Green energy from blue sea

Tiruvananthapuram, May 18, 2013

T. Nandakumar

AP File photo of Donghai Bridge Offshore Wind Farm, Shangai, China. Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) is preparing to take up a wind monitoring study to identify potential offshore sites in Kerala.

Offshore wind farms to produce power for Kerala

A few years from now, wind farms located at sea could be churning out clean energy to feed the starved power grid in Kerala.

The Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) is preparing to take up a wind monitoring study to identify potential offshore sites. The project is to be launched with the assistance of the Dutch government.

The Netherlands has made significant progress in harnessing wind as a renewable energy source. The country has set a target to build 6,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2020, mostly from the North Sea. During a recent discussion held with officials in Kerala, representatives of the Dutch government offered to collaborate in developing offshore wind farms.

ANERT director M. Jayaraju told The Hindu that the study would be followed by a pilot project, subject to a policy decision by the government. The project, he said, would be launched with the necessary safeguards to ensure that the offshore platforms did not interfere with fishing activities. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has identified the Kerala-Konkan coast as one of the potential sites for offshore wind farms in India.

Offshore wind farms are preferred because of the non-availability of land in densely populated coastal areas with high wind potential. The added efficiency of offshore wind power is another advantage over onshore wind turbines.

ANERT is also preparing to take up a wind-monitoring study to assess the potential for land-based wind farms in the coastal regions of the State. The study would be carried out at four locations with the help of the Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET), a Chennai-based autonomous research and development institution under MNRE.

C.K. Chandrabose, Joint Technical Director, Wind Energy project, ANERT, said the year-long studies would generate real-time, on-site data on the wind potential of offshore and coastal regions in Kerala. The base data would be a crucial factor in attracting independent power producers to set up wind farms, he said.

ANERT is also gearing up to update the available wind monitoring data at potential sites on land. The total technically-feasible onshore wind potential of the State is estimated to be around 800 MW, limited to 17 locations in Palakkad, Idukki, and Thiruvananthapuram, where the wind speed is above 15 km/hr.

The main windy areas in the State are the eastern mountainous regions of Idukki district bordering Tamil Nadu and the elevated areas in the Palakkad gap. Ponmudi in Thiruvananthapuram is another potential site.

Mr. Chandrabose said monitoring stations equipped to generate wind data at a height of 80 metres had been installed at Kanjikode in Palakkad, Chelamala in Malappuram, and Pullikanam, Vandiperiyar and Kulathumedu in Idukki.

Meanwhile, two new wind farms, slated to come up soon at Kanjikode and Ramakkalmedu in Idukki will augment the State’s total installed capacity of wind energy. While the farm at the Kinfra Park in Kanjikode will add 22 MW, the one at Ramakkalmedu being set up by NTPC will add another 20 MW to the current installed capacity of 34 MW generated by KSEB at Kanjikode and independent power producers at Attappady and Ramakkalmedu.

Related articles

• Germany’s Offshore Wind Farm Alpha Ventus Fed 267.8 GWH Into Grid In 2012 (cleantechnica.com)

 

Zio-Podolsk Scandal – Save Our Souls – Part 2 #Nuclear

Zio-Podolsk: The Complete Story

By- CharlesDigges

It all started on May 2, 1919 as the repair assembly plant called the Steam-Engine. Repair of locomotives was carried out until 1930. A total of 863 locomotives repaired.

In 1931, the plant was converted to KES – Cracking-electric locomotive and in the same year, in a record time (for 3 months and 25 days), produced the first Soviet cracking unit for the petrochemical industry. In those years, the company, except for crackers, produced narrow-gauge steam locomotives, railroad cars, industrial and mining locomotives locomotives, tubing for the Moscow metro, and many other products.

At the request of the workers on April 8, 1936 the plant was named commissar of heavy industry, and the plant was called Podolsk Engineering Plant named after Ordzhonikidze (ZIO).

In 1941 the factory ceased production of civilian products (part of the equipment along with the workers had been evacuated to the Urals), and all the facilities were transferred to large-scale production for the needs of the defense industry. The plant manufactured the case of grenades, anti-tank obstacles, repairing tanks and guns were equipped with armored combat aircraft IL-2.

In 1942, after the evacuation in Podolsk Taganrog Boiler plant, ZIO was carrying out repair of steam boilers, and then, in 1946, made the first steam boiler with the trademark “ZIO”. The plant has priority in the field of domestic quick steam generators, production of which began in the late 40’s. For 70 years, has produced over 700 boilers of different capacities and options for 152 domestic and foreign power plants with total capacity of over 66 million kW, including more than 16 million kWh for export.

