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kristopher
kristopher's Journal
kristopher's Journal
February 3, 2012
More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/31/ministers-misled-nuclear-power-stations
Related:
More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2012/feb/01/nuclear-power-carbon-emissions-target
Report 'Corruption of Governance' can be downloaded here
http://www.ukace.org/publications/ACE%20Campaigns%20%282012-01%29%20-%20Corruption%20of%20Governance%20-%20Jan%202012
UK government lied about need for nuclear power
Ministers 'misled MPs over need for nuclear power stations'
Cross-party report says government misrepresented findings on future electricity demand, and ignored case against nuclear
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 31 January 2012 12.35 EST
Ministers misled parliament over the need to build a new fleet of nuclear power stations, distorting evidence and presenting to MPs a false summary of the analysis they had commissioned, a group of MPs and experts alleged in a report published on Tuesday.
If MPs had been presented with an accurate picture of the evidence for and against new reactors, the government's plans might have been challenged, according to the report. Both the previous Labour government and the current coalition overstated the evidence that new nuclear power was needed, it also alleged.
Building new nuclear power stations is highly controversial, as polls consistently show a substantial minority opposing them. But many people, including some environmental campaigners, have been persuaded towards supporting nuclear by the argument that they would help the UK generate power without carbon dioxide emissions.
The previous government cited its own research in order to make that case, but according to today's report, some of the findings were misrepresented when relayed to MPs by ministers. For instance, the report found that rather than assess the requirement for new nuclear power stations and then work out how many would be needed, the government commissioned research that took as its central assumption that 10 new reactors would be built and then presented its research as evidence of the need for 10 reactors....
Cross-party report says government misrepresented findings on future electricity demand, and ignored case against nuclear
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 31 January 2012 12.35 EST
Ministers misled parliament over the need to build a new fleet of nuclear power stations, distorting evidence and presenting to MPs a false summary of the analysis they had commissioned, a group of MPs and experts alleged in a report published on Tuesday.
If MPs had been presented with an accurate picture of the evidence for and against new reactors, the government's plans might have been challenged, according to the report. Both the previous Labour government and the current coalition overstated the evidence that new nuclear power was needed, it also alleged.
Building new nuclear power stations is highly controversial, as polls consistently show a substantial minority opposing them. But many people, including some environmental campaigners, have been persuaded towards supporting nuclear by the argument that they would help the UK generate power without carbon dioxide emissions.
The previous government cited its own research in order to make that case, but according to today's report, some of the findings were misrepresented when relayed to MPs by ministers. For instance, the report found that rather than assess the requirement for new nuclear power stations and then work out how many would be needed, the government commissioned research that took as its central assumption that 10 new reactors would be built and then presented its research as evidence of the need for 10 reactors....
More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/31/ministers-misled-nuclear-power-stations
Related:
Can the UK achieve its carbon targets without nuclear power?
A new report, which has attracted cross-party support, is claiming that the government's decision in favour of nuclear power was "corrupted" by "false" information. Corruption of Governance? (pdf) was jointly written by Unlock Democracy and the Association for the Conservation of Energy and it argues that "this corruption of governance can only be rectified if Parliament re-opens this debate, and MPs vote on this issue having seen the correct information".
One of the report's central arguments is that, according to the government's own figures, "there is absolutely no need for any more nuclear power stations to deliver energy security ('keep the lights on') and achieve 80% reductions in carbon dioxide by 2050".
In part, it says that this is down to the fact that the government stated that the UK's electricity supply will need to "double or even triple" in order to achieve a low-carbon economy. But the report states that this was based on flawed information and assumptions about electricity "needs" by 2025 and beyond. It led to some contorted thinking, it adds:
...
A new report, which has attracted cross-party support, is claiming that the government's decision in favour of nuclear power was "corrupted" by "false" information. Corruption of Governance? (pdf) was jointly written by Unlock Democracy and the Association for the Conservation of Energy and it argues that "this corruption of governance can only be rectified if Parliament re-opens this debate, and MPs vote on this issue having seen the correct information".
One of the report's central arguments is that, according to the government's own figures, "there is absolutely no need for any more nuclear power stations to deliver energy security ('keep the lights on') and achieve 80% reductions in carbon dioxide by 2050".
In part, it says that this is down to the fact that the government stated that the UK's electricity supply will need to "double or even triple" in order to achieve a low-carbon economy. But the report states that this was based on flawed information and assumptions about electricity "needs" by 2025 and beyond. It led to some contorted thinking, it adds:
The [government's] pre-determined policy of [needing] 10 new nuclear power stations created the 'central assumption' of the need for them. Rather than the need driving the policy, the policy dictated the so-called need.
