Japan:
¶ The campaigns leading to the general election in Japan are starting up, and energy policy is a central issue. [The Japan Daily Press]
¶ TEPCO and the Japanese government will attempt to remove all fuel assemblies from the spent-fuel pool of Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 by the end of 2014. [The Japan Times]
¶ Twenty months after the Fukushima Disaster began, 80% of the homes in the surrounding prefectures are still not decontaminated. [RTT News]
World:
¶ French utility EDF has raised the cost of the construction of European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) by more than €2 billion, the latest in a series of overruns. Originally expected to go online in 2012 at a cost of €3.3, it is now expected to start up in 2016 at a cost of €8.5 (over $11 billion). [Chicago Tribune]
¶ The cost overruns of the EPR being built in France, along with similar overruns in Finland, are raising concerns about plans to build a similar reactor in the UK. [Financial Times]
¶ German energy policy gives the people “skin in the game.” This is why the Germany can convert to renewable energy faster than other countries. [Bloomberg]
¶ Germany and Norway have entered into an agreement to build a submarine cable between the two countries for the purpose of transmitting electricity from renewable sources. [Stockhouse]
¶ The Chinese government will pay overdue subsidies to renewable-power developers, after a two-year delay. [Businessweek]
¶ One of the hot topics in the conference in Doha will be phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels. [BDlive]
US:
¶ The two NRC whistleblowers, who earlier made public problems with plants downstream from dams in past months, are accusing the NRC of being slow to act on matters of safety and excessively secretive about potential dangers. [Huffington Post]
¶ The Army and Marines are developing portable solar systems, with some feeling of competition involved. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Piedmont Chemical has gone into the business of renewable 100 percent bio-based polyester polyols, “functionally equal and cost-competitive with petroleum-derived polyols.” Polyols are building-blocks in the production of urethane foams, coatings, adhesives and sealants. [Plastics News]
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