Since 1952, starting with the construction of the world’s first nuclear power plant in Obninsk, the plant produced the most responsible of mechanical equipment for nuclear power plants. Equipment labeled “ZIO” installed on all nuclear power plants built in the Soviet Union. Foreign nuclear power plants with VVER-440 and VVER-1000 is also equipped with the equipment of the plant.

Since 2000, the plant is called of “Mashinostroitelnyyzavod” ZIO-Podolsk. ” Since 2007, the factory is a holding company “Atomenergomash” – power engineering division of the State Corporation “Rosatom”. The main customers include the State Corporation “Rosatom”, OAO “Gazprom”, and “Mosenergo.”

General manager:        Igor Kotov

Tel.: +7 (495) 747 25 October dob.2022
Fax: +7 (495) 747 25 October dob.2325
E-mail: zio@eatom.ru

Executive director :     Andrei Davydov, S.

Tel.: +7 (495) 747-10-02
Fax: +7 (495) 747-10-25 ext. 2325
E-mail: zio@eatom.ru

Chief engineer:                        Anatoly Rubtsov

Tel.: +7 (495) 747-10-25 ext. 2012
Fax: +7 (495) 747-10-25 dob.2325
E-mail: m.dragomir @eatom.ru

Director of Production: Sergeants Vladimir V.

Tel.: +7 (495) 747-10-25 dob.2004, +7 (4967) 65-42-89
Fax: +7 (495) 747-10-25 dob.2211
E-mail: ziopr@eatom.ru

Chief Technologist – Deputy Chief Engineer: Viktor Terekhov

Tel.: +7 (495) 747-10-25 ext. 2031
Fax: +7 (495) 747-10-25 ext. 2213
E-mail: ogt@eatom.ru

Director of Quality:    Lizunova Tatiana

Tel.: +7 (495) 747-10-25 ext. 2013
Fax: +7 (495) 747-10-23
E-mail: t.lizunova @eatom.ru

Purchasing Director:   Bruises Andrey

Tel.: +7 (495) 747 10 25 * 2002
Tel.: +7 (495) 747 May 10
Fax: +7 (495) 747 25 October 2170 *
E-mail: a.sinyakov@eatom.ru

Director of Development and Investment: Arkady V. Kuznetsov

Tel.: +7 (495) 747 25 October 2007 *
E-mail: av.kuznecov@eatom.ru

FSB looked into nuclear reactor, atom industry

As the “Rosbaltu,” the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation is investigating the theft in the production of assemblies for nuclear power plants operating in Russia and abroad. According to the Russian Federal Security Service, the equipment for nuclear power plants was made from cheaper than normal steels, and the proceeds of fraud were divided among managers of several major companies of the nuclear industry. The Purchasing Director of Engineering Plant “ZIO-Podolsk” Sergei Shutov has been taken into custody.

As the “Rosbaltu” RF IC criminal case filed back in 2011 based on the Federal Security Service (into the theft of funds allocated by the state for the purchase of blanks for equipment for nuclear power plants). In December, in fact there were specific suspects. It is the leaders of the “Atom-Industry” (the supplier of products for the nuclear and power engineering) CEO Dmitry Golubev and Managing Director Olga Fedorova, as well as purchasing director of “Machine-Building Plant” ZIO-Podolsk “Sergei Shutov.” ZIO-Podolsk “- one of the largest Russian manufacturers of equipment for the nuclear industry (in particular, it supplies the machines for the nuclear power plants in Iran, India, Bulgaria and China ).

In the “Atom-industry” and “ZIO Podolsk” SK and the FSB raided, during which, according to a source in the security services agency, were seized documents showing that the misappropriation of funds of the nuclear industry have been put on stream. Believe in the RF IC, “Atom-Industry” supplied the blanks from cheaper brands of metal “ZIO-Podolsk,” and there are manufactured equipment for nuclear power plants. The plant on the poor quality of incoming goods “blind eye” Purchasing Director Sergei Shutov.

During a search of the “Atom-Industry” has been removed “black accounting”, hosted by Chief Financial Officer Diane Dmitrieva. The documents indicated that Shutov receive a share of profits received by JSC “Atom-industry” of large-scale fraud. The decision of the Basmanny Court of Moscow December 27, 2011 Sergei Shutov was arrested. He was charged under Section 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code (fraud on a large scale). Similar charges were brought against the leaders of the “Atom-industry”, and Dmitry Golubev – in absentia.

As explained by “Rosbalt” a source in the security services, “ZIO-Podolsk” since 2007, signed with JSC “Atom-industry” a series of agreements (the supply pipe plates, heads, shells, etc.) for a total amount of more than 100 million rubles. These blanks later used for the production of equipment supplied to the largest nuclear power plants in Russia and other countries. In particular, the tube sheets shipped “Atom-industry”, used in the production of high pressure heaters for the NPP “Kozloduy” (Bulgaria). Later, however, it became clear that the “Atom-Industry” delivered “ZIO-Podolsk” tube plate and the bottom, made of much cheaper grades of steel than was stipulated in the contract.