...
More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2012/feb/01/nuclear-power-carbon-emissions-target
Report 'Corruption of Governance' can be downloaded here
http://www.ukace.org/publications/ACE%20Campaigns%20%282012-01%29%20-%20Corruption%20of%20Governance%20-%20Jan%202012
February 2, 2012
Yakuza labor structure formed base of nuclear industry
Yakuza labor structure formed base of nuclear industry
February 02, 2012
In a rural area 15 kilometers southwest of the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, a business office displays the signboard of a construction company. But inside, a 67-year-old man wearing a black knit cap and wrapped up in a blanket while watching television indicates that the company is more of a temp staff agency for nuclear power plant work.
“Do you want to know about worker staffing?” he says, as he narrows his eyes and grimaces. “That was lucrative. When I was asked to gather up 10 workers, I called up yakuza and construction dealers.”
His said his work involved “disguised subcontracts.” Under the system, a subcontractor provides temporary staff to a general contractor, and they work under the instructions of the general contractor. The practice is illegal under the Employment Security Law, which is designed to protect the rights of workers and to ensure proper working conditions for them.
...
The workers, desperate for income, hop from one nuclear plant to another for jobs they know are dangerous. The yakuza groups, seeing certain sources of income drying up, continue to take their cut from the system. And general contractors and the utilities themselves have not taken action because the system supplies a steady source of cheap labor.
On Jan. 12, Fukui and Fukuoka prefectural police arrested ...
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201202020055
February 02, 2012
In a rural area 15 kilometers southwest of the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, a business office displays the signboard of a construction company. But inside, a 67-year-old man wearing a black knit cap and wrapped up in a blanket while watching television indicates that the company is more of a temp staff agency for nuclear power plant work.
“Do you want to know about worker staffing?” he says, as he narrows his eyes and grimaces. “That was lucrative. When I was asked to gather up 10 workers, I called up yakuza and construction dealers.”
His said his work involved “disguised subcontracts.” Under the system, a subcontractor provides temporary staff to a general contractor, and they work under the instructions of the general contractor. The practice is illegal under the Employment Security Law, which is designed to protect the rights of workers and to ensure proper working conditions for them.
...
The workers, desperate for income, hop from one nuclear plant to another for jobs they know are dangerous. The yakuza groups, seeing certain sources of income drying up, continue to take their cut from the system. And general contractors and the utilities themselves have not taken action because the system supplies a steady source of cheap labor.
On Jan. 12, Fukui and Fukuoka prefectural police arrested ...
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201202020055
February 2, 2012
And in related news...
Both stories at this link:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120202a3.html
Can you tell the difference between 1 1/2 gallons and 2,300 gallons?
Pipe leaks water from reactor 4 fuel pool
Tepco discovers that 8.5 tons of radioactive coolant water leaked in reactor 4 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, somewhat higher than its initial estimate of 6 liters, but says none flowed outside the building.
Tepco discovers that 8.5 tons of radioactive coolant water leaked in reactor 4 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, somewhat higher than its initial estimate of 6 liters, but says none flowed outside the building.
And in related news...
Mass suit in Saga
KYODO
SAGA — A record 1,704 people from across Japan are suing the government and Kyushu Electric Power Co., demanding the shutdown of all four reactors at the utility's Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture.
In the suit filed Tuesday with the Saga District Court against the state and Kyushu Electric Power, the plaintiffs from Saga and 28 other prefectures assert the reactors are dangerous and make them feel insecure amid the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
They are also seeking compensation of ¥10,000 each per month covering the period from March 2011, when the crisis erupted at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 power plant, until Kyushu Electric totally shuts down the Genkai atomic plant.
"We want the judges to agree that the safety dogma regarding nuclear reactors has collapsed during the trial," said Akira Hasegawa, the plaintiffs' leader and former president of Saga University...
KYODO
SAGA — A record 1,704 people from across Japan are suing the government and Kyushu Electric Power Co., demanding the shutdown of all four reactors at the utility's Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture.
In the suit filed Tuesday with the Saga District Court against the state and Kyushu Electric Power, the plaintiffs from Saga and 28 other prefectures assert the reactors are dangerous and make them feel insecure amid the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
They are also seeking compensation of ¥10,000 each per month covering the period from March 2011, when the crisis erupted at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 power plant, until Kyushu Electric totally shuts down the Genkai atomic plant.
