The Arctic as a resource base
What’s wrong with Russia’s official documents on the Arctic.
News
Publish date: January 29, 2009
News
"There will be no new nuclear plants," Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian told journalists when asked to comment on Iberdrola’s joint venture with Scottish and Southern Energy to build nuclear power stations, Reuters reported.
Sebastian noted that Spanish energy consumption per head was 20 percent above the European average. "Saving 20 percent would be the equivalent of doubling the number of nuclear power plants. It seems easier and cheaper to me," he said. "Furthermore, it (saving) is immediate, whereas nuclear plants take 15 years. There is no controversy, no waste or security problems, nothing," he added. Spain’s government has said it may extend the working lives of the country’s eight ageing nuclear power plants, but has urged operators to invest more in safety after a controversial radioactive leak was discovered last year.
Operating permits for seven of the plants are up for renewal between this year and 2011, or well within the mandate of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s Socialist government. Spain’s nuclear power plants supply about 7,300 megawatts when all are working normally, or enough to meet about 20 percent of demand for power. Today Spain operates 8 nuclear reactors.
What’s wrong with Russia’s official documents on the Arctic.
As uranium supplies from Russia fall under the shadow of potential sanctions, and while Ukraine’s allies look to wean themselves off nuclear fuel produced by Moscow’s Rosatom corporation, owners of left-for-dead mines in the US are looking to revive their deposits.
The European Union doubled its purchases of Russian nuclear fuel in 2023, data from Eurostat and the UN’s international trade service Comtrade show.
The output of Russian nuclear power plants in 2023 decreased by 2.8% compared to 2022. A decrease in output occurred for the first time in 10 years a...