As a result of such substitution only on the supply of four tube sheets illegal proceeds “Atom-Industry” was 39 million rubles. “This company bought cheap steel in the Ukraine, and then betrayed her for the more expensive, the proceeds divided between the organizers of the fraud,” – said the source “Rosbalta” in the security services. He declined to say whether such fraud has affected the quality of the machinery supplied to nuclear power plants, as well as what other stations, except for Bulgaria, was sent with the equipment to use products from the “Atom-industry.”

In most of the “Atom-Industry” correspondent “Rosbalt” said they would not comment on the situation until the investigation is completed. “In 2010, the materials were considered SU UPC Russia in St. Petersburg, there passed a resolution not to institute proceedings in connection with the absence of crime, – one of the company’s employees. – However, more than a year after that the RF IC case filed. We did not do anything illegal, confirmed our right of arbitration awards. ” It is noteworthy that the site is “Atom-Industry” states that in March 2010, the company delivered the blanks for the hydro-power plant, which was then rebuilt after a major industrial disaster.

Notes:

[1] http://aozio.ru/company/predpr/

[2] Alexander Shvarev, http://www.rosbalt.ru/moscow/2012/02/22/949018.html

Related articles

https://kractivist.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/zio-podolsk-scandal-save-our-souls-part-1-nuclear/

https://kractivist.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/zio-podolsk-scandal-save-our-souls-part-3-nuclear/

https://kractivist.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/india-zio-podolsk-scandal-save-our-souls-part-4-nuclear/

• NPCIL,AERB and KKNPP Dodge the Substandard Equipment Issue (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Koodankulam: Shoddy equipment develops leaks, #India Wake up call (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• India sanctions two more Nuclear power plants at Kudankulam #WTFnews (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Five men have been killed in KKNPP in 3 months mostly due to electric shock (kractivist.wordpress.com)

Jaitapur villagers set to follow Kudankulam residents

 

MUMBAI, MARCH 30:   The Hindu , RAHUL WADKE

Taking inspiration from anti-nuclear power activists at Kudankulam, villagers opposing the 10,000-MW Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra have decided to launch a similar agitation from April 10.

The mega project, being executed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), is coming up at Madban village in Ratnagiri district. The project is expected to cost over Rs 1 lakh crore.

Madban resident Praveen Gavankar, who has been spearheading the agitation for the last six years under the aegis of the Janhit Seva Samiti, told Business Linethat the villagers would lay siege to the project, albeit peacefully.

“Our people would be sitting about 100 metres away from the compound wall and will not move from the area until the project is closed down. As the agitation progresses, some persons are also likely to go on a hunger strike,” he said. Gavankar added that emissions from the power plant are set to destroy the neighbouring mango and cashew orchards. The hot water effluents would also, he claimed, destroy the local fisheries sector .

“Despite all the safety measures, the Fukushima incident did happen. Tomorrow, if a similar event takes place at Jaitapur, will NPCIL take responsibility? Will they (NPCIL) insure us from such an event,” Gavankar asked. Despite repeated attempts, NPCIL officials were unavailable for comment.

A local leader from the fishermen community, Amjad Borkar, said that on April 2 a delegation of fishermen from the Nate village, which is very close to the project site, will meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi. The delegation will apprise him of the situation and point out the proposed plant’s likely impact on their businesses.

Related articles

• Jaitapur nuclear power plant :A very expensive proposition (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Jaitapur a critical issue: It’s all about money, honey! (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Gujarat – Mega Nuclear Power Plant Raises Fear of Fukushima Type Disaster (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• “We don’t want more money… we don’t want Jaitapur” (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• #India- Report reveals Jaitapur Nuclear power plant fault line (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Compensation not issue, scrap Jaitapur project’ (kractivist.wordpress.com)

 

Andhra Pradesh HC- stays land acquisition for Kovvada nuclear plant #goodnews

TNN | Mar 12, 2013

HYDERABAD: In a relief to protesting villagers, a two-member bench of the AP High Court on Monday restrained the state government from issuing any notification for acquiring land for setting up a nuclear power plant in Kovvada of Ranasthalam mandal in Srikakulam district.

The bench comprising acting Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justice Vilas V Afzalpurkar gave the interim stay on land acquisition in response to a public interest petition filed by Captain J Rama Rao, a social activist. Notices were issued to the state and the central governments to file their counters within two weeks.

‘Proposed N-plant poses threat to fishermen’s livelihood’ 

The petition challenged the very idea of setting up a nuclear power plant in the area and the consequent land acquisition proceedings launched by the state.

