【ＪＡＰＡＮ】 Stop! Takahama Unit 3 MOX fuel reactor

On 9th Dec, Kyushu Electric’s Genkai Unit 3 MOX fuel plant has stopped driving with radiation leakage from fuel.
MOX fuel, fabricated at MELOX plant in France, was loaded on Genkai Unit 3 reactor is same as Takahama Unit 3 MOX fuel reactors' in Fukui prefecture.
Because Takahama Unit 3 MOX fuel reactor is on the plan to start driving on 22nd Dec, so Mihama-No-Kai is calling to send the message to Fukui prefectural governor "Don't approve starting for Takahama Unit 3 MOX fuel reactor before becoming clear of cause of Genkai Unit 3's radiation leakage"
http://www.jca.apc.org/mihama/stop_pu/fukui_mail1012/fukui_mail1012_1.htm

Asia Pacific Greens Supports the No Nukes Asia Forum (September 18-21 2010, Taipei, Taiwan)

2010 No Nukes Asia Forum

September 18~ 21, 2010
Taipei, Taiwan

Welcome to 2010 NNAF：
In 1993, a group of anti-nuclear activists who supported clean sustainable energy and were against the expansion of nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons came together in Tokyo Japan to hold the first “No Nukes Asia Forum （NNAF）. This year, the NNAF will be held in Taipei Taiwan. The conference will focus on topics such as the effects of earthquakes and climate change on nuclear power safety, the current conditions of nuclear power and anti-nuke activity in Asian countries, and renewable energy and sustainable development. We welcome anyone from around the energy world and in Taiwan who cares about energy and the environment to join, support and help us make the NNAF a great success.

Schedule (to be confirmed):

International Forum (Sept. 18 ~ Sept. 19) Location：National Taiwan Normal University –Comprehensive Building, Rm. 509, International Conference Room (He-Ping East Rd. Sec. 1, #129-1)

Registration Fee：Foreign guests – 250 USD; Taiwanese – 300nt (students 150nt), Conference materials: 200NT. Fee for Gong Laio and Southern Taiwan tour：Foreign guests – 200 USD;
Taiwanese – 6,000NT

Registration：register on line>>

Sponsors: Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, Homemaker’s Union and Foundation, Chi Sing Eco-Conservation Foundation, Taiwan Academy of Ecology, Taiwan Agenda 21, The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, Taiwan Association of University Professors, Green Citizen’s Action Alliance,Green Taiwan Foundation(pending)

Co-sponsors: Taiwan Watch Institute, Tien Chiu-Chin Legislative Office (pending)

Contact Infomation
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union
Phone #: 02-23636419 02-23648587 Fax #：02-23644293
e-mail：tepu.org@msa.hinet.net
website：http://www.tepu.org.tw

More Video on the Human Chain Against the Gongliao Nuclear Power Plant in Taiwan

Human Chain Against the Gongliao Nuclear Power Plant in Taiwan in the NEWS!

HUMAN CHAIN AGAINST TAIWAN'S 4th NUCLEAR POWER PLANT!

Protestors throng nuclear plant (Taiwan)

Holding hands to form a human chain while chanting slogans, several hundred anti-nuclear power activists yesterday blocked off the main entrance to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Taipei County’s Gongliao Township (貢寮), calling on the government to halt the plan to fill the reactors with uranium fuel in December and to stop using nuclear energy.

“No to uranium filling!” “No to restoration of nuclear power!” Hundreds of activists — Gongliao residents and non-residents alike — shouted as they formed a human chain in front of the plant.

Read the full article here: http://60.248.100.112/News/taiwan/archives/2010/08/30/2003481669

The Asia Pacific Greens Network (APGN) Oppose the Gong-Liao Nuclear Plant in Taiwan

As the people of Taiwan; sing and dance to celebrate their solidarity to the tune of rock bands and as they join hands in a symbolic “human chain” this coming August 29th, Greens from all over the region led by the GENNAP（Green Energy No Nukes in Asia Pacific) [1] declares our support against Taiwan’s 4^th Nuclear Power Plant.

“The construction of the plant was decided against the citizens’ will by the former dictatorial government. The government began construction, ignoring the growing citizens movement against the plant”, declares Shu-hsin Tsui (Taiwan Greens).

She adds that “There never was proper investigation or impact assessment of the 4^th nuclear power plant, despite the fact that the Government was aware that the vicinity of the plant it is on an active seismic fault line as identified by some geological scientists.”