"We want the judges to agree that the safety dogma regarding nuclear reactors has collapsed during the trial," said Akira Hasegawa, the plaintiffs' leader and former president of Saga University...
Both stories at this link:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120202a3.html
February 1, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/01/29/20120129p2g00m0dm021000c.html
This incident strongly colors Japanese perceptions of what is happening in Fukushima.
Environment minister apologizes to Minamata disease sufferers
Environment minister apologizes to Minamata disease sufferers
MINAMATA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Environment Minister Goshi Hosono on Sunday apologized for the time it is taking the government to resolve the issue of providing relief measures to uncertified sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease caused by the release of tainted water into the sea decades ago.
"I would like to apologize for the fact that the issue is yet to be solved and is still causing you suffering," Hosono said as he met with sufferers of the disease in Minamata, Kumotomo Prefecture for the first time since he took on the post of environment minister in September last year.
...
The neurological illness, caused by mercury-tainted water released into the sea by a Chisso Corp. chemical plant in Minamata, southwestern Japan, was officially recognized in May 1956.
MINAMATA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Environment Minister Goshi Hosono on Sunday apologized for the time it is taking the government to resolve the issue of providing relief measures to uncertified sufferers of Minamata mercury poisoning disease caused by the release of tainted water into the sea decades ago.
"I would like to apologize for the fact that the issue is yet to be solved and is still causing you suffering," Hosono said as he met with sufferers of the disease in Minamata, Kumotomo Prefecture for the first time since he took on the post of environment minister in September last year.
...
The neurological illness, caused by mercury-tainted water released into the sea by a Chisso Corp. chemical plant in Minamata, southwestern Japan, was officially recognized in May 1956.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/01/29/20120129p2g00m0dm021000c.html
This incident strongly colors Japanese perceptions of what is happening in Fukushima.
February 1, 2012
Huge wind power generators stand in the Aomori Prefecture village of Rokkasho with the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the background. (Mainichi)
WAKAYAMA -- A company partially financed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is planning to build a wind power station in the Wakayama Prefecture town of Hidaka, which has abandoned plans to host a nuclear power plant, it has been learned.
The town is likely to accept the wind power project, with Mayor Yoshio Naka earlier having declared: "The age of nuclear power stations is over."
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/01/31/20120131p2a00m0na005000c.html
Wind power station planned in place of nuclear plant in Wakayama town (Japan)
Wind power station planned in place of nuclear plant in Wakayama townHuge wind power generators stand in the Aomori Prefecture village of Rokkasho with the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the background. (Mainichi)
WAKAYAMA -- A company partially financed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is planning to build a wind power station in the Wakayama Prefecture town of Hidaka, which has abandoned plans to host a nuclear power plant, it has been learned.
The town is likely to accept the wind power project, with Mayor Yoshio Naka earlier having declared: "The age of nuclear power stations is over."
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/01/31/20120131p2a00m0na005000c.html
January 19, 2012
Much more at: http://bos.sagepub.com/content/68/1/20.full#sec-1
Or you can download the entire paper with this link:
http://bos.sagepub.com/content/68/1/20.full.pdf+html
Nuclear weapons 2011: Momentum slows, reality returns
This article is an excellent discussion of the potential nuclear weapons proliferation consequences related to the spread of civilian nuclear energy reactors.
About the author:
Steven E. Miller is director of the International Security Program, editor-in-chief of the quarterly journal International Security, and co-editor of the International Security Program’s book series, Belfer Center Studies in International Security (published by the MIT Press). Previously, he was senior research fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and taught defense and arms control studies in the department of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is co-author of the monograph War with Iraq: Costs, Consequences, and Alternatives (American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2002). Miller is editor or co-editor of more than two dozen books including, most recently, Going Nuclear (MIT Press, 2010) and Contending with Terrorism (MIT Press, 2010).
Nuclear weapons 2011: Momentum slows, reality returns
Steven E. Miller
Abstract
If 2010 was the year of successes and landmarks for arms control, 2011 was the year that the momentum of the new era slowed, and hard realities were made apparent. By the end of the year, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty had not been ratified or even seriously discussed, and negotiations on the Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty remained stuck in the Conference on Disarmament, with no sign of success in the offing. The author takes a look at five events that unfolded in 2011 and that seem certain to cast a powerful shadow in months and years to come. He writes that both the spread of nuclear technology in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and the revision of the export control regime pose a threat to the long-term structure of the global nuclear order. The crisis with Iran continues to present a serious challenge to the Non-Proliferation Treaty regime while raising the risk of a military response. A conference on a Middle East WMD-free zone requires addressing an ambitious objective in the world’s most intractable diplomatic environment. And the impediments to progress in US–Russian relations stifle hopes that further agreements and deeper cuts can be achieved; a deterioration of this relationship could mean serious consequences in the arms control environment. In 2011, no new breakthroughs occurred, the author writes, adding that 2012 could be a much more difficult year...
