French EPR project even more behind while cost has doubled

New records set for Flamanville: Wednesday, 20 July, EDF announced that the reactor would only come into service in 2016 (instead of 2014), and the cost of construction will now be €6 billion, double the price originally announced. To justify this additional cost, EDF argues that this reactor is the first model of its kind. They seem to have conveniently forgotten that Flamanville 3 was preceded by the EPR at Olkiluoto in Finland, which also combines 3 ½ years behind schedule and whose costs have jumped to €5.7 billion, at the expense of the French taxpayer.

Japan could have zero reactors operating by spring 2012

From NHK World: July 22, 2011. 37 nuclear reactors in Japan, or nearly 70 percent of them, remain shut. This includes 2 reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power Company in Fukui Prefecture that were recently closed for regular inspections.

According to the plant operators, inspections for 11 of the 37 reactors will finish by August. But it is still unknown when any of these will be resumed due to the government's new stress-test requirements announced earlier this month.

The remaining 17 reactors that are currently in operation will also be brought to a halt for regular inspections every 13 months. Among these is the Kansai Electric Ohi power plant No. 4 reactor in Fukui Prefecture that will shut down by Saturday. An additional 3 reactors will be brought to a halt by August.

Among the 13 other reactors in operation, 5 will be stopped by autumn, 6 by winter, and 2 by spring.
This would leave Japan with no nuclear reactors in operation by spring next year.

Six legislative failures for the nuke industry so far in 2011

Compiled by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research:

The nuclear power industry's many 2011 state legislative failures included:

• Minnesota – A heavily lobbied bill to overturn the state's moratorium on additional reactors died in conference committee.
• Wisconsin – A push to reintroduce a bill to overturn the Badger State's moratorium on new reactors failed.  
• Kentucky – A bill to overturn the state's moratorium on new reactors died in the House.
• Missouri – Despite a major industry push, a bill to charge utility customers in advance to pay for an "Early Site Permit" for the proposed new Callaway reactor died.
• North Carolina – A "SuperConstruction Work in Progress (CWIP)" bill to eliminate prudence review of CWIP expenses was proposed but never introduced due to strong on-the-ground opposition.
• Iowa – A bill pushed by MidAmerican to charge utility customers in advance for "small modular reactors" as well as potentially larger reactors stalled in the state Senate and cannot be taken up again until 2012.

Japan PM accepts nuclear phase-out

Reports the Washington Post: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said in a television address to the country Wednesday that Japan should decrease and eventually eliminate its reliance on nuclear energy. “We will aim to bring about a society that can exist without nuclear power,” he said. “Through my experience of the March 11 accident, I came to realize the risk of nuclear energy is too high,” Kan said. “It involves technology that cannot be controlled according to our conventional concept of safety.” At present, 35 of the country’s 54 reactors are offline, either damaged, halted by the earthquake and resulting tsunami, or down for routine repairs. As reactors come off line for maintenance  - and if they do not subsequently restart, Japan could be without nuclear energy entirely by April 2012.

France sees better growth prospects in renewables over nuclear energy

French ecology minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, has announced plans for France to step up its investments in renewable energy, throwing into doubt future nuclear power expansion in the country. France gets 80% of its electricity from its 58 reactors. "Our objective is to rebalance the energy mix in favour of renewables,” Kosciusko-Morizet told the Financial Times.  Regarding the future of nuclear, she told the FT: "We are investing in [nuclear] safety, not in growth objectives as we are doing in renewables." France is launching a bid for five new offshore wind farms.