In Idaho, Japan and Finland

A little story appearing in the Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review:

Gov. Butch Otter today signed an executive order creating the “Idaho Leadership in Nuclear Energy Commission,” or LINE Commission, to identify “opportunities and challenges associated with hosting the Idaho National Laboratory,” the nuclear facility in eastern Idaho. “Idaho clearly has been a recognized leader in nuclear energy research, development and demonstration for over 60 years,” Otter said. “We’ve also borne environmental burdens, but significant progress has been made in cleanup that enables us to focus more attention on the long-term viability and mission relevance of the INL.”

I wasn’t sure what this meant, exactly – the name of the commission suggests that the goal is to promote INL as a notable state entity, but the text is a little more nuanced. Maybe that’s just how Gov. Otter goes about things:

Otter's executive order on Wednesday reinforces his support of the industry's presence in eastern Idaho - even amid concern that a French company, Areva, could abandon plans to build a $3 billion uranium enrichment facility west of Idaho Falls.

So there is a plus as well as a minus value – I have no special knowledge of AREVA’s plans – but if Otter aims to promote the viability of Idaho for nuclear energy-related projects due to INL’s presence, well, he’s in the right state to do that.

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Japan’s efforts to gain a consensus that will allow it to turn its nuclear facilities back on appears to be showing results:

Japanese governor Tokihiro Nakamura believes nuclear power is vital for the resource-poor land, but even he says the central government must put safety pledges in writing before he'll agree to restart off-line reactors -- a sign of the tough battle ahead to repair tattered public trust after the Fukushima crisis.

I guess you could call that the opening bid. Nakamura wants more, too:

"It is the central government that must take ultimate responsibility, so at the very least, the trade and industry minister should come to the prefecture and discuss this with me openly," Nakamura, whose Ehime prefecture in western Japan hosts Shikoku Electric Power Co.'s Ikata nuclear power plant.

None of that sounds unreasonable, though some ministers will be doing a lot of travelling as more of the governors decide what will help them decide about the facilities in their localities.It’s worth doing, even if there’s a fair amount of it to do.

At least Nakamura is disinclined to be a dope about this:

Nakamura, a 52-year-old former member of parliament, said electricity supply in the summer, when annual demand usually peaks, was likely to be tight in his region if no reactors came back on line.

"In this situation, I think they will have to be restarted at some point," he said.

Hopefully, after Nakamura receives his visitors and gets the signed safety documents, Ikata can start up again.

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I’m not an expert on financial stuff, so I generally have to take news like this at face value:

The restoration of some nuclear plants helped Finnish utility Fortum's power generation business turn more profitable in the fourth-quarter, the company said on Wednesday.

The power generation unit's comparable operating profit, which excludes hedging, rose 4.5 percent from a year earlier to 351 million euros ($459 million), beating forecasts.

Good for Fortum.

"Utilization rate at Fortum's nuclear power plants in Sweden was good," said Nordea analyst Pasi Vaisanen.

Even better. This part I get, as one tends to forget that nuclear power plants, while expensive to build, are quite inexpensive to run. That’s good for the bottom line. The story has more on the financial situation if that interests you.

Idaho National Labs. Looks lonely out there.

Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...

What Happens During a Refueling Outage?

You may have noticed over the past few weeks that a number of nuclear plants are shut down for refueling outages or are resuming operations after just returning from one. This type of routine outage usually occurs in the spring or fall when electricity demand is low so that nuclear reactors can replace about one-third of the spent fuel rods with new fuel and conduct other routine maintenance and repairs at the plant. To get a better sense of how refueling works at a nuclear energy facility, I spoke with Marcus Nichol, NEI’s senior project manager for used fuel storage and transportation, and asked him to explain the basics. Why does a nuclear plant need to replace one-third of its fuel? Nichol: The main purpose of a refueling outage is to replace older fuel that is depleted—meaning it can no longer efficiently produce energy from nuclear fission reactions—with new fuel. This “used fuel” has typically been used in the reactor for four-and-a-half to six years before it is pe...

How Much Land Does Nuclear, Wind and Solar Really Need?

Not too long ago, we reviewed a report that looked at nuclear energy (and other energy sources) as biodiversity agents. This had to do, in part, with the amount of land a facility needs to function. Nuclear energy and fossil fuel plants use relatively little, wind farms and solar arrays quite a lot of land . Based on an objective and transparent analysis of our sustainable energy choices, we have come to the evidence-based conclusion that nuclear energy is a good option for biodiversity conservation (and society in general) and that other alternatives to fossil fuels should be subjected to the same cost–benefit analyses (in terms of biodiversity and climate outcomes, as well as sociopolitical imperatives) before accepting or dismissing them. Writer Barry Brook, who collected 75 scientists to endorse his paper, is interested in land use as it impacts flora and fauna. Biodiversity concerns do not get as much play as they might – and, when they do, it annoys many when land is withdraw...

NEI Nuclear Notes

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