GENNAP is gravely concern that according to Kotomi Matsunoshita (GENNAP Convener, Greens Japan) “the construction of the plant does not conform to the original design, with many ad hoc changes being made without approval.” “Already many accidents has happened due to electrical and mechanical control system failures but were concealed from the public.”

Furthermore, “the quake-resistance standard of the 4th nuclear power plant is far lower than standards of nuclear power plants in the earthquake country Japan, which is similarly earthquake-prone as Taiwan.” Says Kiyoshi Matsuya (Greens Japan)

“If this nuclear plant is completed, the risk of a serious nuclear reactor accident is high. It would have terrible consequences for Taiwanese people and also for people across the region.” Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said.

“GENNAP call on the government of Taiwan to abort plans for the proposed 4^th nuclear power plant, and instead promote energy conservation and renewable energy.” declares Roy Cabonegro. (APGN Coordination Committee Convener)

For more information, please contact:

Shu-hsin Tsui(Taiwan Greens)  mobile phone ：0939121981

email：souhim@gmail.com　

http://nonukesasiapacific.blogspot.com/ and http://taiwannonuke.blogspot.com

---

[1] GENNAP is an action group of the Asia-Pacific Greens Network (APGN).  During the 2^nd Congress APGN last May in Taipei, Taiwan, attended by most of the Green Political Parties and Movements in the region, GENNAP was created to facilitate joint actions among the Greens to stop nuclear expansion in the region; starting with Taiwan

[2010NoNuke] Taiwan 829 nonuke video

829 NUO-NŬ-KÈ（No Nuke）Action Alert,Taiwan

Say No to Nuke!!

Hand in hand, rock down the power plant!

Where:

Ren-He Matsu Temple, Audi Village, Gong-Liao Township, Taipei County, Taiwan.

When: 2010\08\29 13:00~19:00

What:

1. Rock concert featuring anti-nuclear singers and bands from Taiwan and Japan.

2. Farmer’s market selling local farm products. Anti-nuclear information available.

3. Human chain demonstration （Starts@4PM from Ren-He Matsu Temple）

It has been a major social controversy for over 20 years. The 4^th Nuclear Power Plant in Gong-Liao Township, Taipei county, sited right next to the beautiful Fu-Long beach , has long been a nightmare to people living in Gong-Liao, as well as everyone who is concerned about the safety and unjustness of nuclear power in Taiwan.

Under the pressure of government policy , Tai-Power Company claimed publicly to commercially run the NPP4 by the end of this year. However, from the beginning of this year, there have been several cases of accident revealing serious safety issue in the power plant. There’s no reason that people in Gong-Liao should take the risk of such underlying danger!

Last year, the NUO-NU-KE campaign team launched a series of activities such as rock concert and outdoor film screening to bring about public attention .This year , with the participation of RULES and several creative artists and activists, we aim at different forms of protest to advocate anti-nuclear position, calling for nuclear-free alternatives.

We invite everyone who is concerned about environment issue to gather together , stand by the local people, shout our appeal out loud .No more nuclear-related industry! Stop filling nuclear fuel rods!!

Join Us NOW!!

What is Nuo-Nu-Ke?

It is actually 「No Nuke」 being directly pronounced in Mandarin Chinese tone. Literally, it also refers to a group of people who are very determined to say no to nuclear power.

Why human chain?

On 4^th April,2010, over 100,000 activists gathered in Northern Germany to build a human chain stretching 120KM to protest against the nuclear power program in Germany . It was the biggest anti-nuclear protest in Germany since the 1980’s, with participants from every aspects of the society.

We hope to bring about people’s attention through this kind of mobilization. Let’s go hand-in-hand and make non-nuclear future come true!!

Organizers: Green Citizens’ Action Alliance, Rules

Co-organizers: Green Party Taiwan, Taiwan Environment Protection Alliance（others to be announced）

Taiwan 829 nonuke video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm-CSFmhqbo&fmt=37

諾努客NO NUKES

http://taiwannonuke.blogspot.com/

Statement from the 2nd Congress of the Global Young Greens (GYG)

Go For GREEN Energy~No More Nuclear Power Energy~

We, the Global Young Greens (GYG) recommend that our members promote the sharing of information concerning  nuclear power in each country and strengthen the network with a view to stopping all existing and proposed nuclear power plants, uranium mining and nuclear waste disposal in the world.

We oppose nuclear power plants because nuclear power plants are not GREEN.

Nuclear power plants are not a solution to climate change. It is dangerous to have nuclear power plants in regions with significant risk of earthquakes.

There is no realistic solution to the disposal of spent nuclear fuel.  

