Fresh lawsuit filed against planned restart of nuclear reactors in Japan

Nine residents filed for an injunction order on Friday to suspend the planned restart of four nuclear reactors in western Japan, local media reported.

The nine people, who are from Fukui, Kyoto and Osaka prefectures, claimed that there is an "actual and looming risk" of nuclear accidents, and requested the Fukui District Court to call off the planned restart of four reactors at Takahama and Oi nuclear plants.

Takahama and Oi nuclear plants are both located in Fukui Prefecture. Both plants' No. 3 and No. 4 reactors are currently undergoing safety screening of the Nuclear Regulation Authority for resuming operation.

The Fukui District Court ruled in May that the Oi nuclear plant shall not be restarted. But another district court made a contradictory ruling last month, rejecting a demand by citizens seeking suspension of possible resumption of Takahama and Oi plants.

Currently, all nuclear reactors in Japan remain offline. Power utilities are desperate to bring nuclear plants back online due to high costs of thermal power generation, while public concerns over nuclear safety are still strong.
 Source: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
5/12/14
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Related:

• Japanese court rejects citizens' demand for suspension of nuclear reactor restart 

• The Otsu District Court on Thursday rejected a demand by Shiga residents to halt the restart of nuclear reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama and Oi plants.

• Japan shuts down last nuclear reactor...

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Related:

• Japan to restart 2 nuclear reactors despite local opposition, safety concerns 

• Japan local assembly okays restart of two reactors

• Japan to reopen 1st nuclear plant after Fukushima disaster - despite volcano risks

• Kagoshima Gov. Yuichiro Ito has accepted the explanation offered by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi Miyazawa about the government’s plan to restart the Sendai nuclear plant...

• Japan warned on Friday that a volcano in southern Japan located roughly 64 km (40 miles) from a nuclear plant was showing signs of increased activity that could possibly lead to a small-scale eruption and warned people to stay away from the summit....

• New industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa said Thursday he will try to persuade residents near the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture why its two reactors should no longer stand idle...

 

Turkey nuke plant to last 100 years (Rosatom CEO)

Turkey’s first nuclear power plant to be built on the country’s southern coast will connect Turkey and Russia for at least 100 years, said the plant’s Russian builder, Rosatom.

“We are giving 60 years of guarantee for the Akkuyu nuclear plant, but I’m sure that it will have a lifespan of 80-100 years,” said Rosatom CEO Sergei Kirienko.

“We signed an agreement that undertakes mutual commitments for over 100 years,” he also added, speaking to the media in Moscow on Nov. 29.

Rosatom, Russia’s state-run atomic energy corporation, signed an agreement with Turkey in 2011 to build and operate a four-reactor nuclear power plant in the Mersin province on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

“Russia will provide $4 billion from its state budget for this project. We will not reduce the financial support of this project,” Kirienko said.

“Russian and Turkish investors will be preferred at first. The project is expected to draw 50-70 percent of investment. This will happen through investors mostly, not bank loans,” he added.

Training support

The Akkuyu plant, which is a sister project to Russia’s Novovoronezh plant in Voronezh Oblast, central Russia, will require $22 billion with construction beginning in 2016 and it becoming operational in 2020.


Kirienko said the use of Russian expertise and technology for Turkey’s first nuclear power plant is a sign of “trust” for Russia, adding that the plant is significant for the strategic cooperation between the two countries, while it will contribute to Turkey’s energy needs.

Recalling that Russia is giving nuclear energy training to 250 Turkish experts, Kirienko emphasized that Russia will help Turkey with the technical and infrastructural aspects. 
 [hurriyetdailynews.com]
30/11/14
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Related:

• La centrale nucléaire d'Akkuyu liera Russie et Turquie pour des décennies (Rosatom) ...

• Akkuyu nuclear power plant: No reasons for deteriorating relations with Russia (Turkish energy minister)

Related:

• Environment report for first nuclear plant in Akkuyu yells out: ‘Don’t build it’ (Coastal nuclear plants mostly in cold seas)

• After the meeting, Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia and Turkey noted successful progress of implementing the South Stream gas project and construction of the first Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu.

