Uranium and Nuclear Power Industry – Page 18

Canada’s oilsands look into use of nuclear power as ‘net zero changes everything’ – by Amanda Stephenson (Canadian Press/CTV News – July 17, 2022)

July 25, 2022

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

CALGARY – The pressing global need to slash emissions in the face of a growing climate crisis is driving renewed interest in nuclear power — and few places more so than in Canada’s oilsands.

While the idea of using nuclear power to replace the fossil fuels burned in oilsands production has been bandied about for years, some experts say the reality could be just a decade or so away. On paper, at least, there is more potential to deploy small modular reactor (SMR) technology in the oilsands region of Alberta than anywhere else in the country.

The Forgotten Nuclear Accidents at Chalk River – by MÉLISSA GUILLEMETTE (The Walrus – July 13, 2022)

July 21, 2022

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The world’s first serious nuclear accident occurred in Ontario in 1952, followed by a second incident there in 1958. A look back at these events now that the federal government is compensating workers who took part in cleanup efforts.

GEORGE KIELY IS at a loss for words. On a July morning in 2021, I phone to get his reaction to the federal budget tabled three months earlier. One measure had caught my eye: $22.3 million set aside for several hundred workers who cleaned up Chalk River Laboratories after two nuclear accidents in the 1950s. I hadn’t known about these incidents.

EU lawmakers back gas, nuclear energy as sustainable – by Samuel Petrequin and Raf Casert (Associated Press – July 6, 2022)

July 8, 2022

https://apnews.com/

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc’s list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU’s executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and now looks set to trigger legal challenges.

As the EU wants to set the best global standards in the fight against climate change, the decision could tarnish the bloc’s image and question the region’s commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050.

Uranium exploration plan in Thelon Basin draws some concerns – by David Lochead (Nunatsiaq News – July 7, 2022)

July 8, 2022

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Some Baker Lake residents and organizations are expressing concerns over planned uranium exploration in the Thelon Basin next year. The majority of comments submitted to the Nunavut Impact Review Board that were made public by the board have expressed concern or questions, with others writing in opposition.

The review board makes recommendations to the federal minister of northern affairs about the economic and social impacts of proposed development projects in the territory. NIRB opened up the commenting period to the public June 14; commenting closed July 5.

OPINION: Natural gas and nuclear power are now considered green investments in the EU. Will Canada follow suit? – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – July 7, 2022)

July 7, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The European Union Parliament has declared that nuclear power and natural gas can be labelled as green for investment purposes, alongside wind, solar and other renewable energy sources.

Environmental activists are not at all pleased, saying including the two energy sources in the EU’s green “taxonomy” will only hamper the fight against climate change. Now the focus turns to other countries, including Canada, hard at work on standards for investments that fit with their own low-carbon transitions.

Nuclear Power Gets New Push in U.S., Winning Converts – by Ivan Penn (New York Times – July 5, 2022)

July 7, 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/

With challenges in meeting clean energy goals and new electricity demands, politicians in both parties seek to prolong and even expand reactor use.

Driven by the difficulty of meeting clean energy goals and by surging electricity demands, a growing number of political leaders are taking a fresh look at nuclear power — both extending the life of existing reactors and building new ones.

Even past skeptics, largely Democrats, have come around to the idea — notably in California, where the state’s sole remaining nuclear plant, Diablo Canyon, is scheduled to close in 2025. The search for clean energy has given nuclear power a spark that has drawn bipartisan support that added billions in funding for existing and new projects.

More uranium mining near the Grand Canyon? Might as well just poison our water now – by Carletta Tilousi (AZ Central.com – June 21, 2022)

June 22, 2022

https://www.azcentral.com/

Tribal leader Carletta Tilousi is a citizen of the Havasupai Tribe and sits on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

The Pinyon Plain uranium mine sits fewer than 10 miles from Grand Canyon National Park on the ancestral homelands of my people, the Havasupai, the “people of the blue-green water.” As the guardians of the Grand Canyon, we are fighting to protect our sacred lands and waters against harm that federal and state agencies continue to permit.

The Biden administration has promised to prioritize environmental justice and listen to Indigenous voices. Yet it is considering moving forward with a uranium reserve program that would use taxpayer dollars to buy uranium from operations like the Pinyon Plain Mine.

Nuclear industry hopes to expand output with new reactors – by Jennifer McDermott (Associated Press/ABC News – June 21, 2022)

June 22, 2022

https://abcnews.go.com/

The trade association for U.S. nuclear plant operators says it hopes to nearly double their output over the next three decades

The U.S. nuclear industry is generating less electricity as reactors retire, but now plant operators are hoping to nearly double their output over the next three decades, according to the industry’s trade association.