The proposed land acquisition for the nuclear power plant with six 1000 MW light water reactors to be set up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India(NPCIL) will take away the livelihood of scores of fishermen and farmers apart from making the area uninhabitable, the petitioner contended.

“Since no clearance has been obtained from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the land acquisition notification issued by the state is an exercise in futility,” he said. Till today, the state and the Centre have not obtained clearance from the AERB but the state government is going ahead with its land acquisition process, he contended.

According to the petitioner, the writ petition was filed in the interests of environment and the rights of the poor and innocent people and to get justice for them. The Kovvada villagers have been on a relay hunger strike since December 18, 2012 against the proposed nuclear power plant. The state government issued GO No 42, dated November 1, 2012, approving the notification for acquisition of over 1,900 acres from Ramachandrapuram, Kotapalem and its hamlets, Jeeru Kovvada, Tekkali and Gudem areas.

According to the petition, the risk associated with the setting up of nuclear power plants cannot be compared with any other industry or project. In case of radiation leakage or accidents, the risk transcends not only local borders but also international borders. Further, the radiation can affect not only the present generation but also future generations, the petitioner said.

The judge while directing the authorities to file their counters directed the state not to issue 4(1) notification under the Land Acquisition Act.

Related articles

• Kudankulam power output to start by April-end (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• #India- Report reveals Jaitapur Nuclear power plant fault line (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Activists send notice to Union forest minister over public hearing (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Koodankulam – The coast is not clear (kractivist.wordpress.com)

 

The myths in power generation

E. A. S. Sarma

Power problems are attributed to shortage in generation capacity, not inefficiencies in the supply chain.

From thermal power generation to end-use appliances, energy inefficiency can be reduced. — Raju V

Distance Energy Courses – Apply, Study & Get Certified Online 1yr PG Diploma & Certificate Course
www.MITSDE.com/DECRecognisedCourse

 

It is a myth that increase in per capita energy consumption measures “development”. The Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) report of the Planning Commission projects the energy needs of the country on the premise that GDP growth and the increase in energy needs are closely correlated.

IPE uses “elasticity coefficients” to estimate future energy needs. Is it a reliable basis?

In his path-breaking book Soft Energy Paths-Towards a durable peace, Amory B. Lovins (1977) provided the following insights into the way the per capita primary energy consumption levels in Denmark varied over the last five centuries.

Denmark’s per capita primary energy use evidently declined between 1500 and 1900, not because of any negative economic growth but on account of the combined effect of a shift in the fuel base and the improvements in efficiency.

The increase in the per capita primary energy use between 1900 and 1975 and the decline between 1975 and 2004 were the compound outcomes of the growth in Denmark’s GDP, the fuel shifts and the efficiency improvements.

These trends show that the per capita energy use is not necessarily linked exclusively to the rate of increase of GDP.

What matters in terms of the quality of life is the per capita useful energy use, not per capita gross energy use, as the latter hides the inefficiencies down the supply chain of electricity from the generation station to the end-use appliance.

THERMAL-HYDEL MISMATCH

The other myth is that “electricity development” is synonymous with “setting up new generation projects”. The end product of electricity is different in different sectors. It is luminosity in lighting, lifting water in irrigation, turning the wheel in industry, circulation of wind in fans and space cooling in air-conditioning. The energy required for this can come from a new MW based on a renewable or a non-renewable resource or from a saved MW through efficiency improvement.

In other words, setting up a new generation project is one among the several alternatives available and it may not be the most optimal from the point of view of cost and long-term sustainability.

If the unit cost is high, the poor cannot access electricity. If the resource is non-renewable, energy security is threatened. The challenge, therefore, lies in choosing the alternative that ensures an affordable cost and long-term sustainability.

Our electricity system is based primarily on large projects generating electricity that is conveyed over long distances to remotely located consumers through an extensive system of transmission and distribution (T&D) network. The investment we have made in T&D has not kept pace with the investment in generation.

As a result, more than one-third of the generated electricity is lost in T&D and the electricity finally supplied to the consumer is of poor quality.

Within the generation sector itself, the investment we have made in peak-load hydro generation has not kept pace with the investment we have made in base-load thermal projects, causing an unhealthy imbalance.

EXPENSIVE POWER

It is an expensive way to provide electricity to the consumers whose cumulative demand has diurnal and seasonal variation. Thermal generation (coal, combined-cycle gas, nuclear) can best cater to the steady component of the demand, whereas the peaking stations (largely storage hydro) can optimally meet the peak load.

As a result of the imbalance in thermal-hydro mix, the thermal capacity, though available, is not utilised fully and the shortfall in peaking capacity has resulted in peak-time shortages that have crippled the economy.

These distortions have imposed a heavy cost burden on the consumer who is not only forced to pay for the high T&D losses but also forced to invest on voltage stabilisers and inverters.

