There has been yet more problems with the construction of the new nuclear power station in Olkiluoto, Finland (the so called Olkiluoto 3 or OL3). It has now been announced that there will be a delay of 3 years, and the power station won’t be operational until 2012 instead of the planned opening in early 2009. The previous “official” delay was 2 years. They started to build this power station in 2005 so for every year of construction there has been another year of delay.
The French nuclear operator Areva and the Finnish power company TVO are openly arguing about the cost of the delay and who will pay for it. The Finnish press estimate that TVO is going to pay 3 billion euros for OL3. The cost of the delay is said to be about half of that again.
When the Finnish Parliament agreed the nuclear power station in May 2002, the main justification was that it was the best way to meet the Finnish Kyoto target. No-one mentions that any more.
This is the first nuclear reactor to be built for nearly 20 years in Europe. It was supposed to show that the new generation of nuclear power stations are safer and will reduce nuclear waste. The French energy company EDF has taken over the nuclear industry and intends to build four of the same reactors in Britain. You know what to expect!
October 21, 2008 at 10:23 pm |
Fossil Energy : unsafe, unsustainable, unaffordable and unreliable…
So yes, like in every new major technological advance, there have been delays, errors and costly mistakes. History is full of those nonetheless, nuclear energy is not what “peace and love has been” try to describe, rather, the key to our independence.
Best.
November 13, 2008 at 2:35 pm |
Interesting that you bring up France with the lowest power sector accident rate and the lowest electricity prices in Europe, while getting 80% of their electricity from nuclear power and having among the lowest per capita CO2 emissions in Europe.
Unsafe? Not according to the entire history of nuclear power compared to any other power generating technology.
Unsustainable? Sure, we will eventually run out of Uranium and Thorium after several billion years of consumption at several thousand times todays global demand. The sun is unsustainable as well.
Unaffordable? See France again.
Unreliable? Well 90%+ capacity factors aren’t perfect I suppose but they are higher than any other baseload power production facility.
Now I imagine sidelining nuclear power for the next generation of magic pixie dust will be excellent news for the coal industry, but I’m not sure this is the best public policy.
December 8, 2008 at 2:26 pm |
Jill,
You should take this argument up with the leader of your party!!!!
Where do you stand on Wylfa B which Plaid Cymru in Ynys Mon have fully backed with the plaid leader (and deputy first minister) Ieuan Wyn Jones publicly supporting new nuclear power stations in Wales? And the Plaid parliamentary candidate also campaigning in support of nuclear power there.
I was very disappointed to see Plaid like Labour, ditch a principled anti-nuclear position and for the first time produce an election manifesto where there was no mention of unequivocal opposition to nuclear power, which you once – rightly – described as a failed dream.
January 29, 2009 at 11:49 pm |
The whole thing about Wylfa B is mostly fantasy. The chances of any new UK nuclear power stations are slim. The companies which build and run them have merged recently into three consortia because of the development and financial risks. Look at examples from other parts of Europe. Wylfa is not even one of the three most favoured UK sites; they are all in England.
Ieuan Wyn Jones’ comments on the recent ‘news’ was very muted because the press bull-sh*t was based on unsubstantiated Labour hype (just like St Athan). We can’t expect Welsh journalists to check the ‘facts’, can we?
We don’t want Wylfa B. Anglesey needs a ‘Plan B’ to provide real jobs on the island when this fantasy project finally fails.
November 27, 2009 at 12:33 pm |
Wylfa B is a must as far as local residents on Anglesey are concerned. This new blog may well prove interesting reading http://www.thenukeguy.com