Japan to restart reactors ?

[Pat Gill]

The rumours are getting increasingly louder and more insistent that Japan is about to restart some of its nuclear power stations following the complete shutdown post Fukushima.

Despite restarting old coal and gas powerplants, many of which had been mothballed for decades and despite heroic efforts at energy efficiency improvements including modifying much of the engrained business and personal clothing etiquette, agricultural and food industries and forcing the balance of payments to go into deficit for the first time in decades in order to buy the fossil fuels to burn in those old power stations, the government is still forecasting rolling blackouts this summer.

A government committee is due to report within the next few weeks after studying the following four options,

• A complete phase-out of nuclear power while raising renewable energy sources to 35 percent of energy supply by 2030;

• Significantly reducing nuclear power to 15 percent of the total supply by 2030, while increasing renewable energy to 30 percent, then deciding what the future energy mix should be;

• Agreeing on a lower level of nuclear power generation capacity of about 20-25 percent of total energy supply;

• Letting the free market determine what the appropriate energy mix should be.

The clincher for the rumours seems to have been a statement from the Mayor of Osaka Toru Hashimoto, previously a strong and vocal opponent of a nuclear restart, in which he said that with the onset of the summer heat and the resultant threat of rolling blackouts it might no longer make sense to have a complete nuclear shutdown.

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/05/31/japan-reactor-restart-countdown-approaching-zero/

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gQAecwO76QEUOhjIjXxTkPDxIwGg?docId=CNG.f49c0 6f220d7ca7106d4a9267126badd.461

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gQAecwO76QEUOhjIjXxTkPDxIwGg?docId=CNG.f49c0 6f220d7ca7106d4a9267126badd.461

[C. Flower]

In the last couple of weeks Fukushima came to my mind twice - once was over this -


"Californian" tuna have Japanese radioactivity.

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed...rnia-waters-co

The other was that global greenhouse gas levels have peaked again this year, and it is being related in part to increase in use of carbon fuels in Japan.

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/23733

[Pat Gill]

Cactusflower,

I doubt its the last time Fukushima will enter your thoughts.

Energy security is now a government priority throughout the world.

One of the drivers to this development is that supplies of gas are tight, the infrastructure required to increase supply is very expensive and takes years to build and right now China and the rest of Asia is competing with Japan for the limited supplies.

[C. Flower]

Two Japanese reactors restarted last week. Very mixed reactions. Demonstrations outside the company offices, and some reports that 70% are against.

http://t.co/5hZJ0D55

http://t.co/jtHGcLVw

http://t.co/5hZJ0D55

[Pat Gill]

CactusFlower,

There might well be enormous public opposition to the restarting of these reactors, indeed the fact that many of these reactors are located in the middle of towns would kind of ensure lots of opposition given the experience of Japan with nuclear energy going all the way back to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

But just as the last two years have been a large and generally successful experiment in energy efficiency, the inescapable fact of the matter is that modern civilisation depends on a constantly increasing energy supply.

Relatively minor changes to that civilisation could achieve an enormous amount in this regard but we just seem unable or unwilling to make these changes.

Or maybe its the case that the time has just not arrived yet for this matter to be taken seriously.

[morticia]

Or maybe its the case that the time has just not arrived yet for this matter to be taken seriously.

obviously, the price is not yet high enough for serious action to be taken.

I wonder how many more bank collapses (or sovereign collapses for that matter) it will take before we realise we can't keep on relying on fossil fuels for ever.

[C. Flower]

CactusFlower,

There might well be enormous public opposition to the restarting of these reactors, indeed the fact that many of these reactors are located in the middle of towns would kind of ensure lots of opposition given the experience of Japan with nuclear energy going all the way back to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

But just as the last two years have been a large and generally successful experiment in energy efficiency, the inescapable fact of the matter is that modern civilisation depends on a constantly increasing energy supply.

Relatively minor changes to that civilisation could achieve an enormous amount in this regard but we just seem unable or unwilling to make these changes.

Or maybe its the case that the time has just not arrived yet for this matter to be taken seriously.

Which changes do you think are critical ?

[Pat Gill]

Which changes do you think are critical ?

One of the most fundamental changes is possibly to take a slightly different view of everyday life and include a small element of long termism.

As just one small example, most people of working age will be dependent on the taxes on their childrens work in order to pay their pensions.

Both of those groups currently live in houses which cost a lot to power and light because they are extremely energy inefficient and the cost of energy has been increasing ahead of inflation for the last two decades.

Would it not be a good idea to incentivise work on making our buildings as energy efficient as possible now in order to make it more affordable for our children to pay our pensions in 20 or 30 years time and also give the present generation some gainful employment.

And I am particularly thinking of the pension industry as the industry to be incentivised in this regard.

An even more radical idea is being developed at energyco-ops (http://www.energyco-ops.ie/).ie the basic idea is that communities, geographical, professional or special purpose come together to actually own a piece of the energy infrastructure, the profits can be spent on further energy projects or providing or assisting other community needs.

And just to keep this post a little bit on topic, a bit of gossip,

http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120618-43219.html

[C. Flower]

One of the most fundamental changes is possibly to take a slightly different view of everyday life and include a small element of long termism.

As just one small example, most people of working age will be dependent on the taxes on their childrens work in order to pay their pensions.

Both of those groups currently live in houses which cost a lot to power and light because they are extremely energy inefficient and the cost of energy has been increasing ahead of inflation for the last two decades.

Would it not be a good idea to incentivise work on making our buildings as energy efficient as possible now in order to make it more affordable for our children to pay our pensions in 20 or 30 years time and also give the present generation some gainful employment.

And I am particularly thinking of the pension industry as the industry to be incentivised in this regard.

An even more radical idea is being developed at energyco-ops (http://www.energyco-ops.ie/).ie the basic idea is that communities, geographical, professional or special purpose come together to actually own a piece of the energy infrastructure, the profits can be spent on further energy projects or providing or assisting other community needs.

And just to keep this post a little bit on topic, a bit of gossip,

http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120618-43219.html

Political, or the nightmare costs of disposing of the waste ?

A carbon fuel tax seems to be the obvious way to change peoples' approach to energy. The proceeds to be used for insulation and renewables?

I'm not sure how far renewables are proven viable ? Are they dependent on wealth produced by burning carbon fuels, given out as incentives and grants?

[C. Flower]

Demonstrations at the gate of Ohi Reactor 2 when it started up today.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/protest-in-japan-as-fukushima-reactor-restarts-557521.html

Great photos on Fukushima Diary - riot police in tears, also opposed to the start up - but still doing their job.

http://fukushima-diary.com/

People shouting "no restart!"

http://fukushima-diary.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/208add855ab214d6a82176223c0b3ac8-450x298.jpg

http://fukushima-diary.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/457252_10151376097907741_1281381761_o-450x600.jpg