The high cost barrier has stood in the way of electricity reaching the poor. No wonder that it is usually the existing affluent consumers who use highly inefficient electric appliances and grab most of the additional electricity generated in the country. Meanwhile, the poor seem to remain where they are!

Between 2001 and 2011, the country added 85,000 MW of new capacity. The number of rural households who had no access to electricity in 2001 was 7.5 crore. In 2011, it was 7.8 crore! Similarly, in 2001, the number of urban households who had no access to electricity was 0.6 crore. It increased to 0.7 crore in 2011!

DISPLACEMENT EFFECTS

We have a spacious building constructed recently in Visakhapatnam, standing majestically in the salubrious environment of the beach. It is sealed on all sides with heavily tinted glass, letting in neither natural light nor fresh wind. It uses hundreds of inefficient electric lamps to illuminate within and a large number of heavy duty ACs to cool the space. It is a veritable energy guzzler.

If we mine coal with 100 units of heat value to start with, at the end of the supply chain that feeds into an incandescent lamp, the luminosity we get is equivalent to 0.39 units of the original heat energy. The rest, i.e. 91.61 per cent of the original heat energy of coal, is wasted. If we can double the efficiency of the lamp, we can do with coal of 50 units of heat value and reduce displacement of people by 50 per cent!

The corresponding savings in the generation capacity would have avoided the displacement of people at the site of the generation project by 50 per cent. Going one step farther, if we replace the conventional lamp by a solar PV-based LED, we can avoid coal mining altogether and do away with displacement of people at both the coal mine and the thermal power project.

Prayas, in its Discussion Paper on Thermal Power plants on the Anvil – Implications and need for rationalisation, pointed out in August, 2011, that 7,01,802 MW of coal and gas power plants had either been cleared or about to be cleared by the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MOEF) and they were most likely to be set up during the next few years!

This worked out to thrice the capacity addition required to meet the needs of the high-renewable, high-efficiency scenario for the year 2032 projected by the Planning Commission’s Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) study.

This will pre-empt all efforts to remove the existing imbalance in the thermal-hydro mix and compound the problems of both peak-time shortages and the high cost of electricity.

Prayas’ study further reveals that these capacity additions are largely concentrated in areas that are already categorised as “critically polluted industrial clusters” by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Plants of 30,470 MW and 24,380 MW capacity will come up in two districts of Chattisgarh, namely, Janjgir-Champa and Raigarh respectively, followed by 22,700 MW within 10 km of Krishnapatnam Port in Nellore district in AP.

In the districts of Rewa, Sonbhadra, Sidhi and Allahabad on MP-UP border, plants of 51,218 MW will come up in close proximity!

The capacity additions proposed include projects that are located in precious wetlands, irrigated tracts and fragile regions rich in biodiversity. The social costs imposed by such projects far exceed the social benefits.

(The author is former Union Power Secretary.)

Excerpts from the recent Girish Sant Memorial Lecture, organised by Prayas, Pune.

(This article was published on February 24, 2013)

Related articles

• Analysts say renewable energy now cheaper option than new fossil fuels in Australia (gizmag.com)
• Global Renewable Energy Market – 2012 (prnewswire.com)
• Wind, Solar, Biomass Provide All New U.S. Electrical Generating Capacity In January 2013 (thinkprogress.org)

 

#Gujarat Protest against proposed Nuclear Plant at Mithi Virdi

Hiral Dave , IE : Gandhinagar, Tue Feb 19 2013, 06:03 hrs

The proposed nuclear plant to be built by Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) with US technology at Mithi Virdi in Bhavnagar district has run into stiff resistance from locals who are opposing the first public hearing scheduled for March 5. The project is part of the Indo-US nuclear deal signed in 2007.

Around six years ago, NPCIL had zeroed in on a cluster of five villages — Mithi-Virdi, Jasapara, Khadarpar, Mandva and Paniyad — to build the 6,900 megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant that would be India’s largest such facility.

However, soil and water testing was delayed following intense protest by villagers. Now, locals including those living in nearby urban centre of Bhavnagar city have closed ranks and vowed not to let the public hearing on environmental concerns take place.

“We have submitted a memorandum to Bhavnagar district collector. We do not want public hearing in the first place,” said Krishnakant, a coordinator for various groups opposing the plant.

“Bhavnagar is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the agricultural activities in the area. It gets its supply of fruits and vegetables round the year from the farmers of the 24 villages that have got notices for environmental public hearing for the proposed plant,” said Damyanti Modi of Bhavnagar Anu Urja Abhyas Juth, a group of senior citizens from Bhavnagar who have been studying the possible impact of a nuclear power plant at Mithi Virdi.

A year ago, Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Company had signed an MoU with NPCIL for site development work supporting future construction of AP 1000 nuclear power plants. The project requires 777 hectares, including private and government wasteland.