• Russia gives $1.39 bln for Turkey’s first nuclear plant. --The reactor’s construction is estimated to begin in 2016

• Σιγή ιχθύος από την Κομισιόν, για το πυρηνικό στο Ακουγιού

• Τα σχέδια του Άκουγιου: Του χρόνου ξεκινά η κατασκευή του πρώτου πυρηνικού σταθμού της Τουρκίας

• He also stated that no construction work for the power plant to be built in Akkuyu, southern Mersin province, had started. (2013)

Japan to restart 2 nuclear reactors despite local opposition, safety concerns

Two nuclear reactors in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima have been cleared to be restarted by Governor Yuichiro Ito and prefectural assembly, making the prefecture the first to gain such approval to restart its idled reactors since new safety regulations were introduced after the 2011 crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Clearance for the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai plant in the prefecture was given Friday by Ito and the assembly, with the governor telling a news conference that while he effectively had "no choice" in the matter, the restart was "essential" and that Japan's nuclear watchdog had approved the reactors' safety standards and compliance.


Further safety inspections will be carried out by Japan's nuclear regulators, but pending final checks the two reactors are scheduled to be brought back online early next year, marking the first restart since the nuclear meltdowns, the worst of their kind since Chernobyl in 1986, at the Fukushima Daiichi complex in the northeast of Japan in March 2011.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the move was a positive step forward in bringing the idled plants back online and the government favors resuming generating nuclear power as fossil fuel imports for thermal generators are weighing heavily on the government's balance sheet.

• However, not all residents in Satsumasendai city, which host the two reactors, supported the restart, with a solid contingent adamant that the plant remains unsafe and that local prefectural officials should be ashamed of complying so easily to the central government's wishes, instead of prioritizing their own communities.

• Among some of the arguments voiced is the fact that the Sendai plant is located in a seismically active region with numerous active volcanic sites, and concerns are raised over the eruption of a nearby volcano.

They highlighted, in addition, that Japan's nuclear watchdog, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), must screen all safety requests and check new safety measures implemented by nuclear plant operators to meet the new regulations before greenlighting their restart. But evacuation plans, such as those developed to deal with an unprecedented volcanic eruption, are created by the local communities themselves and are not required to be mandated by the NRA.

While Ito said all evacuation plans and scenarios are "concrete and rational," what is considered "local approval" for the reactors to be restarted has been called into question, as Satsumasendai's neighboring villages and towns have no legal say on the matter.

In September, the NRA initially granted its approval to restart the two reactors at the Sendai plant, stating that the plant was first in line for being restarted, out of the 48 idled reactors nationwide.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been a staunch supporter of bringing the nation's nuclear power stations back online, as a weak yen, punctuated more so since Japan's central bank expanded its monetary easing program last week, forcing the currency to seven-year lows versus its major counterparts, has continued to push up the price of Japan's fuel imports, like liquified natural gas and coal, used to compensate for the lack of atomic energy.
 Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
7/11/14
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Related:

• Japan local assembly okays restart of two reactors

• Japan to reopen 1st nuclear plant after Fukushima disaster - despite volcano risks

• Kagoshima Gov. Yuichiro Ito has accepted the explanation offered by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi Miyazawa about the government’s plan to restart the Sendai nuclear plant...

• Japan warned on Friday that a volcano in southern Japan located roughly 64 km (40 miles) from a nuclear plant was showing signs of increased activity that could possibly lead to a small-scale eruption and warned people to stay away from the summit....

• New industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa said Thursday he will try to persuade residents near the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture why its two reactors should no longer stand idle...

Japan local assembly okays restart of two reactors

A local assembly in Japan on Friday (Nov 7) approved plans to restart two nuclear reactors, removing a major hurdle to getting atomic power back online more than three years after the Fukushima disaster.

A majority of Kagoshima assembly members voted for the motion to resume operations at the Sendai plant in the southern Japanese prefecture, officials said. The move leaves as an obstacle only the formal approval of Kagoshima's powerful governor, which is expected later in the day, and marks a victory for the pro-nuclear government of Shinzo Abe in its campaign to re-fire atomic plants.