The nuclear fuel cycle of uranium digging, reprocessing to derive plutonium and high level nuclear waste disposal affects human health in communities and to workers by the risk of radio active exposure.

GYG support the anti-nuclear movements in every country, especially Germany, Japan and Taiwan. We support:

• the “Anti Atom Demo” in Berlin on 18 Sep. 2010 which will protest government’s postponing the phase-out of nuclear power,
• “STOP KAMINOSEKI” in which many local residents have been opposing the construction of a nuclear power plant for 27 years in Japan and
• “NO NUKE 2010” action in Taiwan, which protest government’s speeding up the construction of a 4th nuclear power plant to celebrate the 100th National Day.

The expansion of nuclear power plants MUST BE STOPPED NOW

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The expansion of nuclear power plants MUST BE STOPPED NOW

August 29 2010 is First UN International Day Against Nuclear Tests

The 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 29 August as the International Day against Nuclear Tests through the unanimous adoption of its resolution 64/35 on 2 December 2009.   The Day is meant to galvanize the efforts of the United Nations, Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and the media in informing, educating and advocating the necessity of banning nuclear tests as a valuable step to achieving a safer world.   The Preamble of the resolution emphasizes “that every effort should be made to end nuclear tests in order to avert devastating and harmful effects on the lives and health of people …and, that the end of nuclear tests is one of the key means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.”

Read the full article here: http://www.un.org/en/events/againstnucleartestsday/

Taipei Times: Environmentalists take aim at nuclear industry

People in a busy shopping district in Taipei yesterday afternoon had a shock when they saw what looked like Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) employees in full protective suits moving a yellow barrel with a radiation hazard sign and the words “radioactive waste” on it.

In reality, it was a skit by environmentalists to raise public awareness of the dangers of nuclear energy. 

Read the full article here: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/08/08/2003479871

Areva: the first nuclear victim of the recession, but will it be alone?

(Source: Datamonitor) French nuclear energy company Areva has struggled to expand its portfolio in recent years, as have a number of its competitors. Of all reactors being built by 2015, Areva will be responsible for none, while EDF will only be responsible for one. Asian companies may be gaining market share, but this does not dispel the possibility that this is just the beginning of a downturn in the industry.

In some respects, it should come as no surprise that Asian companies have taken the helm. The West suffered more from the recession than Asia, making financing far harder to obtain, and nowhere is financing more important than in the nuclear industry. Reactors take 10 years to build, with no return on investment (ROI) before this point. Although nuclear power is an excellent baseload fuel, it remains a very risky investment.

In a recent tender in Abu Dhabi between Areva/EDF and Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO), it was KEPCO's cheaper reactor design that won. This highlights a further challenge for the industry. Not only do companies need to find willing investors, they have to quote prices that some believe are unrealistic for a safe reactor.

Read the full article here: http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4387823#

Vietnam denies US nuclear negotiations

HANOI: Vietnam said on Friday that it had not yet begun negotiating with the United States on sharing nuclear fuel and technology, despite Washington saying that talks were ongoing. “Vietnam and the United States have not yet carried out negotiations on peaceful uses of nuclear energy agreement,” foreign ministry spokesman Nguyen Phuong Nga said. Washington said on Thursday that it was in talks with its former Cold War foe over civilian nuclear technology, but declined to say whether Hanoi would be allowed to enrich its own uranium, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. 
Read full article here: http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/world/23315-vietnam-denies-us-nuclear-negotiations

MANILA, Philippines—The Aquino administration has permanently shelved plans to rehabilitate and operate the mothballed 620-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, given the social complexity and safety concerns hounding it.
“BNPP is not an option anymore,” said Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras at a news briefing Tuesday.

Almendras said, however, that nuclear energy remains an option in the Energy Reform Agenda that the department is now drafting.

“We are in the process of studying it. We are not closed to it and we are evaluating it,” he said, adding: "We have been told that there have been significant technological advancements relative to safety. They are now talking about 50-megawatt nuclear power plants being equally economically viable as the really large ones.”

Aside from energy security, the energy chief added that one of the factors driving the government to consider nuclear power is the fact that it can help bring down energy prices in the Philippines in the long-run, when oil prices are expected to have grown much more.

Already, a number of local government units have expressed willingness to host such a nuclear facility, according to Almendras.

