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☆ Why Britain Is Struggling With Nuclear Power
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Stanley Reed | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A rust-colored dome looms over the muddy farmland of Hinkley Point, a headland overlooking the Bristol Channel in southwest England. When a giant yellow crane hoisted the 150-foot-wide concrete-and-steel saucer into place this winter, it signified a milestone for what will be the first commercial nuclear power station built in Britain since the mid-1990s and a flagship in an effort to revive the industry. Yet the capping of the first of twin cylindrical buildings for reactors was also a reminder of the prodigious, lengthy and increasingly costly effort to build what is known as Hinkley Point C.Work has been underway on the plant for more than a decade, yet completion remains years away. Recently, Électricité de France, the French state utility that is constructing the plant, warned of yet more delays. The start date, which two years ago was scheduled for 2027, has been pushed to the end of this decade, or perhaps 2031.

Persons: Électricité Organizations: Bristol Locations: Hinkley, England, Britain, France

☆ Sweden plans new nuclear reactors by 2035, will share costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Simon Johnson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

By 2045 the government wants to have the equivalent of 10 new reactors, some of which are likely to be small modular reactors (SMRs), smaller than conventional reactors. Energy Minister Ebba Busch said the government was planning a "massive build out" of new nuclear power by 2045. "It's decisive for the green transition, for Swedish jobs and at heart for the welfare of our citizens," she told reporters. Countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, and Britain are looking at expanding nuclear power as societies transition to a fossil-fuel free future. Sweden voted to get rid of nuclear power in 1980, and has only six of an original 12 reactors still in production.

Persons: Tom Little, Ebba Busch, Elisabeth Svantesson, Busch, Finland's, Germany's Uniper, Simon Johnson, Chizu Nomiyama, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Rights, Energy, EDF, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Stockholm, Sweden, Rights STOCKHOLM, Poland, Czech Republic, Britain

She blamed the corrosion on the water piped in from the area's longtime drinking water source: the Mississippi River. As in New Orleans, drinking water in the parish is drawn from the river. Parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin — all part of the vast Mississippi River basin, which touches 31 states — are experiencing extreme drought conditions. New Orleans officials also were working on a plan to build an emergency pipeline. This is the fifth year the Corps has built an underwater structure to slow the salt water flow.

Persons: Monique, Byron Marinovich, ”, Belle Chasse, “ We've, Keith Hinkley, “, —, Stephen Murphy, Cynthia Lee Sheng, Murphy, ” ___ Smith, Mary Katherine Wildeman, Camille Fassett Organizations: ORLEANS, ”, U.S . Geological Survey, Wisconsin —, Tulane University’s School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine, Management, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Corps, NOAA’s Center, Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, Associated Press Locations: Mississippi, Plaquemines Parish, New Orleans, Gulf of Mexico, Port Sulphur, Pointe, Plaisance, Marinovich, Belle, ”, Midwest, Vicksburg , Mississippi, U.S, Kansas , Nebraska , Missouri , Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Orleans, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish, Plaquemines, Jefferson, United States, Tampa Bay , Florida, Gulf Coast, Buras , Louisiana, Hartford , Connecticut, Seattle

☆ 'Speedy trial' promised by special counsel in Trump case may not go so fast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The U.S. Constitution guarantees criminal defendants the right to a speedy trial, and defendants in federal cases are allowed to have a trial start as soon as 70 days from the time they are indicted. Smith's pledge for a speedy trial makes sense because he doesn't want to interfere with the election process, said defense attorney Mark Zaid. The reality is the Trump team will be controlling much of the timing of the litigation." Espionage Act cases like Trump's cases are especially complex because some of the key evidence presented during a public trial is classified. These CIPA procedures will require Trump's defense team to obtain security clearances in order to view classified materials.

Persons: Perkins, Jack Smith, Donald Trump, Stephanie Siegmann, Hinkley Allen, Trump, Smith's, Mark Zaid, CIPA, Kel McClanahan, David Aaron, Sarah N, Lynch, Amy Stevens, Alistair Bell Organizations: WASHINGTON, Attorney's, Republican, Trump, Department, Thomson Locations: Miami, Boston, The U.S

☆ Opinion: No, nuclear power isn’t the ‘big bazooka’ climate fix you might think
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Opinion Paul Hockenos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Berlin CNN —Germany’s exit from nuclear power on April 15 doesn’t single it out as a quirky anomaly or black sheep in a world otherwise enthusiastically embracing nuclear energy. Since a highpoint in the early 2000s, the number of operational nuclear reactors worldwide has fallen – from 438 to 411, according to this year’s World Nuclear Industry Status Report. While at the same time, renewable energy generation – clean tech like solar, wind, bioenergy and geothermal – has expanded by more than 30-fold. In fact, when matched up against renewables as a source of energy that doesn’t emit carbon, nuclear power falls egregiously short. Nuclear power may look like an attractive, big bazooka fix to rising emissions.

☆ NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is so powerful it discovered sand storms on a planet 235 trillion miles away
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope found sand storms on a planet hundreds of trillions of miles away. From its vantage point in space, Webb can peer at a distant world and analyze the entire infrared spectrum of starlight passing through the planet's atmosphere. The James Webb Space Telescope fully deploys its primary mirror during development at Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Redondo Beach, California. The spectrum Webb found on the planet VHS 1256 b, showing signatures of silicate clouds, water, methane, and carbon monoxide. That means the stars' light doesn't drown out the light of the planet, making it an ideal target for the Webb telescope.

☆ Cost of EDF's new UK nuclear project rises to $40 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( America Hernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - EDF's (EDF.PA) new nuclear plant in southwest England is likely to cost about 2% more than its last budget estimate as inflation propels the price tag to almost 33 billion pounds ($40 billion), EDF documents show. EDF warned in a results presentation on Friday the cost of the Hinkley Point C project, Britain's first new nuclear plant in more than two decades, "could reach 32.7 billion pounds" based on inflation indexes as of June 30, 2022. Its previously published cost estimate in May 2022 was 31-32 billion euros when adjusted for inflation. The company last week reported a record net loss of 17.9 billion euros ($19.1 billion). The project is already a decade overdue, with EDF initially saying it would be powering British homes in 2017.

☆ EDF to review case for keeping open UK nuclear plants set to close in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - France’s EDF will review whether there is a case to keep open the Hartlepool and Heysham 1 nuclear power plants in Britain beyond their current expected closure date in 2024, the company said on Wednesday. EDF, which operates all of Britain’s eight nuclear power plants providing around 13% of the country’s electricity, said it would invest 1 billion pounds ($1.1 billion) over 2023-25 to help the UK plants maintain output. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAll but one of Britain's nuclear plants are scheduled to close by 2030, and EDF’s Hinkley Point C, the first new plant in more than 20 years, is expected to come online in 2026. EDF said the review would be made in the coming months and that its ambition was for the two plants to generate power for longer if possible. ($1 = 0.9410 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Susanna Twidale Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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