As LaRouche Says, The World Wants Nuclear Energy
May 22 (LPAC)--A pattern of conferences on the theme of nuclear energy confirms what Lyndon LaRouche wrote in his April 13 article, "": that Al Gore's global warming swindle is losing support, and that the world needs nuclear energy. LaRouche wrote: "In reality, the world's current trends are dominated by a surge of commitment to nuclear-fission fuels as the leading development policy of Eurasia and also other parts of the world."
One such conference was held yesterday in Washington, D.C. where The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership meeting, hosted by U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, opened. While the GNEP was created at the initiative of the U.S. to "police" nuclear energy (see explanation below), GNEP members China, France, Japan and Russia were all represented, and others participated, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and British government observers.
"An important objective for our meeting today will be to lay out the next steps of the partnership," Bodman said. "Many countries have expressed interest in joining GNEP, and we need to discuss how to achieve the major objectives and work with new countries."
The nations at the meeting issued a joint statement which calls for cooperation in many areas of advanced nuclear technology, including to "develop, demonstrate, and deploy fast reactors." Fast reactors are able to breed new nuclear fuel, during the course of their operation as power reactors. Eventually fast reactors produce more fuel than they burn up.
The GNEP was proposed by Washington at the G8 summit in Moscow, to provide nuclear fuel for nations wanting to use nuclear power under IAEA regulation, but which agree not to recycle the fuel. In other words, GNEP aims to police the states that want to develop nuclear energy, by preventing them from being able to complete the nuclear fuel cycle indigenously. In the United States, the GNEP is charged with developing a new reprocessing system, but the budget is small and work is proceeding very slowly.
- Statements of France and Russia -
Alain Bugat, administrator general of the French atomic agency CEA, said in Washington, according to Agence France Press , that "France understands the aspirations of states that want to tap the benefits of nuclear energy. We're happy that initiatives have been launched in response to such aspirations."
Russian official Nikolay Spasskiy, said that initiation of the GNEP "enhances the cumulative effect of the other initiatives and mechanisms in this field." Russia has already launched a that "France understands the aspirations of states that want to tap the benefits of nuclear energy. We're happy that initiatives have been launched in response to such aspirations."
Russian official Nikolay Spasskiy, said that initiation of the GNEP "enhances the cumulative effect of the other initiatives and mechanisms in this field." Russia has already launched a program to build an international uranium enrichment center in Angarsk, East Siberia, with Kazakhstan, which has 15% of world uranium supplies. The center will also dispose of nuclear waste.
The two countries issued their agreement when the two Presidents met in Astana May 10. The facility will be on line in 2013, and Russian President Vladimir Putin called the document "the first step in the implementation of our initiative to create a global nuclear energy infrastructure." The project is open to any nation wanting to join.
- Chinese Move to Third Generation Nuclear -
At the same time, China has set up a State Nuclear Power Technology Company, to introduce and develop third-generation nuclear technology. The new entity, set up by the State Council, will work under the China National Nuclear Corporation. The first project, the company's president, Wang Binghua, said, will be to finish ongoing negotiations with the U.S. Westinghouse Electric company to bring in these third-generation technologies. China is currently also working with France's Areva and Russia's Atomstroyexport to build more and more modern nuclear plants, Novosti reported.
A complication of Russia's decision to reorganize and consolidate its civilian nuclear industry under the Atomenergyoprom, there could be a delay in delivery of critical equipment to the two 1,000 MW nuclear plants that Russia is building in Kunankulam in Tamil Nadu, India, Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) director S.K. Argawal said to Press Trust of India today. The two were scheduled to be commissioned by December, but this may have to wait until early 2009.
"If the Russians had begun their reform three years back, we would not have had this problem of delay in delivery of equipment and even drawings in some of the cases," Argawal said. However, at the same time, U.S. officials are complaining that Russia had delivered fresh nuclear fuel for the two Indian reactors at Tarapur, despite U.S. requests, the Hindustan Times reported.
This was done, the officials said, even as the Congress is considering approval of the U.S.-Indian nuclear agreement, which would allow India to get nuclear fuel and equipment from the United States and other nations. The cited senior official admitted that the fuel "has been delivered but it has not yet been used. It's in a storage facility." The Nuclear Suppliers Group does not yet allow nuclear deliveries to India, and the delay could take months longer, even with Congressional approval.