Read the full article here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100727-283462/Govt-puts-foot-down-on-Bataan-nuke-plant

Petition Request about Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plants in JAPAN

We call upon the immediate stop of Hamaoka nuclear
power plants. The Great Tokai Earthquake is coming
directly below them!

http://www.geocities.jp/genpatusinsai/images/20040817Eng.PDF

Nuclear Related Activities in Burma

The Democratic Voice of Burma has been accumulating information about a nuclear program in Burma for years, but recently they have come across a source with truly extraordinary information. He worked in special factories making prototype components for missile and nuclear programs. Like the Israeli technician, Mordecai Vanunu, he has brought hundreds of color photographs of the activities inside these factories. DVB has asked us to organize this information and analyze what it means. The goal of this report is to report our findings to DVB in support of their documentary film on Al Jazeera. We are also providing a great deal of raw data for the nonproliferation community to assess.
Burma is one of the world’s most repressive regimes. It is ruled by a junta of generals who have been in power for decades. These generals seem to have no political philosophy, such as socialism or fascism, only pure simple greed. To remain in power they depend on a brutal secret police and suspension of most human rights. With the passage of time they seek more ways to hang onto power as their wealth grows ever larger and the dissatisfaction of the population threatens to oust them.
There are many signs that Burma looks to maintain power by having military power that would make foreign intervention very painful for an aggressor. The power may not be necessarily aimed at aggression by Burma on its neighbors; rather it is a defensive power that signals its neighbors to leave them alone. The model for this is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK, commonly known as North Korea. North Korea is too poor to threaten anyone except its immediate neighbors but its possession of nuclear weapons inhibits any outside intervention in its repressive regime.

Read the full article here: http://www.dvb.no/burmas-nuclear-ambitions-dvb-reports
Watch it in youtube at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grw9N4UdCoQ&feature=player_embedded

INCOMING PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT NOYNOY AQUINO URGED TO REVIVE BATAAN NUCLEAR PLANT

THE NUCLEAR LOBBY HAS BEGAN IN THE PHILIPPINE! Read this article below. Partido Kalikasan strongly opposes the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plants (BNPP) in the Philippines. Solidarity statements from other Greens in the region are most welcome.

http://ph.promo.yahoo.com/purple-thumb/editors-log-article?blogid=editors_log&postid=374&viewPost=1

MORONG, BATAAN―Incoming president Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III should consider nuclear energy as a viable solution to meet growing energy demands and help alleviate fears of a power crisis, according to officials from the power industry.

Aquino's openness to adopting nuclear technology could pave the way for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the country's “energy generation mix” to prevent power shortages when the supply of fossil fuels―the country's primary source of electricity and energy―runs out in the next four decades, says Dennis Gana, head of corporate communications at National Power Corp. (Napocor).

“Not only is Napocor pushing for the opening of BNPP, but especially the adoption of nuclear energy as a long term source of power,” Gana points out.

“Today, we have been suffering from energy generation deficiencies in Mindanao and Visayas, and even in Luzon the supply is very thin. Nuclear energy is eyed as an option to improve the generation mix and the commissioning of BNPP (Bataan Nuclear Power Plant), which was never operated as a commercial power plant,” he says.

The plant has a capacity of 620 megawatts of power, which could prevent the six-hour power shortages in the Luzon-Visayas grid or five percent of the country’s energy requirement in the country, adds Gana.

Located in Morong, the BNPP was built under the late former president Ferdinand Marcos in response to the oil crisis during the 1970s. The plant costs P2.2 billion to build. After the 1986 Edsa Revolt, the late former president Corazon Aquino mothballed the plant due to overpricing and safety issues, later disproved by international experts.

The Interagency Core Group on Nuclear Energy, formed by Department of Energy and the Department of Science and Technology, will present to Sen. Aquino a report on the status of the nuclear energy adoption in the Asian region.

“We are now preparing the report that will address issues related to BNPP and some proposals which can be used in deciding whether to reopen the plant, build a new plant and to keep their options open in terms of going nuclear,” says Gana.

As of 2007, there are 111 nuclear reactors in Asia Pacific including those in China, India, Japan, South Korea. Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia arte finalizing plans to build nuclear plants, says Mauro Marcelo, Napocor asset preservation head.

“We are surrounded by countries with nuclear power plants. Kahit hindi tayo magtayo maaapektuhan tayo,” says Marcelo, who was part of the team that conducted functional test of the BNPP in 1984, when it generated 5MW from the heat of reactor pumps.

By opening BNPP, the country would be able to utilize its $2.3 billion loan in the plant, which was paid fully only in 2007 out of taxpayer's money, says Gana.

Under the bill filed by Pangasinan Representative Mark Cojuangco, the rehabilitation of BNPP, over the next four or five years, would cost $1 billion, according to a study by Korean Electric Corp. (Kepco).

