Japan:
TEPCO has put a 60-ton cover on the spent fuel pool of Unit 4 at Fukushima Daiichi. [News release from TEPCO]
World:
German solar power farms supplied 10% of the electricity used in Germany in May. [Article from Federal News Radio]
A 9000 GWh per year solar farm is being planned for Tunisia to sell electricity to Europe. [Article at Tunisialive]
US:
A federal appeals court ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to redo environmental analysis that allows nuclear waste to be stored at plant sites for 60 years after the plant closes. The order says that the NRC may not depend on an underground waste storage facility, like the one proposed for Yucca Mountain, because it might not happen. [Article at the Wall Street Journal]
Even if Yucca Mountain opened tomorrow, it would not solve the problem. [Article in the New York Times]
The NRC may not issue new licenses or renew old ones until the storage is worked out. [New York AG Press Release]
Rep. Edward Markey is demanding answers from the NRC about how Pilgrim’s emergency response capability can be maintained while the plant’s full-time staff is off work during a labor dispute. [Article in Power Engineering]
Opinion:
Depending on nuclear power is like depending on narcotics. [geoharvey blog page]
geoharvey 