...
The nuclear order widens
On March 14, 2011, Abu Dhabi broke ground for its first nuclear reactor—one of four it is under contract to purchase from the Korean Electric Power Company and all of which it aims to have connected to the electricity grid by 2020. On May 8, 2011, the Iranian nuclear reactor at Bushehr began operating and has since been connected to the electricity grid, becoming the first nuclear power plant to function in the Middle East. On December 2, 2011, Russia began construction of a nuclear power plant at Ninh Thuan, Vietnam, intended to include two nuclear reactors in excess of 1,000 megawatts each and expected to be completed by 2020. All of these developments took place after the terrible accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan—which might have caused a pause, a rethinking, or even a cancellation of these projects, but did not. Instead, civilian nuclear technology is spreading into two regions—the Middle East and Southeast Asia—where it was previously absent. This is the beginning of a long-term process involving the slow spread of nuclear assets to additional countries; dozens of potential nuclear newcomers have approached the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to express interest in pursuing nuclear power. This is a portentous development. Across time, it will widen the global distribution of nuclear technology, expand the serious nuclear players, reshape the international nuclear marketplace, add to worries about the safety and security of nuclear facilities, and change the politics of the NPT regime.
The implications in terms of nuclear proliferation are indirect...
...
The export control regime tightens
As the spearhead states among the nuclear newcomers have begun to visibly implement their nuclear programs, nuclear suppliers (perhaps not coincidentally) have moved to make the harmonized international export regime more restrictive. The suppliers have organized themselves into a cartel—the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)—that now consists of 46 member states that are committed to follow agreed, though informal, rules for regulating international nuclear commerce. At its annual meeting in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, in June, the NSG agreed, after years of deliberation, to strengthen the guidelines governing enrichment and reprocessing transfers.
According to published reports of...
Steven E. Miller
Abstract
If 2010 was the year of successes and landmarks for arms control, 2011 was the year that the momentum of the new era slowed, and hard realities were made apparent. By the end of the year, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty had not been ratified or even seriously discussed, and negotiations on the Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty remained stuck in the Conference on Disarmament, with no sign of success in the offing. The author takes a look at five events that unfolded in 2011 and that seem certain to cast a powerful shadow in months and years to come. He writes that both the spread of nuclear technology in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and the revision of the export control regime pose a threat to the long-term structure of the global nuclear order. The crisis with Iran continues to present a serious challenge to the Non-Proliferation Treaty regime while raising the risk of a military response. A conference on a Middle East WMD-free zone requires addressing an ambitious objective in the world’s most intractable diplomatic environment. And the impediments to progress in US–Russian relations stifle hopes that further agreements and deeper cuts can be achieved; a deterioration of this relationship could mean serious consequences in the arms control environment. In 2011, no new breakthroughs occurred, the author writes, adding that 2012 could be a much more difficult year...
...
The nuclear order widens
On March 14, 2011, Abu Dhabi broke ground for its first nuclear reactor—one of four it is under contract to purchase from the Korean Electric Power Company and all of which it aims to have connected to the electricity grid by 2020. On May 8, 2011, the Iranian nuclear reactor at Bushehr began operating and has since been connected to the electricity grid, becoming the first nuclear power plant to function in the Middle East. On December 2, 2011, Russia began construction of a nuclear power plant at Ninh Thuan, Vietnam, intended to include two nuclear reactors in excess of 1,000 megawatts each and expected to be completed by 2020. All of these developments took place after the terrible accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan—which might have caused a pause, a rethinking, or even a cancellation of these projects, but did not. Instead, civilian nuclear technology is spreading into two regions—the Middle East and Southeast Asia—where it was previously absent. This is the beginning of a long-term process involving the slow spread of nuclear assets to additional countries; dozens of potential nuclear newcomers have approached the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to express interest in pursuing nuclear power. This is a portentous development. Across time, it will widen the global distribution of nuclear technology, expand the serious nuclear players, reshape the international nuclear marketplace, add to worries about the safety and security of nuclear facilities, and change the politics of the NPT regime.
