U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko voted to certify the AP1000 reactor of Toshiba Corp. (6502)’s Westinghouse Electric unit, which Southern Co. (SO) and Scana Corp. (SCG) plan to build near existing plants.
Construction Monitor Signals Delays, Cost Overruns with New Nuclear Project in Georgia – News release by NC WARN
Ikea will install solar panels on Charlotte store, nine others – The Charlotte Business Journal
Duke’s Massive Rate Hikes Would Reward Rich Data Corporations on the Backs of Families and Businesses – News Release by NC WARN
Speak out against Duke Energy’s 18.6% rate hike
Not only did Duke Energy get a 7.2% rate hike last month, this is Duke’s fourth rate hike since 2009, and they’re filing for another general rate hike later this year. Unless Duke’s ambitious construction plans are stopped, we expect rate hikes to continue for the next decade.
Raleigh Rate Hearing Flyer
Duke rate hike still has critics – The Charlotte Observer
Duke Energy gets 7.2% rate increase in North Carolina – The Charlotte Business Journal
Will the South be forced to pay for the lessons of Fukushima? – Facing South
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is preparing to approve the design of a new type of nuclear reactor planned for sites across the South without first incorporating the lessons of Fukushima — instead sticking the region’s ratepayers with any bills to correct safety problems revealed by the ongoing analysis of the Japanese disaster.
Utility CEO on Solar: In “3 to 5 Years You’ll Be Able to Get Power Cheaper from the Roof of Your House Than From the Grid” – Climate Progress
Nuclear Expert Cites New Concerns about Westinghouse Reactor Design Based on Fukushima Disaster – News Release
Groups say design approval can’t legally be finalized until Fukushima lessons are incorporated, and that NRC plans to shove costly design corrections onto Georgia, South Carolina customers.
See the Fairewinds report
See the legal motion
See the Fairewinds video “Fukushima and the AP1000”
Listen to the audio from the press conference
Rate hike opponents sing out against Duke Energy – The News and Observer
Panel says wild weather worsens – The Associated Press
Freakish weather disasters — from the sudden October snowstorm in the Northeast U.S. to the record floods in Thailand — are striking more often. And global warming is likely to spawn more similar weather extremes at a huge cost, says a draft summary of an international climate report obtained by The Associated Press.