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Japan's Tepco to start up 1.6 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity mid-Dec

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company is eyeing the commercial startup of 1.6 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity around mid-December, a company official said Thursday. Tepco expects to start up the 1-GW No. 2 coal-fired unit at the Hitachinaka power plant in eastern Japan mid-December. It began commercial operation of the 600-MW No. 6 coal-fired unit at the Hirono thermal power plant on Tuesday, the official said. The utility’s oil demand for power generation fell this year following successful test runs in April at the two coal-fired plants at Hitachinaka and Hirono. Another 1 GW of output was added following the complete restart of Tohoku Electric’s earthquake-hit 2 GW Haramachi coal-fired power plant in the northeast, where Tepco has rights to half of the total production in fiscal 2013-2014 (April-March). In December, Tepco plans to buy around 600,000 kiloliters (122,000 b/d) of crude […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Japan’s Tepco to start up 1.6 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity mid-Dec

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company is eyeing the commercial startup of 1.6 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity around mid-December, a company official said Thursday. Tepco expects to start up the 1-GW No. 2 coal-fired unit at the Hitachinaka power plant in eastern Japan mid-December. It began commercial operation of the 600-MW No. 6 coal-fired unit at the Hirono thermal power plant on Tuesday, the official said. The utility’s oil demand for power generation fell this year following successful test runs in April at the two coal-fired plants at Hitachinaka and Hirono. Another 1 GW of output was added following the complete restart of Tohoku Electric’s earthquake-hit 2 GW Haramachi coal-fired power plant in the northeast, where Tepco has rights to half of the total production in fiscal 2013-2014 (April-March). In December, Tepco plans to buy around 600,000 kiloliters (122,000 b/d) of crude […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Why Uranium & Coal Rank High For Energy Return On Energy Invested

Not all energy options are equally good, says Thomas Drolet, principal of Drolet & Associates Energy Services Inc. Using an “Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI)” calculation to decide which energy sources yield the most for the least energy investment, Drolet sees hydroelectricity, natural gas, uranium and coal at the top of the list. Drolet adds that the need for reliable power will keep baseload power fueled by uranium and coal at the center of the world’s electricity systems for many years, but he tips  The Mining Report  to some technologies looking for investment that can help make coal a more environment-friendly fuel. The Mining Report:  Tom, thanks for joining us today. I’d like to start out with the concept of an “Energy Return on Energy Invested cliff,” which is being debated widely these days.” What is it and what does it mean […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Why Uranium & Coal Rank High For Energy Return On Energy Invested

Not all energy options are equally good, says Thomas Drolet, principal of Drolet & Associates Energy Services Inc. Using an “Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI)” calculation to decide which energy sources yield the most for the least energy investment, Drolet sees hydroelectricity, natural gas, uranium and coal at the top of the list. Drolet adds that the need for reliable power will keep baseload power fueled by uranium and coal at the center of the world’s electricity systems for many years, but he tips  The Mining Report  to some technologies looking for investment that can help make coal a more environment-friendly fuel. The Mining Report:  Tom, thanks for joining us today. I’d like to start out with the concept of an “Energy Return on Energy Invested cliff,” which is being debated widely these days.” What is it and what does it mean […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iranians mull new nuclear power stations

Iran’s top atomic energy official, Ali Akbar Salehi , said he asked the federal government to make room in next year’s budget for new nuclear power plants. Salehi said he issued a request for funding to President Hassan Rouhani after lawmakers called on the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to lay the groundwork for more nuclear power. “Our new nuclear plants will be built at the site of the Bushehr nuclear [power] plant,” he was quoted as saying Sunday by Iranian broadcaster Press TV. Russia supplies fuel for the Bushehr plant, which went into service last year. Salehi said additions to the nuclear power sector could add another 20,000 megawatts of electricity to the Iranian grid. Salehi gave no indication of the funding needed to build the new facilities. Under the terms of the nuclear deal reached with Western powers last month, Iran can […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pakistan Breaks Ground on Nuclear Power Plant Project With China

