---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sankara Narayanan <[email protected]> Date: Sat, Jun 16, 2012 at 1:01 AM Subject: [IHRO] Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread To: IHRO <[email protected]>, bharat-chintan < [email protected]> Cc: group <[email protected]>, chhattisgarh-net < [email protected]>, Samukhya <[email protected]>
** http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3528968.ece June 15, 2012 This renaissance is just a fairy tale Nityanand Jayaraman Share<http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fopinion%2Fop-ed%2Farticle3528968.ece&t=The%20Hindu%20%3A%20Opinion%20%2F%20Op-Ed%20%3A%20This%20renaissance%20is%20just%20a%20fairy%20tale&src=sp> 3 <http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3528968.ece> The unpredictable financial implications of constructing, running, decommissioning plants and handling risks are causing a global rethink on nuclear energy For a professed proponent of liberalisation and free trade, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's penchant for a technology that cannot float without subsidies is telling. Nuclear power's unfavourable economics are not lost on Dr. Singh. Recently, Westinghouse Electric and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to negotiate the setting up of AP1000 reactors in Gujarat, ending a slump in interest from the Toshiba subsidiary in India's nuclear market. For Toshiba's Westinghouse and other nuclear equipment suppliers, the Civil Nuclear Liability Act's clause on supplier liability was the key hurdle to investing in India. The companies wanted the Indian government to insulate them from the financial fallouts of any potential disaster caused by their technology by spreading that liability among taxpayers. The recent MoU suggests some progress in moving towards this goal. More obstacles remain, though. Nuclear projects are un-bankable. The government may deploy mental health specialists to deal with the fears of Kudankulam protestors. But those shrinks are unlikely to be able to allay the fears of financiers or nuclear equipment suppliers. According to nuclear energy expert Peter Bradford, “The most implacable enemy of nuclear power in the past 30 years has been the risk not to public health but to investors' wallets. No nuclear power project has ever bid successfully in a competitive energy market anywhere in the world.” Mr. Bradford was member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and chair of the New York and Maine electricity regulatory commissions. He teaches a course on nuclear power at the Vermont Law School. *Second thoughts* Unpredictable financial implications associated with constructing, running, decommissioning plants and handling nuclear risks are causing a rethink on nuclear energy worldwide. But these developments seem to slip by India without so much as causing a ripple. Germany and Switzerland have decided to phase out nuclear power, despite their substantial dependence on it. Israel abandoned its year-old civilian nuclear programme after Fukushima. Belgium revived a pre-Fukushima decision to phase out nuclear power, using the Japanese disaster as a reminder. Italy and Kuwait gave up their nuclear debut by abandoning plans for 10 and four plants respectively. Mexico dropped plans for constructing 10 plants. All of Japan's 54 reactors are now closed, and plans for 14 new reactors killed. The story of nuclear energy's unviability is told not just by the actions of naysayers, but also by the experiences of those — like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Turkey, Vietnam and South Africa — pursuing nuclear programmes. All of them want the nuclear option, but have no idea how they will finance it. If the U.S. is Dr. Singh's inspiration, then the so-called nuclear renaissance's trajectory in that country gives even more cause for despair. In 2009, the U.S. declared a nuclear revival with promises of more than 30 new reactors. Today, most of these projects are doomed. Even candidates for federal loan guarantees such as the South Texas project, and the Calvert Cliffs-3 project in Maryland, have been mothballed. State governments in the U.S. do not seem to share the Federal Government's enthusiasm for nukes. Bills to reverse moratoria on nuclear plants in Minnesota, Kentucky and Wisconsin failed last year. In Missouri, North Carolina and Iowa, legislators defeated bills to charge electricity consumers in advance to finance reactors. “At the time of Fukushima, only four countries — China, Russia, India and South Korea — were building more than two reactors. In these four nations, citizens pay for the new reactors the government chooses to build through direct subsidies or energy price hikes,” Bradford notes. Finland was among the few that reiterated its commitment to nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster. The 1,600 MW Olkiluoto nuclear plant uses French company Areva's technology. Areva's modular design was expected to make it faster and cheaper to build. But 11 years later, the project is behind schedule and its $4.2 billion budget is up now by 50 per cent. After Fukushima, Areva admits that the same plant would cost $8 billion. Even Areva's home project, in Flamanville, France, has suffered a $4 billion cost overrun and a four year delay. Indeed, 31 out of 45 reactors that were being constructed globally around 2009 were either delayed or did not have official dates for commissioning, says a report for the German Government by consultant Mycle Schneider. *In India* In Kalpakkam, meanwhile, the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor was slotted to contribute to the grid in March 2012. In 2005, Baldev Raj, Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, boasted that the 500 MW unit will be completed in 2010, 18 months before schedule. Till date, there is no sign of this happening. The Kudankulam plant, which is now 23 years old since conception, lost only eight months due to protestors. In Jaitapur too, the government has more to worry about than local protestors. Areva, the technology supplier, is in trouble. Last year, it announced losses of €1.6 billion, and the sacking of 1,200 workers in Germany. Last June, it decided to suspend production at a Virginia reactor component plant due to declining market prospects. Its expansion plans in France, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. may never materialise. Areva expected to sell 50 nuclear reactors this decade. It has not received a single order since 2007. Now, with a socialist president at the helm in France, Areva's future looks even more uncertain. French President François Hollande had promised voters a reduction in nuclear dependence from 75 to 50 per cent, and shutdown of an aging reactor in Fessenheim. Whether or not he carries through with these promises, it appears certain that no new plants will be built or planned during his term. Both conservative-led Germany and socialist France will make up the shortfall from the nuclear phase-out, by investing in renewables for electricity and new jobs. In replacing nuclear with renewables, these nations are declaring that despite its carbon dividend, nuclear is too risky — financially, politically and environmentally — to pursue. *(Nityanand Jayaraman is an independent writer and volunteer with the Chennai Solidarity Group for Kudankulam Struggle.)