The implications in terms of nuclear proliferation are indirect...
...
The export control regime tightens
As the spearhead states among the nuclear newcomers have begun to visibly implement their nuclear programs, nuclear suppliers (perhaps not coincidentally) have moved to make the harmonized international export regime more restrictive. The suppliers have organized themselves into a cartel—the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)—that now consists of 46 member states that are committed to follow agreed, though informal, rules for regulating international nuclear commerce. At its annual meeting in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, in June, the NSG agreed, after years of deliberation, to strengthen the guidelines governing enrichment and reprocessing transfers.
According to published reports of...
Much more at: http://bos.sagepub.com/content/68/1/20.full#sec-1
Or you can download the entire paper with this link:
http://bos.sagepub.com/content/68/1/20.full.pdf+html
January 17, 2012
http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Proposed-Indian-Nuclear-Power-Plant-in-Zone-Subject-to-Earthquakes.html
http://www.dubaichronicle.com/2012/01/15/renewable-energy-india-minister-farooq-abdullah/
http://www.myfen.com.au/news/india-secures-new-solar-pv-plant--1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/jan/16/india-solar-power-system
Proposed Indian Nuclear Power Plant in Zone Subject to Earthquakes
Proposed Indian Nuclear Power Plant in Zone Subject to Earthquakes
Written by John Daly
Tuesday, 17 January 2012 00:00
Like many energy poor countries with rapidly rising economies, India’s government sees the development of a nuclear power industry as a potential godsend to meeting soaring demands for electricity.
But the country’s proposed nuclear program has run into increasing resistance, following the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami that on 11 March 2011 devastated Japan’s Daichi nuclear power plant complex, taking all six Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) reactors offline. Public opinion in India is concerned because the country is subject to both of the natural phenomena, and authorities are declining to release relevant materials.
The issue is not insignificant, as nuclear power is now the fourth-largest source of electricity in India, exceeded only by thermal, hydro and wind power, with its 19 online nuclear power plants (NPPs) generating 4,560 megawatts of electricity.
In the most recent example of governmental stonewalling, New Delhi is declining to release to the public a geological study of the Jaitapur region in Maharashtra State on the Arabian Sea, where the government intends to construct a NPP.
India’s government has already seen significant public protests over...
http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Proposed-Indian-Nuclear-Power-Plant-in-Zone-Subject-to-Earthquakes.html
Renewable Energy is the future of mankind, India’s minister Dr Farooq Abdullah
An exclusive interview with Dr Farooq Abdullah, India’s renewable energy minister ahead of the official opening of World Future Energy Summit 2012 in Abu Dhabi tomorrow, highlights the role of renewable energy in India’s economic growth.
Dr. Farooq Abdullah is the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy in the Government of India. He is best known for his energetic leadership of the pathbreaking and transformational initiative in renewable energy – The Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission. He is also known for a number of other initiatives in the renewable energy space in India-notably, renewable energy for energy access, the introduction of Generation Based Incentives and the move towards introduction of Renewable Energy Certificates.
How important is renewable energy and clean technologies to emerging markets, such as India?
The challenge facing the world today is to meet its increasingly large energy needs while minimizing the damage to the environment. This is why, while striving to bridge its energy deficit, the world must necessarily increase the share of clean, sustainable, new and renewable energy sources. Therefore, we in India look at Renewable energy and clean technologies as vehicles of sustainable development. We are now at the verge of a second transition as far as renewables are concerned. We have passed through the phase of research, development and small scale deployments and now have an installed base of over 22,000 MW renewable based capacity, which is around 11 per cent of India’s total power generation capacity. We have added over 11 GW capacity in the last 5 years and plan for another 30 GW in the next 5 years.
Is it realistic to expect renewable energy to meet the growing energy needs of these countries in the next 10-15 years?
I am confident that renewable energy is an idea whose time has come. There is an unmistakable shift from the use of conventional energy to renewable sources of energy. While 10 years may be an ambitious time frame to aim for a total transformation, the role of renewables will continue to increase, not only in India but in the entire world. Whether or not renewable energy completely replaces fossil fuel, we must all work together to develop renewable energy to its fullest potential.