The assembly's approval came after the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) confirmed it believed the two units met toughened safety standards introduced after the Fukushima accident. Television footage showed about a dozen protesters in the public gallery of the assembly hall chanting "We oppose the restart". Governor Yuichiro Ito, who has the final say, is expected to announce his support later on Friday.

The actual restart, however, is likely to be delayed until next year as technical procedures are still under way, including more NRA approvals for remedial work at the site.

Following the tsunami-sparked catastrophe at Fukushima, Japan's entire stable of nuclear reactors were gradually switched off. Two were briefly restarted in 2012 but their power-down last September heralded an entirely nuclear-free Japan. While Prime Minister Abe's government and much of industry is keen to get back to atomic generation - largely because of the soaring costs of dollar denominated fossil fuels to an economy with a plunging currency - the public is unconvinced.

Communities living right next door to nuclear plants, who often enjoy grants from utility companies and depend on the power stations for employment, are frequently sympathetic to restarts. However, there is hostility from those living further afield who enjoy no direct benefits but see themselves as in the firing line in the event of another accident like Fukushima.

Permission from local representatives will be good news for pro-nuclear Abe, who has set his heart on persuading his wary electorate that the world's third largest economy must return to an energy source that once supplied more than a quarter of its power.

Fukushima was the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. It forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, with many of them still displaced amid warnings some areas might have to be abandoned forever.
- AFP/nd
channelnewsasia.com
7/11/14
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Related:

• Japan to reopen 1st nuclear plant after Fukushima disaster - despite volcano risks

• Kagoshima Gov. Yuichiro Ito has accepted the explanation offered by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi Miyazawa about the government’s plan to restart the Sendai nuclear plant...

• Japan warned on Friday that a volcano in southern Japan located roughly 64 km (40 miles) from a nuclear plant was showing signs of increased activity that could possibly lead to a small-scale eruption and warned people to stay away from the summit....

• New industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa said Thursday he will try to persuade residents near the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture why its two reactors should no longer stand idle...

Japan to reopen 1st nuclear plant after Fukushima disaster - despite volcano risks

A local council has voted to re-open the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant on the outermost western coast of Japan, despite local opposition and meteorologists’ warnings, following tremors in a nearby volcano.

Nineteen out of 26 members of the city council of Satsumasendai approved the reopening that is scheduled to take place from early 2015. Like all of Japan’s 48 functional reactors, Sendai’s 890 MW generators were mothballed in the months following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Satsumasendai, a town of 100,000 people, relies heavily on state subsidies and jobs, which are dependent on the continuing operation of the plant.
But other towns, located within sight of the plant, do not reap the same benefits, yet say they are being exposed to the same risks. A survey conducted by the local Minami-Nippon Shimbun newspaper earlier this year said that overall, 60 percent of those in the region were in favor of Sendai staying shut. In Ichikikushikino, a 30,000-strong community just 5 kilometers away, more than half of the population signed a petition opposing the restart. Fewer than half of the major businesses in the region reported that they backed a reopening, despite potential economic benefits. 

Regional governor Yuichiro Ito has waved away the objections, insisting that only the city in which the plant is located is entitled to make the decision.
While most fears have centered around a lack of transparency and inadequate evacuation plans, Sendai is also located near the volcanically active Kirishima mountain range. Mount Ioyama, located just 65 kilometers away from the plant, has been experiencing tremors in recent weeks, prompting the Meteorological Agency to issue a warning. The government’s nuclear agency has dismissed volcanic risks over Sendai’s lifetime as “negligible,” however.................http://rt.com/news/200175-sendai-fukushima-nuclear-volcano/
28/10/14
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French parliament votes to cut nuclear energy reliance

Lawmakers in France, the world's most nuclear-dependent country, on Oct. 10 voted to cut reliance on the energy source from more than 75 percent to 50 percent within a decade.
     
The vote comes as part of an ambitious makeover of France's energy use promised by President Francois Hollande during his 2012 election campaign.
     
The measure calls for renewables to increase in the energy mix for electricity production, rising from 23 percent in 2020 to 32 percent in 2030.
     