* *II* *Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread* by DiaNuke.org Sonam Mittal Sonam Mittal is a journalist and has been involved in studying the impact of environmental degradation on climate and social life. She works as an activist to fight for a clean and sustainable environment. She can be reached at [email protected] This classic saying gives the perfect background view to an aspect which needs urgent discussion -Why are there multiple segments of our society; who still want to believe nuclear as the only way out? Despite reports, long list of countries banning nuclear in their territories, despite all the protest movements, where are these segments rushing into a technology which has earned a label of ‘most expensive way to boil water’? Let’s explore; We have one segment of climate-concerned, who want to change the world only by reducing carbon emissions. Since nuclear has negligible carbon emissions (highly debatable), this segment loves to promote and propagate nuclear as the only solution for our climate crisis. They ignore continuous radiation leaks or the dangers of dealing with an unstable technology. They ignore huge losses in oceanic biodiversity due to high temperatures of discharge water. They ignore the threat of radiated food crops in the regions nearby. They also ignore the fact that they have no answer the question of nuclear waste disposal. We have one segment, which believes in economic security, and they link economic security with nuclear growth. They overlook huge economic losses that would be sustained in the entire process of setting up nuclear power plants, right from buying the fuel to commissioning the plant. They also overlook the debt our nation is in, or the loans which needs to be taken, or the subsidies they would have to get into. They are oblivious to nuclear energy being one of the costliest energy providing technology right now. We have one category of politicians, who really want to do something for the masses, as a pressure, or maybe as an interest. Though they say they work for the people, they would still enforce nuclear down the throats of people who don’t want it in the first place. When questioned, they have a unique ability to come up with creative answers linking nuclear with the betterment of the masses. They conveniently erase facts like businesses would be the first beneficiary of nuclear energy, the health industry will benefit from treating long term diseases and the poor would become poorer due to health bills, lack of business opportunities and reduced physical, social and financial capacity to change this situation. We have another segment of ‘settlers’, who can believe and settle down for anything that comes up in their life. They believe in nuclear only because they don’t want to explore and push the boundaries. Not much can be expected from this category who have grown up with text books which puts Nuclear Energy in the category of ‘Renewable Energy Sources’ We have one category of indifferent population, whose main concern in life is meeting their basic needs of two square meals a day. They need electricity, for sure, but these kinds are least bothered about the source of electricity. Their situation has conditioned them to think only till the level of lack of energy security. They are unable to think on the level of energy sustainability. They place their subconscious trust on the category of pioneers, who would uplift their conditions. The category of pioneers, are heavily fascinated by technology. This can be a good thing, but they love any technology which will give them power and control, like nuclear. They never would be fascinated by a technology like renewable, specially decentralized renewable energy, which will dissolve power from few individuals and provide power (both literal and figurative) to the people who need it the most. We also have a special category of nation lovers, who would want nuclear since they believe it would make India a superpower. They conveniently forget that a huge amount of Indian money would be going to other foreign countries and debt-ridden foreign companies who are apparently trying to help us become a superpower. At the end of the day, everything is accountable to the tax-payers money. For India to shine, Indian resources should be scaled within India itself. Maybe the nation-lovers have a different vision for India’s progress. Their support for nuclear also stems from the fact that neighboring countries are already into nuclear technology, so if a war breaks out, then we, as a strong nation, needs to be prepared to give a befitting answer. They conveniently overlook the possibility of a terror attack on an Indian nuclear plant which will unleash a nuclear terror on the land they love so intensely. The ever essential category of critics plays a crucial role in this entire scenario. They know loopholes and flaws in either side of the argument. They also know what is going wrong, at what time and for what reason. They are content in their life by simply commenting on the current scenario without any real need to utilize their knowledge and skill to support and leverage the right thing. The most essential category, the protestors, is unfortunately at the bottom rung of the entire ladder. They are the most troubled category. They are used to being treated with injustice and treachery. This category maybe filled with intellectuals, educated, illiterates, someone with knowledge, or even someone without any knowledge. They are willing to sacrifice their life with relay fasts and get arrested for ‘dissent’, one of the most essential elements of democracy. They dissent because they are being abused by the rulers, abused by power which they bestowed upon those ‘leaders’. They protest because they have seen worse in Fukushima, heard worst about Chernobyl. All they dream of is a secure future for themselves and their next generation, and they fight because they see their beautiful dream being threatened for profits. This category has no boundaries. This category will fight. Continue fighting. 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