Mithi Virdi is a small coastal town known for its lush green orchards producing a variety of rare-quality fruits. Villagers say adequate monsoon in the last decade has ensured them three bumper crops in a year.

Earlier, gram panchayats of every affected village had passed resolutions vowing not to give private land or wasteland for the project.

Last year, villagers twice stalled the plans for soil and water testing by Gujarat Power Corporation (GPC), which has been hired by NPCIL for the testing work. In fact, the protests have been so intense that the GPC began digging bore around 5 am when villagers were asleep. However, in no time, the team had to fold up when more than 5,000 villagers reached the site and stalled the process.

Even a trip to Kakrapar nuclear plant near Surat for 96 farmers arranged by NPCIL could not convince them for the project.

Fear of losing fertile ancestral land coupled with apprehensions about a nuclear power plant in the neighbourhood has put the villagers on the edge.

Several NGOs have also been working closely with villagers.

While Bhavnagar Collector V P Patel was not available for comment, NPCIL authorities said they had received a copy of the memorandum opposing public hearing on environmental impact.

Of four sites short-listed in Gujarat, Mithi-Virdi was finalised for various reasons, including its proximity to sea, type of soil, water, seismic zone positioning and population.

Related articles

• #India- Draft approval for new Indian nuclear site #WTFnews (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Jaitapur nuclear power plant :A very expensive proposition (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• The Reality at Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant , Mr. Hollande #mustshare (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Jaitapur a critical issue: It’s all about money, honey! (kractivist.wordpress.com)

 

India importing nuclear reactors to please foreign countries; former AERB chairman #WTFnews

Date: 16 February 2013
Subject: DNA – India importing nuclear reactors to please foreign countries; former AERB chairman

 

The decision to import 40,000 MWe capacity Light Water Reactors (LWRs) in early 2006 was taken without any techno-economic evaluation by Atomic Energy Commission or any other agency to assess the need for these imports, said Dr. A Gopalakrishnan, former chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

“The decision was merely a quid-pro-quo to give business to the reactor manufacturers in those countries which helped India get a Nuclear Supply Group (NSG) waiver,” said the former chief. He was talking on the occasion National Seminar on People’s Science Movement on Saturday in Hyderabad.

The agreement to import was signed immediately after the nuclear energy framework agreement with the US was finalised in July 2005. In 2006, an Integrated Energy Policy was prepared by the Planning Commission which set 63,000 MWe as the projected nuclear capacity target for 2032, which included these imports as well.

The then chairman of the AEC colluded with the Prime Minister’s Office and went along with this purely political decision, and even the non-official scientific members of the AEC meekly consented, he added.

Dr. Gopalakrishnan alleged that even a conservative estimate of Rs. 20 crores per MWe for importing these reactors during next 20-25 years would cost tax-payer about Rs. 8, 00,000 crores.

“The decisions, price negotiations and supply terms are being negotiated by the UPA- 2 government in hasty is with the intention of fulfilling the PM’s commitments to these foreign governments and their companies before he demits office,” said Gopalakrishnan.

The decisions are taken by a closed group consisting of government officials, who are acting at the behest of Indian & foreign corporate giants. And the Prime Minister’s Office is overseeing the process to protect varied political interests, he added.

He further pointed out that there is absolutely no transparency in this process and a tight cover of secrecy is unnecessarily maintained over these essentially civilian, non-

strategic purchases. Even the Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) has limited authority to question DAE’s transactions. This current situation is certainly conducive to ferment corrupt practices, and potential malpractices in these reactor imports may turn out to be the next biggest financial scam.

It was really the role of the non-official scientific members of the AEC to seriously question the UPA government’s motives in neglecting the indigenous three-stage nuclear program from 2005 onwards.

It is high time we clean out the entire set of non-official members from the current AEC and replace them with an ethical set of comparatively younger generation senior scientists , so that public trust in the management of the Indian nuclear sector can be restored, he said.

 

ARTICLE URL: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_india-importing-nuclear-reactors-to-please-foreign-countries-former-aerb-chairman_1800671

Related articles

• Kudankulam unit to be commissioned in 2 weeks: AEC (thehindu.com)
• #Radioactive Asia: There Will Be 100 Additional Nuclear Reactors in Asia in 20 Years (ex-skf.blogspot.com)
• #India- Govt Bluffing the Country on Koodankulam Safety: M G Devasahayam (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• Exclusive and Explosive : Public safety info not for public: DAE (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• #India- Draft approval for new Indian nuclear site #WTFnews (kractivist.wordpress.com)

#India- Draft approval for new Indian nuclear site #WTFnews

 

28 January 2013

A new six-unit nuclear power plant at Mithi Virdi in Gujarat will be “environmentally benign and sustainable” while benefitting the region both economically and socially, said a draft assessment on behalf of the proposing company.