This would include refurbishments including the update of manual dials to digital controls, which would still be relatively cheaper than the $5-$6 billion required to build a new plant in the next 15 years.

“We already have the plant here which we paid for and it offers us an option to have a secure and reliable energy source,” says Napocor’s Marcelo.

“There are no firm plans on how to source the fund. But the pending Congress bill by Cojuangco included a budget provision. So if this bill is passed into law, the provision will be included. In another scenario, the most probable source would be investors and the Department of Finance (DoF) can help source the funds since the facility is government-run,” says Gana.

The facility is maintained and preserved at a cost of P40 million, especially for the generator, pipes, gears and controls. The cost would be shouldered by the DoF soon, he adds.

N-plant exports eyed to offset gas emissions

From Yomiuri Newspaper

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry is working on a plan to export nuclear power plants to other countries as part of efforts to trim this nation's greenhouse gas emissions, according to government sources.
The ministry will conduct a preliminary survey from June on the plan, which would enable Japan to count as its own reductions in greenhouse gas emissions achieved in emerging and developing countries as a result of using Japanese nuclear power plants and related technology, the sources said.

The ministry will incorporate the plan into the government's new economic growth strategy. It aims to achieve two goals: economic growth through exports of infrastructure and the promotion of measures to fight global warming.

The ministry plans to sign bilateral deals with emerging economies and developing countries in Asia to promote international efforts to tackle global warming.

The sources said Indonesia is likely to support the ministry's research, which will calculate how much greenhouse gas emissions would drop in countries that imported Japanese nuclear power plants and Japanese technology for building highly efficient coal-burning thermal power plants.
The ministry aims to introduce the scheme in 2013 at the earliest as Japan's own international emissions trading system. It hopes the scheme will help this country achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

The United Nations already has a system called the clean development mechanism, under which industrialized nations conduct conservation measures in developing countries and count the emissions reductions in the latter as their own.
However, the U.N. system is deemed inconvenient in that it requires complicated procedures and does not cover exports of nuclear power plants and related technology.

The ministry estimates that if Japanese companies' advanced technology was introduced at all the planned coal-powered thermal plants in China, that country would be able to cut 8.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to about 6 percent of Japan's annual greenhouse gas emissions.

(May. 17, 2010)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100516001788.htm

WELCOME TO OUR BLOGSITE!

Welcome to the blogsite of the Green Energy No-Nukes Asia Pacific (GENNAP).

This is an Action Group of the Asia Pacific Greens Network (APGN) set up to coordinate actions among green movements and green parties in the region to stop the expansion of nuclear energy development and nuclear weapons proliferation in this part of the world.

More information soon.

Nuclear power and coalition government

Blogpost by jmckeati - May 12, 2010 at 3:01 PM 2 comments

Things have got very interesting for the future of the nuclear ‘renaissance’ in Europe in the last few days. Suddenly, things don’t look so optimistic for the nuclear industry.

In Germany on Sunday, Angela Merkel’s coalition government lost its majority at the regional elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. This means her government no longer has the power in the Federal Council needed to extend the lifetime of Germany’s aging fleet of nuclear reactors. Merkel’s coalition was looking to repeal the law requiring all the reactors to be closed by 2020. That is now in doubt.

In the UK yesterday, the Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties formed a coalition government after last week’s national election. The Conservatives are for nuclear power and the Liberal Democrats are against it. So what will happen? Right now, it’s thought the Liberal Democrats will speak against new nuclear reactors but stay out of any nuclear vote in Parliament. Also, Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne has been made the minister in charge of energy and climate change policy in the new government. Huhne has an impressive record of opposition to nuclear power. As the BBC's business editor Robert Peston puts it…

In the end, as I understand, nuclear power is one of those areas where the two have agreed to disagree, which creates considerable uncertainty for the two big companies, EDF and Centrica, that are hoping to roll out a series of enormous new nuclear power stations.

Next is Belgium. On June 13th there will be national elections and it is very possible that the anti-nuclear Greens and Flemish social democrats will join the government. The Greens have already said they will only join a new government if it keeps the country’s nuclear phase-out law. According to this law, created in 2003, Belgium’s reactors will have to close after their 40-year lifespans (that is, between 2015 and 2025).

Meanwhile in Italy last week, Industry Minister Claudio Scajola was forced to resign from Silvio Berlusconi’s coalition after allegations of corruption. ‘Mr Scajola had been an important driver behind Italy's revival of nuclear energy’.

All in all, bad news for the supposedly resurgent nuclear ‘renaissance’. Has anyone seen it recently?