Tag • #nuclear power

chevron_right

Why Germany ditched nuclear before coal—and why it won’t go back

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Saturday, 27 April - 11:27

Jürgen Trittin, member of the German Bundestag and former environment minister, stands next to an activist during an action of the environmental organization Greenpeace in front of the Brandenburg Gate in April 2023. The action is to celebrate the shutdown of the last three German nuclear power plants.

Enlarge / Jürgen Trittin, member of the German Bundestag and former environment minister, stands next to an activist during an action of the environmental organization Greenpeace in front of the Brandenburg Gate in April 2023. The action is to celebrate the shutdown of the last three German nuclear power plants. (credit: Christoph Soeder/Picture Alliance via Getty Images )

One year ago, Germany took its last three nuclear power stations offline. When it comes to energy, few events have baffled outsiders more.

In the face of climate change, calls to expedite the transition away from fossil fuels, and an energy crisis precipitated by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Berlin’s move to quit nuclear before carbon-intensive energy sources like coal has attracted significant criticism. (Greta Thunberg prominently labeled it “a mistake .”)

This decision can only be understood in the context of post-war socio-political developments in Germany, where anti-nuclearism predated the public climate discourse.

Read 23 remaining paragraphs | Comments

chevron_right

Space experts foresee an “operational need” for nuclear power on the Moon

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 4 April - 13:36

Engineers from NASA and the National Nuclear Safety Administration lower the wall of a vacuum chamber around the KRUSTY experiment, the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling Technology.

Enlarge / Engineers from NASA and the National Nuclear Safety Administration lower the wall of a vacuum chamber around the KRUSTY experiment, the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling Technology. (credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory )

In February, NASA celebrated the arrival of the first US-made lander on the Moon in more than 50 years, an achievement that helps pave the way for the return of American astronauts to the lunar surface later this decade. But the clock was ticking for Intuitive Machines' Odysseus spacecraft after touching down on February 22 near the Moon's south pole.

Each day and night on the Moon lasts two weeks. When the Sun sets, a solar-powered lunar lander like Odysseus is starved of energy. Temperatures during the lunar night plummet, bottoming out at around minus 280° Fahrenheit (minus 173° Celsius).

Over the course of two weeks, these cold temperatures can damage sensitive spacecraft equipment, killing a lander even if it could start generating power again at lunar sunrise. Surviving the night requires heat and electricity, and NASA officials say nuclear power is one of the most attractive solutions to this problem.

Read 48 remaining paragraphs | Comments

chevron_right

Sellafield nuclear waste dump to be prosecuted for alleged IT security offences

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 28 March - 11:05

Charges relate to four-year period between 2019 and early 2023, and follows Guardian investigation

The Sellafield nuclear waste dump is to be prosecuted for alleged information technology security offences, the industry watchdog has said.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said on Thursday that it had notified the state-owned Cumbrian nuclear company that it would be prosecuted under industry security regulations.

chevron_right

Sellafield’s head of information security to step down

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 27 March - 16:21

Richard Meal is second senior leader to depart following Guardian investigation into failings at UK nuclear waste site

A former Royal Air Force officer who has led Sellafield’s information security for more than a decade is to leave the vast nuclear waste site in north-west England, it can be revealed.

Richard Meal, who is chief information security officer at the Cumbrian site, is to leave later this year.

chevron_right

What happened in the Russia-Ukraine war this week? Catch up with the must-read news and analysis

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Friday, 8 March - 19:00

Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine play special role in presidential elections; Ukrainian drones sink another Russian warship

Every week we wrap up essential coverage of the war in Ukraine , from news and features to analysis, opinion and more.

chevron_right

‘A picture of hell’: inside the UK’s nuclear reactors – in pictures

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 21 February - 07:00

Armed with a Geiger counter, Michael Collins was given access to multiple power stations across the UK – he found them tranquil, beautiful and sinister

chevron_right

40% of US electricity is now emissions-free

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 28 December - 19:12 · 1 minute

Image of electric power lines with a power plant cooling tower in the background.

Enlarge (credit: fhm / Getty Images )

Just before the holiday break, the US Energy Information Agency released data on the country's electrical generation. Because of delays in reporting, the monthly data runs through October, so it doesn't provide a complete picture of the changes we've seen in 2023. But some of the trends now seem locked in for the year: wind and solar are likely to be in a dead heat with coal, and all carbon-emissions-free sources combined will account for roughly 40 percent of US electricity production.

Tracking trends

Having data through October necessarily provides an incomplete picture of 2023. There are several factors that can cause the later months of the year to differ from the earlier ones. Some forms of generation are seasonal—notably solar, which has its highest production over the summer months. Weather can also play a role, as unusually high demand for heating in the winter months could potentially require that older fossil fuel plants be brought online. It also influences production from hydroelectric plants, creating lots of year-to-year variation.

Finally, everything's taking place against a backdrop of booming construction of solar and natural gas. So, it's entirely possible that we will have built enough new solar over the course of the year to offset the seasonal decline at the end of the year.

Read 11 remaining paragraphs | Comments

chevron_right

Sellafield workers claim ‘toxic culture’ of bullying, sexual harassment and drugs could put safety at risk

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 6 December - 14:30

Exclusive: Multiple sources warn poor working culture heightens risk of accidents, suicide and sabotage

UK nuclear police and workers share WhatsApp jokes about paedophilia, racism and homophobia

A “toxic culture” of bullying, sexual harassment and drug-taking risks compromising the safety of Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site, multiple employees at Sellafield have claimed.

More than a dozen current and former employees have alleged to the Guardian that the Cumbrian site, a vast dump for nuclear waste, has a longstanding unhealthy working culture, where staff have been bullied, harassed and belittled, with some apparently pushed to suicide.

Several suicides apparently linked to the pressures of working at the site.

A former young worker who claimed he was bullied to the point where he “just wanted to die” after he was repeatedly mocked over his sexual experience.

Workers who alleged they have either experienced or witnessed incidents of sexual assault.

Staff who allegedly regularly bring cocaine on to the site and keep samples of untainted urine in case of random drugs tests.

chevron_right

Sellafield nuclear site hacked by groups linked to Russia and China

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 4 December - 14:00

Exclusive: Malware may still be present and potential effects have been covered up by staff, investigation reveals

‘Bottomless pit of hell, money and despair’ at Europe’s most toxic nuclear site

The UK’s most hazardous nuclear site, Sellafield, has been hacked into by cyber groups closely linked to Russia and China, the Guardian can reveal.

The astonishing disclosure and its potential effects have been consistently covered up by senior staff at the vast nuclear waste and decommissioning site, the investigation has found.