Use of fossil fuels should drop to around 30 percent.
     
The measure also sets a goal for a reduction of 40 percent in greenhouse gas emissions from the 1990 levels by 2030 and a 75 percent reduction in 2050.
     
It also targets a 20-percent reduction in energy consumation by 2030, in line with a draft project EU leaders are set to consider at an October 23-24 summit in Brussels.
     
France's conservative opposition sharply criticised Hollande's anti-nuclear stance as "ideological" and driven by a need to satisfy green parties which helped get him elected.
 AFP - hurriyetdailynews.com
10/10/14
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South Africa nuclear plans 'huge risk'. (Greenpeace)

JOHANNESBURG. -(By Hassan Isilow.) -South Africa's plans to invest in nuclear energy are likely to put the country at risk due to the huge costs involved and the potential health risks, an international environmental group has warned.
"As far as Greenpeace Africa is concerned, investing in new nuclear energy is actually going to put this country at risk," Melita Steele, senior climate and energy campaign manager for Greenpeace Africa, told Anadolu Agency in an interview.
On Monday, Russia and South Africa signed an agreement for the construction of new nuclear power plants as part of South Africa's procurement and development program.
The deal, signed in Vienna on the sidelines of an International Atomic Energy Agency conference, calls for the construction by Russia's state-owned nuclear company Rosatom of eight nuclear power units in South Africa.

Rosatom put the estimated cost of the project at between $40 billion and $50 billion.
Steele said that apart from the huge cost of building nuclear plants, there were no long term solutions for nuclear waste.
She cited Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, when nearly 120,000 people were evacuated from their homes – and still have yet to return – following a nuclear plant meltdown.
"As far as Greenpeace is concerned, investing in both coal and nuclear [energy] are nothing more than a dead end," said Steele.
"It [nuclear energy] will send this country into both electricity price crisis as well as electricity supply crisis," she insisted.
Greenpeace is an influential global advocacy group ostensibly devoted to protecting the environment.

-Renewable energy-
Steele urged the South African government to instead focus on renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.
"We think that, as far as the research we've done, South Africa has some of the best solar resources in the world," she told AA.
Steele saw no reason why South Africa should not become a climate leader.
South Africa currently generates almost 90 percent of its electricity from coal-fueled power stations.
Environmental groups say the use of coal has negative effects on human health and the ecosystem.  
www.aa.com.tr/en
25/9/14

Akkuyu nuclear power plant: No reasons for deteriorating relations with Russia (Turkish energy minister)

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said on Friday he did not see any reasons for deteriorating relations with Russia in the energy sector.

“As for the projects that we are currently implementing with Russia there are no reasons, which can cause problems due to the EU sanctions. Our relations are stable in gas issues and in other spheres,” Yildiz said.

Russia and Turkey are implementing a project to build the Akkuyu nuclear power plant at Mersin Province on the Mediterranean coast, he said.

Turkish specialists continue training in Russia to work at the nuclear power plant, Yildiz said, adding that his ministry and the Ministry of Environment were studying the environmental impact assessment report, given by Russia.
Further implementation of the project depends on this document, Yildiz said.
In May 2010 the Russian and Turkish government signed an agreement on cooperation to build and develop the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant will be the first power plant. It is built by Russian companies. The project envisages creating four units with the capacity of 1200 MWt. The nuclear plant will generate about 35 billion kWt electricity per hour.

http://en.itar-tass.com/world/74523015/8/14
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Related:

• Environment report for first nuclear plant in Akkuyu yells out: ‘Don’t build it’ (Coastal nuclear plants mostly in cold seas)

• After the meeting, Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia and Turkey noted successful progress of implementing the South Stream gas project and construction of the first Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu.

