Sticker Shock: The Soaring Costs Of Germany’s Nuclear Shutdown

[kristopher]

25 JUL 2016: REPORT

Sticker Shock: The Soaring Costs
Of Germany’s Nuclear Shutdown
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2011 decision to rapidly phase out the country’s 17 nuclear power reactors has left the government and utilities with a massive problem: How to clean up and store large amounts of nuclear waste and other radioactive material.

by joel stoning ton

The cavern of the salt mine is 2,159 feet beneath the surface of central Germany. Stepping out of a dust-covered Jeep on an underground road, we enter the grotto and are met by the sound of running water — a steady flow that adds up to 3,302 gallons per day.

"This is the biggest problem," Ina Stelljes, spokesperson for the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, tells me, gesturing to a massive tank in the middle of the room where water waits to be pumped to the surface.

The leaking water wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the 125,000 barrels of low- and medium-level nuclear waste stored a few hundred feet below. Most of the material originated from 14 nuclear power plants, and the German government secretly moved it to the mine from 1967 until 1978. For now, the water leaking into the mine is believed to be contained, although it remains unclear if water has seeped into areas with waste and rusted the barrels inside.

The mine — Asse II — has become a touchstone in the debate about nuclear waste in the wake of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's 2011 decision to end the use of nuclear power following Japan’s Fukushima disaster. The ongoing closures have created a new urgency to clean up these nuclear facilities and, most importantly, to find a way to safely store the additional radioactive waste from newly decommissioned nuclear reactors. Nine of the country's 17 nuclear power reactors have been shut down and all are expected to be phased out by 2022.

In addition to Asse II, two other ...

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/soaring_cost_german_nuclear_shutdown/3019/

“There are currently no technical plans available for the envisaged waste recovery project which would allow a reliable estimate of the costs.”

[tonyt53]

1. People pushing nuclear power plants, don't live near them or where the spent fuel is stored

Nuclear power might seem clean, and it is, until there is an accident or a shutdown of a plant. THEN is becomes a huge problem for many people.

[underpants]

2. Not towards the OP but for once I would like to see a story not start with the touchy feely

"I've spent time with someone in the story so I will start with a slow human connection intro so you know I was there" beginning and go straight to the facts.

Just saying.

[kristopher]

3. If your comment isn't towards the OP...

...(and I agree it isn't descriptive of the OP) then what is the point of making the remark in the first place?

Just saying...

[underpants]

5. Because EVERY stinking article has to start with that these days

I see a story and when I click on it I get "Don still drives his old pickup truck through the loblolly pines..." or something to that effect.

[kristopher]

6. That makes even less sense as a responsive reply than your prior post.

[earthshine]

7. Underpants is saying he prefers a writing style of factual analysis over human interest derp.

And so do I.

[kristopher]

8. That, too, has nothing to do with the OP.

It seems likely that you're more motivated by attempting to disrupt a thread critical of nuclear power than you are trying to convey anything substantive.
That's probably because you have nothing substantive to contribute.

[earthshine]

9. I am a professional writer. I was responding to you. Not the OP.

Do you understand the difference?

[kristopher]

10. I understand you are intent on disrupting discussion of nuclear power's failures.

[earthshine]

11. Your "understanding" here is quite limited. You are imputing and ascribing motives to me ...

and you lack the authority and wisdom to do so.

You seem upset that people don't do what you want, and probably, that others have not responded to the OP.

Until recently, all my life, I believed that nuc power was the way to go. In theory, it should be. But, obviously, our governments and big corps cannot be trusted to manage it appropriately. Too much focus on the bottom line -- saving money in the design and location of reactors, and inadequate disposal of the waste.

Many well-known reactors have serious and dangerous problems, including inadequate evacuation plans.

Angela Merkel's efforts seem reactionary, and obviously, she didn't think it through far enough. But, on this issue, I think her intentions are in the right place.

There ... a comment about the OP. Do you feel better?

[4lbs]

4. Just give all that nuclear material to the US Military.

I'm sure they could use it in thousands of new depleted-uranium shells for the tanks and Phalanx cannons.

While not very peace-like, that may actually be safer than trying to store it without leaking into the ground.


In addition, giving it to the US makes sure that terrorist groups like ISIS don't come close to getting their hands on it.

[kristopher]

12. Japan’s Center-Right Goes Green

Japan’s Center-Right Goes Green
July 19, 2016
ByAndrew DeWit

In an era of Brexit, negative interest rates, and Trump, we are getting used to the emergence and endurance of the unreal. But for something completely different, consider the strong signals of a sea change on energy policy coming from Japan’s business community. A lot of business elites have clearly thrown in the towel on nuclear and are instead openly lobbying to have Japan vault to global leadership in renewables, efficiency and smart infrastructure.

One telling piece of evidence is a June 28 report and list of policy recommendations from the influential Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives (KD)). The KD report is titled (in Japanese) “Towards the World’s Leading Zero-Emissions Society: Measures for an Increased Deployment of Renewable Energy.” The KD is not anti-nuclear per se; indeed, the report’s signatories include representatives from nuclear-owning Kansai Electric and Kyushu Electric. All the same, the KD declares that regulatory, legal and other hurdles mean nuclear power will likely not reach the 20-22 percent of electricity generation targeted by the country’s Basic Energy Plan. The KD therefore argues for an all-out effort on renewables and energy efficiency, rather than continuing to fill the gap with natural gas, coal and oil. It points to last December’s COP21 agreement on climate change, and subsequent developments, and is adamant that Japan reduce its reliance on fossil fuels as much and as soon as possible. Moreover, the KD insists on this approach for environmental reasons as well as to make Japan a leader, rather than a laggard, in the race to zero-emissions energy.

The KD is a powerful organization, one of Japan’s three top national business councils. Its roughly 1,400 members come from about 950 corporations, including Nissan, Mitsubishi, Marubeni and other household names, but they join as individuals....

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/07/japan-s-center-right-goes-green.html?cmpid=renewablewind07212016&eid=291112127&bid=1473107

[Sentath]

13. This is at least as interesting as the article about the salt mine

Is it an OP somewhere?