Former Prime Minister Koizumi reiterates call for Japans complete exit from nuclear power

Source: Kyodo

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Saturday reiterated his call for Japan’s complete exit from nuclear energy as the country marked the sixth anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

“Nuclear power plants will become a negative legacy for future generations,” Koizumi said at an event organized by a civic group in Sapporo.

The group is seeking the decommissioning of nuclear reactors at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari power station in the village of the same name.

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After his speech, Koizumi lambasted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s nuclear policy, which promotes restarting atomic plants — most of which remain offline — and exporting nuclear reactors.

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Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/11/national/politics-diplomacy/former-prime-minister-koizumi-reiterates-call-japans-complete-exit-nuclear-power/

Offshore windfarms set to become cheaper source of electricity than nuclear power stations

Source: Independent

Offshore windfarms are set to become a cheaper source of electricity than the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant and are also on track to undercut coal-fired power stations.

The Government, which has been trying to support offshore in the hope of turning the UK into a world-leader in the sector, plans to hold an auction next month in which generators will bid for a guaranteed price for their electricity, with the lowest offer declared the winner.

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Keith Anderson, chief corporate officer of Scottish Power, one of the main players in the wind industry, told The Independent that he was confident the April auction would see an offshore wind generator bid below the ‘strike price’ given to Hinkley Point.

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And Dong Energy, the Danish wind power giant, went even further.

Henrik Poulsen, the firm’s chief executive officer, told Bloomberg that offshore wind could already compete with coal, depending on the conditions.

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Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/offshore-windfarms-cheaper-electricity-energy-source-nuclear-power-stations-coal-a7620791.html

The troubled, covert agency responsible for moving the nation's most lethal cargo

Source: Los Angeles Times

The unmarked 18-wheelers ply the nation’s interstates and two-lane highways, logging 3 million miles a year hauling the most lethal cargo there is: nuclear bombs.

The covert fleet, which shuttles warheads from missile silos, bomber bases and submarine docks to nuclear weapons labs across the country, is operated by the Office of Secure Transportation, a troubled agency within the U.S. Department of Energy so cloaked in secrecy that few people outside the government know it exists.

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The transportation office is about to become more crucial than ever as the U.S. embarks on a $1-trillion upgrade of the nuclear arsenal that will require thousands of additional warhead shipments over the next 15 years.

The increased workload will hit an agency already struggling with problems of forced overtime, high driver turnover, old trucks and poor worker morale — raising questions about its ability to keep nuclear shipments safe from attack in an era of more sophisticated terrorism.

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Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nuclear-couriers-20170310-story.html

Concerns emerge over guarantee for Toshiba's U.S. nuclear project

Source: Kyodo

Concerns about a potential burden on American taxpayers have emerged as Toshiba Corp. is considering the option of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its troubled U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co., according to sources close to the matter.

With the U.S. government having guaranteed an $8.3 billion debt over a nuclear power plant project in Georgia contracted to Westinghouse, the company’s restructuring under Chapter 11 may force U.S. taxpayers to shoulder part of the cost, the sources said Thursday.

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Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko plans to make a trip to the United States during which he may discuss the Westinghouse issue with a high-level U.S. official in charge of energy.

On Wednesday, Reuters news agency reported that Westinghouse has hired bankruptcy attorneys. Citing sources, Reuters said no decision had yet been taken about filing for bankruptcy.

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Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/10/business/corporate-business/concerns-emerge-guarantee-toshibas-u-s-nuclear-project/

Thousands expected to march to protest nuclear power today

Source: Taipei Times

The nation’s annual march against nuclear power plants is to be held today, with activists on Thursday calling for more openness and civic participation in crafting a nuclear waste disposal plan.

“We have to keep the pressure on the government, otherwise it will stall — our hope is that there should be a result by the conclusion of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) four years in power,” Green Citizens’ Action Alliance secretary-general Tsuei Su-hsin (崔愫欣 said while leading more than a dozen people in a protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

People plan to congregate on Ketagalan Boulevard this afternoon for the march, a major annual environmental demonstration.

“This will be our first march since the DPP took full control (of the government) and there are a lot of issues — from retiring nuclear reactors to transitioning to different forms of energy — where we feel there is a need for society to rigorously inspect whether the government has sufficient political resolve,” Tsuei said.

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Read more: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/03/11/2003666562

Elon Musk Tweets Offer to Fix Australia's Energy Crisis in 100 Days

Source: EcoWatch

Tesla boss and prolific tweeter Elon Musk has made an audacious bet to solve South Australia's energy woes by building a 100-megawatt battery storage farm. If the system is not operational in 100 days, the AUD$33 million (USD$25 million) technology will be provided for free.

It all started on Thursday when Atlassian CEO and Australian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes tweeted an article to Musk that cited a similar offer from Lyndon Rive, who heads Tesla's battery division.

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Cannon-Brookes then tweeted to Musk asking him if he could really make this happen if the funds were available and the politics were sorted out. Incredibly, Musk didn't just cement the offer, he wagered that Tesla could do it in less than 100 days or else the whole installation would be given free of charge.

"That serious enough for you?" Musk added.

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Read more: http://www.ecowatch.com/elon-musk-australia-2309117728.html

As North Korea missile threat grows, Japan lawmakers argue for first strike options

Source: Reuters

Rattled by North Korean military advances, influential Japanese lawmakers are pushing harder for Japan to develop the ability to strike preemptively at the missile facilities of its nuclear-armed neighbor.

Japan has so far avoided taking the controversial and costly step of acquiring bombers or weapons such as cruise missiles with enough range to strike other countries, relying instead on its U.S. ally to take the fight to its enemies.

But the growing threat posed by Pyongyang, including Monday's simultaneous launch of four rockets, is adding weight to an argument that aiming for the archer rather than his arrows is a more effective defense.

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But while previous administrations shied away from acquiring the hardware to do so, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's LDP has been urging him to consider the step.

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Any weapon Japan acquired with the reach to hit North Korea would also put parts of China's eastern seaboard within range of Japanese munitions for the first time. That would likely anger Beijing, which is strongly protesting the deployment of the advanced U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-japan-idUSKBN16F0YE

Dalai Lama says Chinese hardliners have parts of brain missing

Obama's intel chief says he knows of no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion

NSA Whistleblower Backs Trump Up on Wiretap Claims

Source: US News and World Report

President Donald Trump is "absolutely right" to claim he was wiretapped and monitored, a former NSA official claimed Monday, adding that the administration risks falling victim to further leaks if it continues to run afoul of the intelligence community.

"I think the president is absolutely right. His phone calls, everything he did electronically, was being monitored," Bill Binney, a 36-year veteran of the National Security Agency who resigned in protest from the organization in 2001, told Fox Business on Monday. Everyone's conversations are being monitored and stored, Binney said.

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The judges on the FISA court are "not even concerned, nor are they involved in any way with the Executive Order 12333 collection," Binney said during the radio interview. "That's all done outside of the courts. And outside of the Congress."

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"That's not the main collection program for NSA," Binney said.

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"I think that's what happened here," Binney told Fox. "The evidence of the conversation of the president of the U.S., President Trump, and the (prime minister) of Australia and the president of Mexico. Releasing those conversations. Those are conversations that are picked up by the FAIRVIEW program, primarily, by NSA."

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-03-07/nsa-whistleblower-bill-binney-says-trump-is-absolutely-right-about-wiretap-claims