• Russia gives $1.39 bln for Turkey’s first nuclear plant. --The reactor’s construction is estimated to begin in 2016

• Σιγή ιχθύος από την Κομισιόν, για το πυρηνικό στο Ακουγιού

• Τα σχέδια του Άκουγιου: Του χρόνου ξεκινά η κατασκευή του πρώτου πυρηνικού σταθμού της Τουρκίας

• He also stated that no construction work for the power plant to be built in Akkuyu, southern Mersin province, had started. (2013)

Environment report for first nuclear plant in Akkuyu yells out: ‘Don’t build it’ (Coastal nuclear plants mostly in cold seas)

Data collected in the controversial environmental impact assessment report (ÇED) regarding Turkey’s prospective first nuclear plant in Akkuyu in Mersin has provided serious warnings that the plant could hurt the region’s ecosystem once it comes operational.

A leading expert on marine sciences who spoke to Doğan News Agency said the data was not interpreted in the light of its potential ecological damage.


“When you look at the data, the report yells, ‘This shouldn’t be built here,’” said Ali Cemal Gücü, a professor at the Marine Sciences Institute at Middle Eastern Technical University (ODTÜ) in Ankara.
 
Gücü said it was impossible to suggest there would be no environmental impact after the release of a million cubic meters of 35-degree water into the sea each hour for the next 60 years.

• According to the 3,600-page report, which had to be revised after being returned three times over the past two years, the water needed to cool the four-reactor plant will be supplied from Mediterranean Sea and will be poured back into the sea at 35 degrees. Although the report admits the discharge will cause a rise in the water temperature, it argues that this would not exceed 0.5 degrees and poses no danger to any species living in the habitat, including loggerhead turtles and monk seals.

But government officials and investors in the planned 4,800 megawatt (MW) plant built by Russia’s Rosatom quickly dismissed the environmental concerns with construction already falling behind schedule.

Coastal nuclear plants mostly in cold seas

According to Gücü, the assurances regarding sea life in the zone are not credible when confronted with the data provided by the report.

Gücü said similar nuclear plants designed to discharge hot water into the sea were usually build in areas such as the Baltic states, Russia or Finland.

“So the same interpretations that could be made for a sea at 17 degrees are made for the northeastern Mediterranean, whose waters are at 31 degrees and can almost be considered tropical,” Gücü said.

The professor said the bays between Mersin and İskenderun in the eastern Mediterranean had been invaded by species that poured into the Mediterranean from the Red Sea following the opening of the Suez Canal, resulting in the deaths of local species. The increase in the temperatures in the bay would only accelerate the process, Gücü said, threatening the whole fish population.

Gücü also claimed that monk seals will have to abandon the area as soon as the construction starts.
“[At a time] when monkey seals are disappearing in the whole Mediterranean, they are building a nuclear plant, instead of protecting this area. They chose that area for its untouched nature, but won’t care at all if they lose all those species,” he said.

Officials have solemnly vowed that those who will work at Akkuyu NGS, the company established by Rosatom to operate the plant, will be trained to increase awareness about the protection of marine fauna.

The start of construction for the plant is scheduled for mid-2015, as pressure by the government has already increased as the project still has to obtain a construction license. By 2023, all four planned reactors are slated to have started generating power. 
[hurriyetdailynews.com]
18/7/14
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Related:

• Russia gives $1.39 bln for Turkey’s first nuclear plant. --The reactor’s construction is estimated to begin in 2016

• Σιγή ιχθύος από την Κομισιόν, για το πυρηνικό στο Ακουγιού

• Τα σχέδια του Άκουγιου: Του χρόνου ξεκινά η κατασκευή του πρώτου πυρηνικού σταθμού της Τουρκίας

• He also stated that no construction work for the power plant to be built in Akkuyu, southern Mersin province, had started. (2013)

TEPCO finds water leak area in crippled Fukushima No.1 reactor

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said it has identified the exact location of water leakage at the bottom of the container of the plant's No. 1 reactor, local media reported Wednesday.

The company said that a remote-controlled robot survey found that water was leaking from a joint in a pipe connected to the No. 1 reactor's primary containment vessel, Kyodo News said.

The metal bellow joint is likely to have been corroded by seawater that was used as an emergency measure to cool the reactor during the early stage of the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Kyodo quoted a TEPCO official as saying.

The official, according to the report, denied the possibility that the leakage was caused because the earthquake damaged equipment, adding TEPCO will continue to investigate if there are other areas of leakage nearby.

