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NEW ORLEANS, Oct 15 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he is in favor of finding environmentally safe ways to tap U.S. oil and natural gas reserves and would like to see increased use of nuclear-generated electricity. "What I think we need to do is increase our domestic energy production," Obama said at a public meeting in New Orleans. "I'm in favor of finding environmentally sound ways to tap our oil and our natural gas." Obama also spoke about the need to rely more heavily on nuclear energy as the United States looks for ways to reduce greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. "There's no reason why technologically we can't employ nuclear energy in a safe and effective way. Japan does it and France doesn't and it doesn't have greenhouse gas emissions, so it would be stupid for us not to do that in a much more effective way," he said. http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINN1531614920091015 Governor goes pro-nuclear and so do the people who want his job So it comes as another shock to the political system when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said last week he is considering making nuclear power ?renewable.? The Wall Street Journal Environmental Capital Blog reports that the governor sees nukes as ?punching above their weight since they represent only 10% of the nation?s electricity generating capacity but 20% of its electricity supply.? It took just two days for the top contenders for Schwarzenegger?s job in the 2010 election to jump on the ?me too? bandwagon. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Republican Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner promised to make nuclear energy a key plank in his campaign platform. Two other contenders agreed, but Republican and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman said with elegant vagueness that she wanted to see a ?a thoughtful discussion? about nuclear energy. Her statement suggests Silicon Valley is not onboard the nuclear ship of state. The combined impacts of the tectonic shift in California politics may be tough to deal with for green groups which have made the anti-nuclear mantra an article of new age religious faith. California?s colonial energy policy could benefit Utah For all the years California has banned nuclear power plants, it has been quite happy to import nuclear generated electricity from Arizona. Even as the governor is talking about changing that paradigm, developers in Utah are planning a 3,000 MW nuclear power station in Green River Utah to wheel electricity westward to California?s booming energy markets. If Governor Schwarzenegger is successful in tagging nuclear as renewable, it could put a new spin on the state?s colonial energy empire. He?s planning to take the initiative with an executive order that over rides a complex legislative proposal that mandates utilities must get a fixed percentage of their energy imports from renewable power. At the same time, it could put winds in the sails of nuclear energy developers in Utah who can now brand their electricity as a ?renewable source.? Once state renewable energy imports can include nuclear as a designated source, it opens California?s massive energy market to anyone with a 235 KV transmission line and a nuclear reactor or two to play in the mix. Gov Schwarzenegger's planned executive order doesn't over turn the state's three-decade ban on building new nuclear power plants inside its borders. What it does, with its focus on "renewable energy imports, is open the door for others to build new ones in neighboring states. http://theenergycollective.com/TheEnergyCollective/48230 Senate Dems Opening to Nuclear as Path to GOP Support for Climate Bill http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/07/07climatewire-senate-dems-opening-to-nuclear-as-path-to-go-28815.html India expands nuclear ambitions A major increase in nuclear power generation over the next 40 years will help India reduce its impact on global warming, Indian PM Manmohan Singh says.. Speaking in Delhi, he said the nuclear industry would have huge opportunities in India after the civilian nuclear deal signed last year with the US. Snip He suggested that by 2050 nearly 500,000 MW of energy could come from Indian nuclear power stations. "There will be huge opportunities for the global nuclear industry to participate in the expansion of India's nuclear energy programme. This will sharply reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and will be a major contribution to global efforts to combat climate change," he said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8280467.stm A giant leap, but how? On September 29, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India would produce 470,000 MW from nuclear energy by 2050. At present, the country produces about 4,000 MW from N-sources, which is less than 3 per cent of the country?s power. The leap from 4,000 to 470,000 MW is a huge one. For that matter, even the country?s declared intention of generating 20,000 MW from N-sources by 2020 is ambitious. The success of the PM?s ?nuclear renaissance? dream is far from certain. In the end, it is more likely that India?s energy future will be decided by less conspicuous people, not politicians. The first among them are the scientists who are tasked with achieving what no other country has: a three-stage nuclear cycle. This means starting with N-reactors that use uranium as fuel, and ending with reactors that use mainly thorium as fuel. It sounds like a good idea, since India has about a quarter of all the thorium in the world. The technology to do this is being developed ? reportedly with some success ? by Indian scientists. Till then, uranium remains central. Even if it works, uranium still remains critical ? it needs uranium to get the thorium cycle started. The problem is, India has almost no uranium. Until recently, its existing reactors were operating at around 50 per cent of full capacity due to fuel shortages. Now, four new reactor units are scheduled to begin operations by the end of the year. The lifting of the N-embargo means we can consider importing for now. However, the Indo-US N-deal has still not become fully operational. If it gets linked to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the imports could hit roadblocks. Meanwhile, domestic production of uranium remains mired in difficulties. The few proven reserves are of poor quality and located in very remote areas. And people in all those areas are up in arms against mining. The best quality uranium in the country discovered so far is in the West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. This deposit was found in 1984. Now, 25 years on, Meghalaya has finally decided to allow pre-project development in the area. The protests from a coalition of groups that fear the health and environment impact of the mining have started. Unless people?s fears are addressed, these will grow. The Indian-State, never popular with those margins, may succeed in forcing its way in, but might find its nuclear fuel coming at the cost of internal insecurity. There is no doubt the country needs to mine its own, domestic sources of uranium for security reasons. Is consensus impossible? More crucially, there is no doubt that the country needs energy. But is so much dependence on nuclear energy necessary? http://www.hindustantimes.com/A-giant-leap-but-how/H1-Article1-460304.aspx India Set to Emerge on Global Nuclear Stage http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=4436 Nuclear power comes full circle Italy is preparing a new nuclear programme more than 20 years after voters chose overwhelmingly to ban the construction of new reactors http://www.wantedinrome.com/articles/complete_articles.php?id_art=969 Saudi, Facing Oil Consumption Spike, Mulls Nuclear http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091013-704157.html Next German government agrees to keep nuclear power plants Germany's incoming government has agreed to reverse plans to abandon nuclear power. Berlin is eager to reduce dependency on gas and oil imports, but environmentalists have already vowed to fight the decision. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4793966,00.html German Nuclear Comeback Spells Bad News for Wind Power http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,654857,00.html
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