The massive scaling-up envisioned by the utilities hangs on the functionality of a new type of nuclear reactor that’s far smaller than traditional reactors. About two dozen U.S. companies are developing advanced reactors, with some that could come online by the end of the decade if the technology succeeds and federal regulators approve.

‘We really want to find a long-term solution’: Canada inches toward permanent storage of radioactive waste – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – June 18, 2022)

June 21, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Report suggests two Ontario communities have what it takes to store nuclear waste

Canada has moved one step closer to finding a permanent spot to store the millions of bundles of radioactive waste that have been generated in the nearly half-century since it started producing nuclear energy.

On Thursday, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), a Toronto-based non-profit created by Parliament that has been scouring the country for storage spots since 2010, released reports that detail why it believes two communities in Ontario could safely store radioactive nuclear waste for time immemorial.

Kazatomprom Marks 25 Years in Business: CEO Talks Achievements and Efforts to Establish Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities – by AIBARSHYN AKHMETKALI (The Astana Times – May 31, 2022)

June 1, 2022

https://astanatimes.com/

NUR-SULTAN – Kazatomprom national atomic company, the world’s largest uranium producer, celebrates 25 years that turned it into the world’s leader in both uranium mining and sales. To mark the date, Kazatomprom CEO Mazhit Sharipov spoke about the company’s key achievements, its efforts to establish nuclear fuel cycle production in Kazakhstan, and develop an environmentally friendly energy complex in an interview with The Astana Times.

Being the global leader in primary uranium production, Kazakhstan meets more than 45 percent of the world’s annual nuclear fuel needs with a quarter of the world’s supplies coming directly from Kazatomprom. Last year the company sold uranium products to 21 customers in eight countries.

Uranium’s price is ‘too low’ at $75; here’s where the price needs to go to incentivize mining – Amir Adnani (Kitco News – May 23, 2022)

May 25, 2022

https://www.kitco.com/

Adnani is CEO of Uranium Energy Corp and Chairman of GoldMining Inc. He spoke with David Lin, anchor and producer at Kitco News, at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference. Adnani remarked that the Russia-Ukraine conflict would impact uranium markets. Russia is one of the world’s top uranium producers.

His comments come as the Uranium market saw some of the most volatile price movements in recent history, rising from $30 a pound last September to $50 in a span of two weeks, then hitting close to $65 a pound by April before falling back down to $47.8.

Why the Debate Over Russian Uranium Worries U.S. Tribal Nations – by Simon Romero (New York Times – May 2, 2022)

May 2, 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/

If imports end because of the war, American companies may look to increase domestic mining, which has a toxic history on Indigenous lands.

KAIBAB NATIONAL FOREST, Ariz. — After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the United States slapped bans on Russian energy sources from oil to coal. But one critical Russian energy import was left alone: uranium, which the United States relies on to fuel more than 90 nuclear reactors around the country.

That dependence on Russia is breathing life into ambitions to resurrect the uranium industry around the American West — and also evoking fears of the industry’s toxic legacy of pollution.

California promised to close its last nuclear plant. Now Newsom is reconsidering – by Sammy Roth (Los Angeles Times – April 29, 2022)

April 29, 2022

https://www.latimes.com/

With the threat of power shortages looming and the climate crisis worsening, Gov. Gavin Newsom may attempt to delay the long-planned closure of California’s largest electricity source: the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.

Newsom told the L.A. Times editorial board Thursday that the state would seek out a share of $6 billion in federal funds meant to rescue nuclear reactors facing closure, money the Biden administration announced this month. Diablo Canyon owner Pacific Gas & Electric is preparing to shutter the plant — which generated 6% of the state’s power last year — by 2025.

Angela Merkel’s nuclear folly fuelled Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine – by David Welch (Globe and Mail – April 28, 2022)

April 29, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

For every euro of military aid that Germany has given to Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion, it has paid €200 for Russian energy imports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called this “blood money.” Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski recently declared it “inadmissible from a political and moral point of view.”

It is also tragic and unnecessary. For this, we can blame former German chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany finds itself in an awkward position because of its heavy dependence on Russian coal, oil, and natural gas.

Navajo residents affected by uranium share stories at U.S. Nuclear Commission (Navajo-Hope Observer – April 26, 2022)

April 27, 2022

https://www.nhonews.com/

CHURCH ROCK, N.M. — On April 22, Navajo uranium and contamination victims voiced concerns to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the devastating health and environmental impacts caused by federal uranium mining.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency Executive Director Valinda Shirley were on hand for the meeting along with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Christopher T. Hanson, Commissioner Jeff Baran, and Commissioner David Wright who met at the Redwater Pond Road community, located within the Church Rock Chapter on the Navajo Nation.