Confirmation of locations of water leakages is an important part of TEPCO's plan to scrap the No. 1 to 3 reactors, which suffered meltdowns as the operator has to plug the leaks and fill the containers with water that serves as radiation shield so as to remove the melted fuel.
(Xinhua)- [cntv.cn]
28/5/14
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Russia gives $1.39 bln for Turkey’s first nuclear plant. --The reactor’s construction is estimated to begin in 2016

Turkey has received $1.39 billion from Russia for the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu for the first quarter of 2014.

Akkuyu NGS, Russia’s state-run nuclear company Rosatom’s subsidiary in Turkey, has started increasing its investments. 

According to company officials, once the environmental evaluation report (ÇED) is approved, ground preparations and infrastructural investments will speed up in the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear plant.


The Akkuyu NPP project is estimated to cost around $20 billion and total of $3.5 billion worth of equipment is expected to be used in the construction process, of which $1.8 billion will be spent this year alone.

Funds received from Russia are expected to be used, particularly in building the infrastructure for the plant, in constructing roads, power lines, water pipelines, temporary housing and cranes.

• If the project license is approved, the reactor’s construction is estimated to begin in 2016, and to be operational by 2020 with the entire plant being fully operational by 2023.

The Russian energy company Rosatom signed an agreement in 2011 to build and operate a four reactor nuclear power plant in the province of Mersin on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, with the aim of having the plant fully-operational by the Turkish republic’s 100-year anniversary in 2023. 
[hurriyetdailynews.com]
10/4/14
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ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ:

• Σιγή ιχθύος από την Κομισιόν, για το πυρηνικό στο Ακουγιού

• Τα σχέδια του Άκουγιου: Του χρόνου ξεκινά η κατασκευή του πρώτου πυρηνικού σταθμού της Τουρκίας

• He also stated that no construction work for the power plant to be built in Akkuyu, southern Mersin province, had started. (2013)

Germany seeks to trim subsidies for renewable energy

Germany's economy and energy minister laid out Tuesday proposals to curb renewable energy subsidies and cap electricity prices but opponents fear they could jeopardise the country's much vaunted green energy transition.
Just weeks after taking over as Economy and Energy Minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel's left-right "grand coalition", Social Democrat Sigmar Gabriel presented a blueprint to meet what he described as "the biggest challenge currently facing our country."
He wants to start by trimming subsidies for renewable sources of energy, a keystone in the so-called energy transition that Europe's top economy embarked on 15 years ago under its then Social Democrat chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

The strategy has been pursued with even greater intensity by his conservative successor Merkel after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan persuaded her to gradually abandon nuclear energy completely.
Generous subsidies -- financed via an energy tax -- have meant that renewables now account for around a quarter of energy production and consumption in Germany. And the aim is for renewables to meet as much as 80 percent of the country's energy needs by 2050.
But the tax has caused energy prices to shoot up, adding as much as 24 billion euros ($32 billion) to industry's power bills, according to Gabriel.
"We must be careful not to bite off more than we can chew," he argued, pointing out that the manufacturing industry remains the backbone of the German economy.
By the summer, the subsidy system has to be revamped to target "the most promising technologies," namely wind and solar power. And the pace of development in those sectors should be monitored more closely.
In the medium term, the Social Democrat minister hopes to introduce market mechanisms to the subsidy system.
That will help keep a lid on price rises but will not force prices down, Gabriel insisted.
Industry is satisfied
"It's a big step in the right direction," said the BDEW industry federation for the energy sector.
And Leonard Birnbaum, board member at Germany's biggest power supplier E.ON, said the proposals were "clearly positive."
The powerful BDI industry federation, which has been highly critical of the current system, also hailed "the first sensible steps."
It welcomed in particular the government's commitment to exempting high-consuming industries from all or part of the energy tax.
But such exemptions have come under fire from the EU Commission in Brussels and Berlin has been ordered to take action to appease the EU's competition authorities.
EU Energy Commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, gave Gabriel's plans the thumbs up.
"I fully back the plans of Mr Gabriel. They're important and are the right ones," Oettinger said.
By contrast, the head of the opposition Green party, Simone Peter, claimed that "Gabriel's proposals ... are putting the energy transition in jeopardy."
Fossil fuel is still the biggest energy source for Germany, and Gabriel's proposals will mean that the country will not meet its goals in reducing carbon emissions, warned Hermann Falk of the BEE industry federation for renewables.
"The planned measures are so radical that they resemble open heart surgery," the left-leaning Frankfurter Rundschau wrote in an editorial, expressing concern about the development of wind power.
Nevertheless, a revamp of the system of subsidies for renewables is just the first of many steps that Gabriel will have to take.
The minister must find a solution that allows fossil-fuel fired power stations to remain profitable. Many of them cannot compete with subsidised renewable energy sources. But Germany needs a guaranteed power supply on days when there is no sun or wind.
Peter Terium, head of Germany's number two power supplier RWE, urged the minister to tackle the problem.
"The situation for industry is catastrophic," he said.
RWE is planning to axe 7,000 jobs by 2016 as competition from renewables pushes the group into heavy loss. 
AFP
http://www.france24.com/en/20140121-germany-seeks-trim-subsidies-renewable-energy/
21/1/14
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First wind turbine starts to spin near Fukushima. (video)

