The two-year relationship between President Trump and Kim Jong Un bought a freeze in testing, but all along the North Korean leader was expanding his arsenal and digging new bunkers.
For the first time ever, renewable sources (excluding hydropower) generated more power than nuclear plants in 2019. This was a conclusion of the 2020 World Nuclear Industry Status Report, released today. The report looks at the significant and disturbing impacts of COVID-19 on operational safety; the escalating costs and expanded timelines of Small Modular Reactors, including US-based NuScale whose startup predictions now stretch to 2030 but will likely see further delays; and covers nuclear construction in the Middle East, driven by politics and “prestige” rather than economics. Given the pattern of outages and shutdowns, lead author, Mycle Schneider called nuclear power “the most intermittent electricity generation source I have found so far,” during the report’s live rollout.
From the UK Nuclear Free Local Authorities:
The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) welcomes the 2020 edition of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report. This independent report is undertaken by a series of international experts from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Lebanon/U.S. and the U.K, as well as from top think tanks like Chatham House in London and prestigious universities like Harvard in the United States, Meiji in Tokyo, Japan and the Technical University in Berlin, Germany. (1)
Amongst its core conclusions are:
• The world’s operating nuclear fleet is now at a 30 year low.
• The number of operating nuclear reactors in the world has dropped by nine over the past year to 408 as of mid-2020. That is below the level already reached in 1988, and 30 units away from the historic peak of 438 in 2002.
• Nuclear power is the most expensive energy source except for gas peaking plants.
• For the first time, in 2019 renewable energy sources out-performed nuclear power in terms of global generation.
The report also consider the impact that Covid-19 is having on the nuclear industry. It noted:
• The U.S. nuclear regulator granted site operators permission to impose extremely long work hours, with some working 16 hours a day and 86 hours a week.
• In Russia and Sweden control-room staff were isolated in on site housing.
• In France, workers walked off at least three reactor sites, considering their health and safety were not appropriately protected.
• Force-on-force exercises in the U.S. were suspended, leading to a degraded readiness level.
• In many cases, refuelling and maintenance outages have been altered to eliminate “noncritical work” or were deferred entirely to the end of the year or even into 2021.
• Numerous fuel-chain and research facilities were shut down.
NFLA notes that the coordinator of the report, Mycle Schneider, commented:
“Nuclear energy has become irrelevant in the electricity generating technology market. At the same time, Covid-19 puts additional stress on the sector.” READ MORE
September 26 is International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
#wethepeoples2020 is organizing an exciting global civil society event of speakers, video messages, music, workshops and panels lasting over 10 hours. Click here for the full program. The event is being held in two parts: Part 1 is timed for people in Asia and the Pacific. Click here to register. Part 2 timed for people in the Americas, Europe and Africa. Click here to register. Presenters include United Nations leaders, parliamentarians, religious leaders, former military leaders, sports champions, youth, people impacted by nuclear weapons tests, poets, musicians, climate activists, peace and disarmament activists and others.
We encourage you to register for the event and to promote it to your members and networks.
Call to Governments
The UN will hold a High Level meeting on October 2 to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
We encourage you to promote this event, and to call on your governments to participate at the highest level (Prime Minister, President or Foreign Minister) and use the occasion to affirm that a nuclear war must never be fought, commit to the elimination of nuclear weapons by 2045 (the 100th anniversary of the UN) and cut nuclear weapons budgets and investments in order to free up resources required to address the COVID-19 pandemic, protect the climate and achieve the sustainable development goals.
Click here for a sample letter to governments, plus names, contact emails and twitter handles for Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and UN Ambassadors of most countries in the world.
October 1, 2020