European energy companies have dropped investment projects worth billions of euros because of European Commission plans to make them buy greenhouse gas emissions permits from 2013. While some EU countries - namely, Germany and Italy - are ratcheting down their nuclear activities, this is proving increasingly untenable as other means of producing electricity are becoming harder to finance. A new report on "Europe's Vulnerability to Energy Crises" found that the EU was more dependent on energy imports and more vulnerable to crises than at any time since the 1970s. "Nuclear power is a promising alternative for both reducing dependency on imports and fulfilling the commitment of all European countries to the Kyoto Protocol (on climate change)," the study said.
The Bangkok Post is hosting a debate on nuclear energy with two articles: Kopr Kritayakirana, an expert adviser with the Nuclear Power Programme Development Office, takes the affirmative while Witoon Permpongsacharoen, the secretary-general of the Foundation for Ecological Recovery, takes the negative. This article provides some background on Thailand's plans for building nuclear energy plants.
The governments of Ukraine and Belarus signed a cooperation agreement Friday for the development of Belarus' first nuclear power plant with the help of Ukraine. Ukraine, through Kiev-based Energoproekt Research Institute, will design a third generation nuclear power reactor in Belarus. The Ukrainian nuclear agency will help Belarusian experts in choosing a suitable location for the plant.
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