Japan has switched on the first wind turbine at a proposed wind farm 20 kilometres off the coast of Fukushima. The 143 turbines at the planned wind farm near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will have a capacity to generate one gigawatt of power. 

By comparison the nuclear plant had a capcity of four-and-a-half gigawatts. 

The turbines will help restore energy supplies to a region decimated by the multiple meltdowns of the nuclear plan following a tsunami in March 2011.

• >>>>>Japan to start building world's biggest offshore wind farm this summer<<<<<

  • Fukushima gets wind farm two years after nuclear disaster - video

  • Japan to start building world's biggest offshore wind farm this summer 

  • Με Ανεμογεννήτριες Siemens, Εγκαινιάστηκε το Μεγαλύτερο Υπεράκτιο Αιολικό Πάρκο του Κόσμου (2 VIDEO YT)

   

The two megawatt floating turbine that began operation on Monday was built at a dry dock near Tokyo and towed to its location off the northeastern coast.

"Many people were victimized and hurt by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, so it is very meaningful to have a new source of energy - renewable energy - based here at Fukushima. It is the government’s mission to ensure this project is a success," said State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kazuyoshi Akaba. 
cntv.cn
11/11/13

Experts say nuclear power needed to slow warming.

PITTSBURGH: Some of the world's top climate scientists say wind and solar energy won't be enough to head off extreme global warming, and they're asking environmentalists to support the development of safer nuclear power as one way to cut fossil fuel pollution.

Four scientists who have played a key role in alerting the public to the dangers of climate change sent letters Sunday to leading environmental groups and politicians around the world. The letter, an advance copy of which was given to The Associated Press, urges a crucial discussion on the role of nuclear power in fighting climate change.

Environmentalists agree that global warming is a threat to ecosystems and humans, but many oppose nuclear power and believe that new forms of renewable energy will be able to power the world within the next few decades.

That isn't realistic, the letter said.

"Those energy sources cannot scale up fast enough" to deliver the amount of cheap and reliable power the world needs, and "with the planet warming and carbon dioxide emissions rising faster than ever, we cannot afford to turn away from any technology" that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases.

The letter signers are James Hansen, a former top NASA scientist; Ken Caldeira, of the Carnegie Institution; Kerry Emanuel, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Tom Wigley, of the University of Adelaide in Australia.

Hansen began publishing research on the threat of global warming more than 30 years ago, and his testimony before Congress in 1988 helped launch a mainstream discussion. Last February he was arrested in front of the White House at a climate protest that included the head of the Sierra Club and other activists. Caldeira was a contributor to reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Emanuel is known for his research on possible links between climate change and hurricanes, and Wigley has also been doing climate research for more than 30 years.

Emanuel said the signers aren't opposed to renewable energy sources but want environmentalists to understand that "realistically, they cannot on their own solve the world's energy problems."

