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Energiewende sees emissions rise

26  February 2013

Unterweser

German carbon dioxide emissions rose slightly in 2012 as the replacement of politically closed nuclear generation cost the country the opportunity to reduce emissions to a record low.

Preliminary greenhouse gas emissions for 2012 show an increase in releases of 1.6% to 931 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. In electricity generation, the use of coal went up, while increase in wind and solar power resulting from the country's Energiewende reduced the need for natural gas. Nuclear generation was down, thanks to the politically motivated shutdown of eight units following the Fukushima accident of March 2011.

The eight shut down reactors would have generated about 40.2 TWh in 2012 if they had operated in line with performance up to their closure. Replacing this generation would have resulted in an extra 18-34 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions compared to that expected from the nuclear lifecycle - easily enough to outweigh the 14 million tonne increase that was recorded. 

Rössing restructuring to see 276 jobs go

01 March 2013

Falling uranium demand and prices due to the Fukushima accident, as well as increasing costs of electricity and water, have caused Rössing Uranium to reduce its workforce by 276. 

Fatal platform fall at French plant

01 March 2013

Cattenom (EDF) 64x48Two contract workers have died and a third seriously injured in an accident during maintenance work in a reactor building at EDF's Cattenom nuclear power plant in north-eastern France.

Court rules Biblis closure unlawful

28 February 2013

Biblis (Areva) 48x48A three-month closure imposed by the government on RWE's Biblis A and B reactors as an immediate response to the Fukushima accident was illegal, a German court ruled.

Reactor shutdowns impact EnBW's earnings

01 March 2013

Neckarwestheim (EnBW) 80x48The forced closure of two of its four nuclear power reactors in 2011 contributed to a 4.3% drop in profits in 2012, German utility EnBW reported.

Russian construction milestones

28 February 2013

Construction work continues at various new nuclear power plant projects in Russia, with several milestones - including the delivery of major pieces of equipment - having recently been achieved.

WHO: Low radiation risk from Fukushima

28 February 2013

Radioactivity released by the Fukushima accident posed a low risk to Japan's population, said the World Health Organisation. It expects no observable health effect in the wider population, but raised estimations of cancer risk for two towns.

Industry Talk

Palo Verde's record output

The three-unit Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona achieved its 21st consecutive year in 2012 as the USA's largest power producer, operator Arizona Public Service (APS) announced. The 31.9 million megawatt-hours of net electricity produced by the three pressurized water reactors was the most ever generated by Palo Verde or by any other US power plant of any kind, according to APS.

Uprate request for Fermi 2

DTE Energy has applied to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for approval to uprate its Fermi 2 reactor by 1.6%. The company said that increased feedwater flow measurement accuracy should enable it to safely increase the reactor’s thermal output from 3430 MWt to 3486 MWt. The uprate would be implemented during a refuelling outage at Fermi 2 scheduled to begin in February 2014.

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