tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post4128996339819141836..comments2023-10-20T18:03:01.821+09:00Comments on GlobalTalk 21: So Much for No Nuclear Power by the 2030sJun Okumurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-89212474403122661162012-09-16T20:57:35.073+09:002012-09-16T20:57:35.073+09:00Philippe:
Newer power plants are inherently safer...Philippe:<br /><br />Newer power plants are inherently safer because…they are new. Joking aside, other things being equal, new power plants are safer because they incorporate lessons learned from past experiences of the nuclear power industry. After all, one of the things that I learned when I looked at the Diet commission report on Fukushima-daiichi was the extent to which they were making it up as they went along in the early days. No reactor discovered to be built on a live fault line will be allowed to be reopened, so there should be potential for a couple of scores for you. There’s a good chance the first reactors to reach the 40 year threshold will be decommissioned, or at least mothballed, but it would be foolhardy to bet on the future of all the existing and under-construction reactors beyond their first 40 years of life.<br /><br />For your information, I continue to believe that nuclear power still has a future in Japan as it will in the rest of the world. I do not believe that a ragged document cobbled together by a handful of DPJ politicians with different energy agendas united only by the desire to avoid voter wrath in the next lower house election has a very long shelf life. But there are too many unknowns to be sure one way or the other, and I suspect that I will be dead before I know whether or not my outlook has prevailed.<br /><br />As for the Chinese response, I’m looking to draft a proprietary piece on that point. But I will try to put together a commentary on what I thought was a misguided <i>WaPo</i> report that will give an indication of my point. I’ll post one of the lines from the article that I’ll be taking up as a hint:<br /><br />“The move came as a direct response to Japan’s nationalization of the uninhabited islands…”Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-27663018810453781842012-09-16T17:07:29.966+09:002012-09-16T17:07:29.966+09:00I didn't expect much out of the announcement. ...I didn't expect much out of the announcement. The pro-nuclear lobby is hellbent to have their toys back online. It still might open the door for a (slightly) faster decommissioning of the older plants, and one can hope that the newest plants are safer (and/or more easy to improve in terms of safety).<br /><br /><i>BTW I think I’ve figured out something important regarding the Senkaku staredown.</i><br />Please do share!Philippenoreply@blogger.com