The vast majority of climate scientists say they're now virtually certain that pollution from fossil fuels has increased global temperatures over the last 60 years. They say emissions need to be sharply reduced to prevent more extreme damage in the future.

In 2011 worldwide carbon dioxide emissions jumped 3 percent, because of a large increase by China, the No. 1 carbon polluting country. The U.S. is No. 2 in carbon emissions.

Hansen, who's now at Columbia University, said it's not enough for environmentalists to simply oppose fossil fuels and promote renewable energy.

"They're cheating themselves if they keep believing this fiction that all we need" is renewable energy such as wind and solar, Hansen told the AP.

The joint letter says, "The time has come for those who take the threat of global warming seriously to embrace the development and deployment of safer nuclear power systems" as part of efforts to build a new global energy supply.

Stephen Ansolabehere, a Harvard professor who studies energy issues, said nuclear power is "very divisive" within the environmental movement. But he added that the letter could help educate the public about the difficult choices that climate change presents.

One major environmental advocacy organization, the Natural Resources Defense Council, warned that "nuclear power is no panacea for our climate woes."

Risk of catastrophe is only one drawback of nuclear power, NRDC President Frances Beinecke said in a statement. Waste storage and security of nuclear material are also important issues, she said.

"The better path is to clean up our power plants and invest in efficiency and renewable energy," Beinecke said.

The scientists acknowledge that there are risks to using nuclear power, but say those are far smaller than the risk posed by extreme climate change.

"We understand that today's nuclear plants are far from perfect."

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Science/2013/Nov-03/236720-experts-say-nuclear-power-needed-to-slow-warming.ashx#ixzz2jcQLBgWm
3/11/13
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Turkey and Japan sign formal agreement to build second nuclear plant in Sinop.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe signed on Oct. 29 the official agreement for building Turkey's second nuclear plant in the Black Sea province of Sinop.

The two countries signed a $22 billion deal in May for the construction of a plant with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts (mW), by a Japanese-French alliance of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and French firm Areva.

Abe came to Istanbul to attend the official opening ceremony of the Marmaray tunnel, which has also been built by a Japanese firm.


Erdoğan told reporters during a joint press conference after the Marmaray's opening ceremony that the nuclear plant would be built with the most developed technology.

"We know that it is impossible to say something like 'accidents will never happen.' Even if it is one in a million, such a danger, such an accident, might occur, and it is impossible to ignore this," Erdoğan said, commenting on the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

"There is no investment without risks, in any field. But every firm, every company should take 100 percent security measures. The ideal thing is without a doubt to minimize the margin of error," he added.

"Moreover, I believe that Japan will put forward the most developed technology in the works that we will undertake together at the Sinop nuclear plant. This is necessary for both Japan and Turkey," the prime minister said.

The first unit of the nuclear plant is set to be active by 2023, while the last unit will come online by 2028.

Turkey's first nuclear plant is being constructed in Akkuyu in the southern province of Mersin by the Russian state atomic energy corporation. The plant will be made with four reactors and will have a total installed power of 4,800 mW.
hurriyetdailynews.com
30/10/13
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Fukushima gets wind farm two years after nuclear disaster - video

A wind turbine is transported from Tokyo to the coast of Fukushima to become part of a floating wind farm which will generate power from October. 

The Japanese government hopes the wind farm will help the region recover from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.
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Turkey & Japan agree on a nuclear plant investment

Turkish PM Erdogan said Turkey and Japan took a step for establishment of a nuclear energy power plant....

 Turkey and Japan agreed on an investment of 22 billion USD for establishment of a nuclear energy power plant in Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed a declaration on setting up a strategic partnership between Turkey and Japan as well as a declaration which guarantees a previously-signed cooperation agreement on nuclear energy.
In a joint press conference, Erdogan said they took a step for nuclear energy power plant between Turkey and Japan.

This step was very important to take. We have an ongoing nuclear energy power plant process with Russia in Mersin-Akkuyu. Now, we have taken a step with Japan for another nuclear energy power plant.

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/171936--turkey-amp-japan-agree-on-a-nuclear-plant-investment
3/5/13
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• Japan: Abe to review Fukushima crisis before deciding on restarting reactors

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