The study was carried out for Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) by Engineers India Ltd. (EIL), itself an Indian government-led organisation, to set out to establish baseline environmental data for the project to build up to six imported 1000 MWe light water reactors at the coastal site 40 kilometers from Bhavnagar. It also evaluated potential impacts of the project and formulated environmental management plans for both the construction and operation phase. EIL collected data within a ten-kilometer radius of the site over three seasons (summer, post-monsoon and winter) from December 2010 to November 2011 to prepare its report.

Mithi Virdi received approval in principle from the Indian government as a site for up to six imported 1000 MWe light water reactors in 2009. In 2012 US reactor vendor Westinghouse signed a memorandum of understanding with NPCIL agreeing to negotiate an early works agreement for the construction of up to six AP1000 units at the site. According to the preliminary environmental impact assesment (EIA), the project is not anticipated to have any significant impact on local flora, fauna or human activities. The report details the planned systems to manage gaseous, liquid and solid radioactive wastes and keep discharges below the required limits in normal operation as well as the passive safety design and engineered safety features of the plant.

Based on its findings, the report concluded that the planned Mithi Virdi project would be “environmentally benign and sustainable” and would provide “much needed electricity with minimal environmental impact”. It noted that the project will benefit the region generally and contribute to improved social conditions, with NPCIL contributing towards “uplifting” of the surrounding areas and positive impacts including employment, better transport facilities, and improvements to basic education, health and infrastructure in the area.

The power plant project is expected to be completed in three stages, with the first two units pencilled in for completion in 2019-2020, the second two units in 2021-2022 and the final stage completed in 2023-24. The cost is still under negotiation.

Mithi Virdi is one of four sites for which NPCIL is currently involved in pre-project activities. The others are Gorakhpur (Haryana), earmarked for four Indian-designed 700 MWe pressurized heavy-water reactors (PHWRs); Kovvada (Andhra Pradesh), where six GE-Hitachi ESBWR units are planned; and Chutaka (Madhya Pradesh), earmarked for two indigenous 700 MWe PHWRs. A final EIA for the Gorakhpur plant has been submitted to India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests for appraisal, while preliminary EIAs are still in preparation for Kovvada and Chutaka.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News

Related articles

• #India- Govt Bluffing the Country on Koodankulam Safety: M G Devasahayam (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• #India- Let’s Have a National Debate on the Ambitious Nuclear Program (kractivist.wordpress.com)

 

Germany sets new solar power record, institute says

Solar Powered Street Light (Photo credit: joostboers)

 

Sat, May 26 2012

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN (Reuters) – German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour – equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity – through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said.

The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022.

They will be replaced by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and bio-mass.

Norbert Allnoch, director of the Institute of the Renewable Energy Industry (IWR) in Muenster, said the 22 gigawatts of solar power per hour fed into the national grid on Saturday met nearly 50 percent of the nation’s midday electricity needs.

“Never before anywhere has a country produced as much photovoltaic electricity,” Allnoch told Reuters. “Germany came close to the 20 gigawatt (GW) mark a few times in recent weeks. But this was the first time we made it over.”

The record-breaking amount of solar power shows one of the world’s leading industrial nations was able to meet a third of its electricity needs on a work day, Friday, and nearly half on Saturday when factories and offices were closed.

Government-mandated support for renewables has helped Germany became a world leader in renewable energy and the country gets about 20 percent of its overall annual electricity from those sources.

Germany has nearly as much installed solar power generation capacity as the rest of the world combined and gets about four percent of its overall annual electricity needs from the sun alone. It aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

SUNSHINE

Some critics say renewable energy is not reliable enough nor is there enough capacity to power major industrial nations. But Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany is eager to demonstrate that is indeed possible.

The jump above the 20 GW level was due to increased capacity this year and bright sunshine nationwide.

The 22 GW per hour figure is up from about 14 GW per hour a year ago.Germany added 7.5 GW of installed power generation capacity in 2012 and 1.8 GW more in the first quarter for a total of 26 GW capacity.

“This shows Germany is capable of meeting a large share of its electricity needs with solar power,” Allnoch said. “It also shows Germany can do with fewer coal-burning power plants, gas-burning plants and nuclear plants.”

Allnoch said the data is based on information from the European Energy Exchange (EEX), a bourse based in Leipzig.

The incentives through the state-mandated “feed-in-tariff” (FIT) are not without controversy, however. The FIT is the lifeblood for the industry until photovoltaic prices fall further to levels similar for conventional power production.

Utilities and consumer groups have complained the FIT for solar power adds about 2 cents per kilowatt/hour on top of electricity prices in Germany that are already among the highest in the world with consumers paying about 23 cents per kw/h.

