NEI Nuclear Notes

As you may know, most European countries have a Green Party as part of the political mix. In most countries, they may pick up a few seats, but generally the goal is to keep their views front and center. Nuclear energy usually fares poorly. Here’s the British Green Party (from last year): In elections campaigns this spring, for the Welsh Assembly and local elections in England, the Greens are the only political party opposed to nuclear power. I find that – exceptionally good news, actually. And here’s the Finnish Green League : In addition, the party's policy on nuclear energy will be in the spotlight. According to Holopainen, a large proportion of voters who back the Greens, nowadays also back the use of nuclear power. See? Fairly consistent – wait, what? I couldn’t find much more about this – the story is about the formation of the party platform and the speaker is Hanna Holopainen, a delegate. We’ll have to wait until after this weekend to see if the Green Leag...

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...

Here’s one way of looking at Germany’s decision to accelerate the retirement of nuclear energy facilities: Shares in German power utilities E.ON and RWE AG fell sharply Monday after the government last night said it will accelerate the gradual phase-out of all nuclear power production by 2022 and keep a tax on nuclear fuel rods. Though a drastic u-turn from a previous German policy settled in 2010, the 2022 phase-out was largely expected given the strong anti-nuclear shift in German politics after Fukushima. However, the decision to keep the nuclear tax in place and not give relief to the utilities was noteworthy after comments last week from some politicians that suggested the Germany might withdraw the tax. Especially as the tax was considered an exchange for not closing the nuclear facilities early. But if there is a loss, there is a gain: Meanwhile, shares in solar energy and wind power equipment makers gained sharply as investors anticipated the accelerated nuclear phase-out wil...

One Finnish town begins to court a new nuclear power plant .

Details from Marketwatch .

What's in store for the future of Finland's nuclear energy sector? The Glyphians are wondering.

Details from Helsingin Sanomat . UPDATE : Found this piece from DW Television on the project from last month. There's an interview with a German anti-nuke at the end where he predicts that there won't be any further investment in nuclear in Europe. Funny, eh?