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday ceremonially broke ground on a $9.59 billion nuclear power complex to be built in Karachi with China’s help, seeking to ease Pakistan’s long-running energy crisis and signaling a new step by China in becoming a top nuclear supplier. The deal, which officials said was still being finalized, is a major new advance in energy cooperation between the two countries, dwarfing previous reactor projects built along with China at Chashma, in Pakistan’s interior. And it establishes a growing counterpoint to a nuclear axis between the United States and India in recent years that Pakistani officials have seen as an irritant and Chinese officials have seen as a geopolitical challenge. “The beginning of the 2,200-megawatt power project is indeed a proud moment in the energy history of Pakistan,” Mr. Sharif said at the ceremony, adding that the construction was to be completed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bolivia says it’s on track to develop nuclear power

LA PAZ, Bolivia, Nov. 19 (UPI) — Bolivia is on track to develop a national nuclear power program for peaceful civilian purposes that include building electricity export capacity in the country, official media reported. Ever since Bolivian President Evo Morales outlined plans in October for a long-delayed nuclear power generation program, officials in La Paz have been pursuing follow-up discussions with Argentina, a future partner and experienced nuclear power producer, Bolivian news reports said. Bolivia’s nuclear energy approach is evolving into a two-pronged policy that’s set to lead to a more vigorous government pursuit of a domestic nuclear power generation program and exploration, development and export of the country’s numerous deposits, reports in Los Tiempos and other local media said. The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna notes on its website that not all data about Bolivia’s uranium deposits are readily available. Morales told an energy conference in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bolivia says it's on track to develop nuclear power

LA PAZ, Bolivia, Nov. 19 (UPI) — Bolivia is on track to develop a national nuclear power program for peaceful civilian purposes that include building electricity export capacity in the country, official media reported. Ever since Bolivian President Evo Morales outlined plans in October for a long-delayed nuclear power generation program, officials in La Paz have been pursuing follow-up discussions with Argentina, a future partner and experienced nuclear power producer, Bolivian news reports said. Bolivia’s nuclear energy approach is evolving into a two-pronged policy that’s set to lead to a more vigorous government pursuit of a domestic nuclear power generation program and exploration, development and export of the country’s numerous deposits, reports in Los Tiempos and other local media said. The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna notes on its website that not all data about Bolivia’s uranium deposits are readily available. Morales told an energy conference in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Japan Starts Removing Fukushima Nuclear Fuel

TOKYO—More than 2½ years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Tokyo Electric Power Co. 9501.TO -1.62% Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. Japan: Tokyo ¥ 548 -9 -1.62% Nov. 19, 2013 3:00 pm Volume : 23.23M P/E Ratio 3.81 Market Cap ¥893.50 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee ¥129,550,000 11/18/13 Fukushima Watch: Tepco Starts … 11/15/13 Fukushima Watch: Remote Contro… 11/13/13 Watchdog to Proceed with Tepco… More quote details and news » 9501.TO in Your Value Your Change Short position began Monday the painstaking and potentially dangerous process of removing fuel rods from one of the plant’s damaged reactor units. The operation, expected to take more than a year to complete, is Tepco’s first step toward dismantling the devastated plant in what is expected to be a 30- to 40-year cleanup process after one of the worst nuclear accidents in history. The removal of the fuel also provides the operator […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fukushima engineers begin removing fuel rods from damaged reactor

Workers started removing radioactive fuel rods from a reactor building at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant  on Monday, plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. The painstaking and risky task is a crucial first step toward a full cleanup of the earthquake- and tsunami-damaged plant in northeastern Japan. The removal of the rods is the most difficult and dangerous process undertaken since runaway reactors were brought under control two years ago, after being hit by an earthquake and tsunami that claimed nearly 16,000 lives. The rod removal follows months of setbacks and glitches that have stoked widespread criticism of the utility’s handling of the crisis, the worst nuclear accident in decades. The Unit 4 reactor was offline at the time of the March 2011 disaster, and its core did not melt as Units 1 through 3 did. But hydrogen explosions blew out the roof and walls of the Unit […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple