s CO₂-per-kilowatt-hour map of the US and two bright patches of low-carbon happiness jump out. One is the hydro-powered Pacific Northwest. The other is Vermont, where a 30-year-old nuclear reactor, Vermont Yankee, keeps the Ben & Jerry’s cold.

Vermont! (Pub: I wonder what Simon Slade would say) How interesting that you bring that up, since it you assail it elsewhere in your arrogant little shot across the bow of the green community. But that’s merely a pet peeve. Let’s look further into that low-carbon happiness; the Pacific Northwest does draw power largely from hydro-plants, but once upon a time, it was on the nuclear bandwagon, as well. Actually, the Hanford Site, in Washington State, led the way for nuclear power in America: it was established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, and has nine plutonium production reactors. What’s going on there? “Cocooning,” a process where the reactor is entombed in a case of steel, concrete, and lead, designed to be water, fire, tornado, and earthquake resistant for 75 years. Because maybe by then we’ll know what to do with the stuff inside. They don’t know what to do with it in Vermont, either: the Yankee’s storage pools are almost full, and still waiting for a federal repository to open somewhere. Because you know, Nuclear power is great in my state, but the leftovers need to go to somebody else’s. Of course, they may just be able to seal it off as well: a 2007 reactor SCRAM, the last safety option before a meltdown, has placed the operating license of the Vermont plant at risk. [Read more]

Patrick Moore of Greenpeace Falls to Dark Side; World Collectively Yawns

Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore has defected, advocating for something he once fought against, and our response is: who cares?

Moore, who once stringently opposed underground nuclear testing, is now supporting the use of nuclear power. He believes that building hundreds of nuclear power plants is the only viable alternative to coal-fire electricity generation, stating that wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal and other renewable energy sources simply don’t have enough potential.

Moore now represents the Clean Air and Safe Energy Coalition, a nuclear-backed energy group, and has also taken on several causes that don’t jive with Greenpeace values, such as old-growth logging. He claims that a background in science has caused him to see things differently.

From Idaho Statesman:

“We don’t believe we have been making too much electricity,” he said. “We believe we’ve been making energy with the wrong technologies.”

His critics, like Andrea Shipley, executive director of the Snake River Alliance, say he has simply sold out.

“The only reason Patrick Moore is backing something as unsafe and risky as nuclear power is he is being paid by the nuclear industry to do so,” Shipley said.

There are those who will try to turn this into a big to-do about the reality of climate change, but the fact is, his credibility has gone down the drain, and one more person cheerleading dumb causes like nuclear energy won’t amount to much. Patrick Moore becoming a Sith Lord isn’t going to put a dent in the cause.

Link [IdahoStatesman]

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Japan Steel Works- Builds 600 Ton Parts for Nuclear Power Plants and Samurai Swords

Bloomberg has a fascinating article about Japan Steel Works Ltd., the only company in the world capable of manufacturing the central piece of a nuclear reactor’s containment vessel in a single pour, which is important for safety considerations. The piece starts life as a 600 ton ingot with a required down payment of $100M that takes three months to produce. There’s a years long back log to order one if you’re in the market.

Here’s a quick bit of the story from Bloomberg:

Orders for nuclear generators are multiplying as electricity use surges worldwide and governments pressure companies to cut carbon emissions to fight global warming. As many as 237 reactors may be built globally by 2030, an average of more than 10 a year, according to the World Nuclear Association in London. That compares with 78, or fewer than four a year, started since the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown in Ukraine.

Given Japan Steel’s limited capacity, the math just doesn’t work, said Mycle Schneider, an independent nuclear industry consultant near Paris. Japan Steel caters to all nuclear reactor makers except in Russia, which makes its own heavy forgings.

Competitors’ Moves

“I find it just amazing that so many people jumped on the bandwagon of this renaissance without ever looking at the industrial side of it,” Schneider said.

It would take any competitor more than five years to catch up with Japan Steel’s technology, said the company’s chief executive officer, Masahisa Nagata.

Rivals are working to break the Japan Steel stranglehold, including South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. and Japan Casting & Forging Corp., a joint venture of Nippon Steel Corp. and Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing Co.

The coolest part of the story is that the other product made by Japan Steel Works are $10,000 samurai swords. The have craftsman who forge them in a special little hut up the hill from the main building using ancient Japanese forging techniques. Pure Awesome.

Link [Bloomberg] via Gizmodo

Photo credit: Flickr user renfield