Twelve companies have formed a consortium to provide Europe with solar electricity.
The Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) aims to provide 15% of Europe's electricity by 2050 or earlier via power lines stretching across the desert and Mediterranean sea.
The German-led consortium was brought together by Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer, and consists of some of country's biggest engineering and power companies, including Siemens, E.ON, ABB and Deutsche Bank.
It now believes the DII can deliver solar power to Europe as early as 2015.
from The Guardian: Solar power from Sahara a step closer.
The UK is not participating in the DESERTEC plan, and intends instead to build costly and dangerous new nuclear power stations
Monday 9 November 2009
Tuesday 3 November 2009
Engineers don't want to live near nukes
Engineers say they are pro nuclear power but would prefer to live near a windfarm
Professional Engineering, the journal of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, asked its readers if the UK should plan for a larger amount of nuclear power: 82% of respondents said 'yes'. However in the same survey 59% said they would be uncomfortable with a nuclear power station a mile or so from their own home and only 36% would would be OK with it. However most (69%) were quite happy to live near a windfarm. [PE 29 July 2009]
Jobs in Ukraine
PE also reports that British engineers are helping to build a store for nuclear waste at Chernobyl, funded with £2.1 million from the UK government. What other industry is so dangerous that we have to pay to clean up the mess in other countries if they are unable or unwilling to do it themselves? [PE 9 September 2009]
Professional Engineering, the journal of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, asked its readers if the UK should plan for a larger amount of nuclear power: 82% of respondents said 'yes'. However in the same survey 59% said they would be uncomfortable with a nuclear power station a mile or so from their own home and only 36% would would be OK with it. However most (69%) were quite happy to live near a windfarm. [PE 29 July 2009]
Jobs in Ukraine
PE also reports that British engineers are helping to build a store for nuclear waste at Chernobyl, funded with £2.1 million from the UK government. What other industry is so dangerous that we have to pay to clean up the mess in other countries if they are unable or unwilling to do it themselves? [PE 9 September 2009]
Sunday 28 June 2009
Nuclear News
Here's the latest crop of stories on Nuclear Power:
1) A 2007 nuclear leak at Sizewell A in Suffolk was discovered by luck and could have cased an airborne off-site release of radioactivity. It's only come to light now because of the Freedom of Information Act. (GW)
2) Robot under-water crawlers are to search the sea off the coast of Dounreay for up to 1500 potential radioactive fragments. Other specialist robots have also been built for use in dismantling parts of the reactor. This type of equipment doesn't come cheap. Thus the taxpayer is still obliged to spend large sums on a power station that closed 30 years ago. You can bet that these costs were not factored into the claimed cost of electricity back then. There must be a better way to provide employment in places like Dounreay than contaminating them with nuclear reactor waste.
3) The Finnish Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority (STUK) has sent a letter to Areva, the French company building the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, stating that they will shut down the power station site if Areva doesn’t fix problems in the plant’s automation systems.This is a potentially devastating, blow because one of the main selling points of the new reactor has been that its safety systems will work far better than those in current reactors. It is particularly important that they do because, as The Independent on Sunday reported in February, they will produce many times as much radiation that could be rapidly released in the event of an accident. See: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/safety-threat-to-planned-nuclear-power-stations-1682293.html.
4) Reactor 2 at Oldbury nuclear power station has just been switched back on (according to Professional Engineering). This is the first time in 5 years that both reactors at the site have been working.
1) A 2007 nuclear leak at Sizewell A in Suffolk was discovered by luck and could have cased an airborne off-site release of radioactivity. It's only come to light now because of the Freedom of Information Act. (GW)
2) Robot under-water crawlers are to search the sea off the coast of Dounreay for up to 1500 potential radioactive fragments. Other specialist robots have also been built for use in dismantling parts of the reactor. This type of equipment doesn't come cheap. Thus the taxpayer is still obliged to spend large sums on a power station that closed 30 years ago. You can bet that these costs were not factored into the claimed cost of electricity back then. There must be a better way to provide employment in places like Dounreay than contaminating them with nuclear reactor waste.
3) The Finnish Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority (STUK) has sent a letter to Areva, the French company building the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, stating that they will shut down the power station site if Areva doesn’t fix problems in the plant’s automation systems.This is a potentially devastating, blow because one of the main selling points of the new reactor has been that its safety systems will work far better than those in current reactors. It is particularly important that they do because, as The Independent on Sunday reported in February, they will produce many times as much radiation that could be rapidly released in the event of an accident. See: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/safety-threat-to-planned-nuclear-power-stations-1682293.html.
4) Reactor 2 at Oldbury nuclear power station has just been switched back on (according to Professional Engineering). This is the first time in 5 years that both reactors at the site have been working.
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