German consumers pay about 4 billion euros ($5 billion) per year on top of their electricity bills for solar power, according to a 2012 report by the Environment Ministry.

Critics also complain growing levels of solar power make the national grid more less stable due to fluctuations in output.

Merkel’s centre-right government has tried to accelerate cuts in the FIT,which has fallen by between 15 and 30 percent per year, to nearly 40percent this year to levels below 20 cents per kw/h. But the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, has blocked it.

($1 = 0.7992 euros)

Protest brewing in Kovvada a la Kudankulam

HYDERABAD, January 21, 2012 Y. Mallikarjun

Land acquisition for nuclear plant in A.P. faces stiff resistance

It is the same old story of development versus displacement and the haplessness of the infirm against the might of the state.

With the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement paving the way for India to purchase uranium from the global market, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has lined up a series of nuclear plants in different parts of the country, including one at Kovvada in the backward Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.

Following the tsunami-triggered disaster at Fukushima-Daiichi plant in Japan last year, opposition to nuclear plants is growing in the country. While fierce and widespread protests were witnessed in Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu), where one of the two VVER-type reactors ( 2,000 MWe) is ready for operation, people in and around Kovvada are also resisting the proposed establishment of six reactors (1,594 MWe each) to generate 9,564 MWe with an investment of Rs. 1 lakh crore.

Authorities are gearing up to acquire around 2,000 acres at Pedda Kovvada, Chinna Kovvada, Tekkali and Ramachandrapuram. Despite promises of attractive compensation packages, land acquisition is facing stiff resistance from 3,000 families likely to be displaced and civil society groups.

Although Kovvada plant project director G.V. Ramesh claims that 90 per cent of the people are in favour of the project and had given their consent to the Joint Collector, the former Sarpanch, Mylapalli Polisu, rejects any package on the ground that a majority of the people were opposed to the project. “The problem will not end with announcement of the package,” he warns.

“Bleak future”

Another villager, M. Appanna, who was among the group of people taken on a guided tour to the Kalpakkam atomic power project in Tamil Nadu, says he is not convinced by the officials’ argument. “Our future will be bleak as land rates are skyrocketing and many restrictions have been imposed on fishing,” he adds. A local leader, A. Ramulu, says villagers are unable to raise loans or sell properties, leaving them with no choice but to accept the package.

Mr. Ramesh says 1,200 acres to be acquired belonged to the government and it is quite possible to negotiate and meet most of the demands. NPCIL will implement whatever is listed by the government’s policy laying down that land compensation should be four times the existing rates. “They will get a very good package,” he says.

Mr. Ramesh says the technology of the six reactors is the latest — generation III Plus. They are absolutely safe and automatically shut down in case of an earthquake of over 7.2 magnitude. Besides, all the systems are passive. “Once it gets shut down, the reactor’s cooling would take place on its own for a fortnight. Only then, human intervention would be required.”

The former Union Power Secretary, E.A.S. Sarma, a vocal critic of the Kovvada plant, accuses the Andhra Pradesh government of violating rules and ordering forcible acquisition of 2,252 acres. He terms it a ‘decide-and-announce’ approach.

According to him, however low be the probability of a Fukushima-like disaster at Kovvada, the outcome of an accident will not only be extensive but affect future generations too. People exposed to radioactivity can have genetic disorders and cancerous diseases. The low liability cap in the civil nuclear liability law also raise doubts about the safety of the imported reactors.

He says Kovvada is densely populated and within the “exclusion” zone up to 1.5 km from the project site, where no one is expected to live, there are five villages, mostly of fishermen, with 3,504 people, and 560 acres of agricultural land.

Within the “sterilised” zone up to 5 km, where no development will take place, there are 42 villages. In the “emergency planning zone,” up to 16 km, there are 66 villages, while a large number of people are residing in the “impact assessment” zone up to 30 km. The threat of evacuation in the event of an accident will constantly hang over them.

Dr. Sarma says it is premature to start land acquisition even before the Ministry of Environment and Forests has an opportunity to evaluate alternative sites, get an Environmental Impact Assessment study done, hold public consultations and get the project appraised as per the requirement in the Environment (Protection) Act. Those residing in the four zones are yet to be informed of the dangers.

The Department of Atomic Energy has failed to comply with the disclosure norms set out in Section 4 of the RTI Act. “Forcible land acquisition against this background amounts to gross violation of human rights,” he says.

(With contributions from M. Melly Maitreyi, K. Srinivasa Rao & Santosh Patnaik.)

Related articles

• Can’t allow Kudankulam plant to remain idle: PM (ibnlive.in.com)
• Talks with Areva on Jaitapur may restart soon (thehindu.com)
• Kudankulam protesters to reiterate demand in talks (ibnlive.in.com)