What are the initiatives that India is ...
http://www.dubaichronicle.com/2012/01/15/renewable-energy-india-minister-farooq-abdullah/
India secures new solar PV plant
By Annie Dang on 17 January 2012
India’s sunny climate and low cost of production is making it one of the fastest-growing solar markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
Leading manufacturer of next-generation thin-film photovoltaic modules, Abound Solar and Indian solar system integration company, Integration Systems India (Solarsis) announced yesterday that it will commission a 1MW solar photovoltaic plant in Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh, India.
The commissioning officially took place on January 14, 2012...
http://www.myfen.com.au/news/india-secures-new-solar-pv-plant--1
Indian villagers' lives transformed by new energy delivery system
A social enterprise is providing low-cost mobile-charging and light services through micro grids in Uttar Pradesh, enabling the poorest to cease relying on kerosene – and to stay connected
It's late December and an icy fog cloaks the northeastern state of Uttar Pradesh. Here, far from the cities, smoke rises in dense, choking spirals from meagre wood fires and scantily-clad children shiver against the cold. These are largely farming families, and their mud huts fortified by the occasional brick wall are for the most part devoid of light, heat or clean water.
But it is here in Uttar Pradesh, one of India's largest and poorest states, far away from the country's straining power grid, that US-born entrepreneurs Nikhil Jaisinghani and Brian Shaad have started to pioneer a wholly different energy system, designed to meet some of the most basic needs of the poorest.
Their company, Mera Gao Power (MGP), provides ultra-low cost lighting and mobile phone charging services to individual houses by building and operating solar-powered micro grids at a village level.
Each household that signs up to their service receives two LED lights and one mobile-charging point in their home at a cost of 25 rupees (£0.301) per week. The setup cost is an additional one-off payment of 40 rupees (£0.48). "This is the kind of price point that the majority of them can afford," Sandeep Pandey, MGP's operations manager, explained.
The benefits of these simple services for a village household are multiple....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/jan/16/india-solar-power-system
January 16, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/business/global/independent-panel-to-start-inquiry-into-japans-nuclear-crisis.html?_r=1
NYT: Independent Panel to Start Inquiry into Japan's Nuclear Crisis
Panel Challenges Japan’s Account of Nuclear Disaster
By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: January 15, 2012
TOKYO — A powerful and independent panel of specialists appointed by Japan’s Parliament is challenging the government’s account of the accident at a Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and will start its own investigation into the disaster — including an inquiry into how much the March earthquake may have damaged the plant’s reactors even before the tsunami.
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, who leads the inquiry, vowed that it would have no sacred cows.
The bipartisan panel with powers of subpoena is part of Japan’s efforts to investigate the nuclear calamity, which has displaced more than 100,000 people, rendered wide swaths of land unusable for decades and spurred public criticism that the government has been more interested in protecting vested industry interests than in discovering how three reactors were allowed to melt down and release huge amounts of radiation.
Several investigations...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/business/global/independent-panel-to-start-inquiry-into-japans-nuclear-crisis.html?_r=1
January 16, 2012
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/65955--power-loss-shuts-down-kan-nuclear-plant
"Wolf Creek officials say the plant's two emergency diesel generators automatically started, supplying power to all safety-related equipment."
But who was supplying power to all the people who were depending on the nuclear plant?
The unreliable nature of nuclear power
Oooops.
Power loss shuts down Kan. nuclear plant
By AP | January 14, 2012
BURLINGTON, Kan. (AP) — The operators of the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant say a loss of off-site power prompted an automatic shutdown at the northeast Kansas facility.
The shutdown happened Friday afternoon. Wolf Creek officials say the plant's two emergency diesel generators automatically started, supplying power to all safety-related equipment...
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/65955--power-loss-shuts-down-kan-nuclear-plant
"Wolf Creek officials say the plant's two emergency diesel generators automatically started, supplying power to all safety-related equipment."
But who was supplying power to all the people who were depending on the nuclear plant?
January 16, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120114p2a00m0na008000c.html
And then there were five
All 3 nuclear reactors in Shikoku suspended
IKATA, Ehime -- Operations at all three nuclear reactors in Shikoku have been suspended as the last one was stopped for a regular inspection on Jan. 13.
Shikoku Electric Power Co. suspended operations at the No. 2 reactor of its Ikata Nuclear Power Plant on the night of Jan. 13. Its No. 1 and 3 reactors, which had been shut down for regular inspections, cannot be reactivated because of the ongoing crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.
Shikoku Electric Power became the second utility in Japan with no nuclear reactors running, following Kyushu Electric Power Co.
Currently, only five of the 54 commercial nuclear reactors across the country are in operation.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120114p2a00m0na008000c.html
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