- Details
- Written by: ofurpaur
- Category: Energy
- Hits: 2382
In recent years the Arctic has gained attention due to the changes in the climate and the affects it has had on the northern environment. What is, however, less talked about is the socio-economic situation of the people in Arctic societies.
These socioeconomic realities are not only shaped by the climate change, but also by globalization and changes in global market economies.
It is well known that the Arctic has enormous resources of oil and gas, but there are also other, renewable resources. Ever since the turn to the 20th century, the exploitation of the northern natural resources has become more feasible than ever before - which has accumulated a blossoming of initiatives of so-called megaprojects in northern areas.
These megaprojects are in most cases either financed by multinational corporations or they are state funded in a form of Crown corporations or other publicly owned corporations.
They have been in most cases criticized of being environmental monsters destroying or creating a risk of demolition of large areas of nature around the project with according socioeconomic impacts on local communities.
Even though these megaprojects – huge in scale, both environmentally and financially speaking – are in the first place designed to produce profit for their shareholders with the following consequences, they have also been in many cases beneficial for the local communities "hosting" the project.
Sources: Megatrends Economies of the North
- Details
- Written by: ofurpaur
- Category: Energy
- Hits: 1964
It is in general difficult to make predictions about the future of any form of energy or power generation. The same applies thus also to Nuclear Energy.
On one side a growing demand for energy and a rapidly progressing climate change could make the enhancement of existing nuclear power capabilities necessary or even feasible.
On the other hand are the fears of dangers such as accidents and the enormous challenge of disposing nuclear waste that could strongly speak against nuclear power.
The industry is struggling to quickly reverse a profound stagnation that has occurred since the boom years of the 1970s and 1980s. The accidents in Fukushima in 2011 and Chernobyl in 1986 led to tightening of regulations and also to a broad public discussion of possible risks involved in civilian use of nuclear power.
Some industrial nations, such as Germany, even declared an end to the generation of nuclear power.
Yet, oil and gas prices are increasing, along with coal, which could again favor the economics of nuclear power. The average age of operational nuclear power plants around the world is currently 25.5 years.
At present, 52 reactors are under construction. Most of the current activity ― 30 reactors ― is taking place in just four countries: China, India, South-Korea and as representative of the Arctic: Russia. Finland is also planning the construction of a new reactor.
The Russian reactors are somewhat experimental as they are conceptualized as floating reactors on platforms in the High North, providing energy to planned new settlements and large scale projects in oil and gas extraction.
The planned reactor in Finland is a new generation Areva Evolutionary Power Reactors (EPR).
Sources: The Center For International Governance Innovation World Nuclear News
- Details
- Written by: ofurpaur
- Category: Energy
- Hits: 2702
A total of eight nuclear submarines are known to have been lost at sea in the past decades. Out of these eight, two belong to the United States, four to the former Soviet Union and the final two to the modern Russian Navy.
The probability of radiation leaks is rather low. The reactors of the US vessels are shielded, fuel rods are encased in an alloy that corrodes at extremely little rate. And even in the unlikely scenario, that the shielding of one of the reactors were to be damaged, the alloy should keep seawater away even for centuries, a time during which most of the radioactive material will be decayed.
The named Soviet and Russian vessels and their reactors have similar safety features, and nuclear-tipped torpedoes also have similar protective mechanisms in place.
USA
- USS Thresher (April 10, 1963)
- USS Scorpion (May 22, 1968)
Former Soviet Union
- K8 (April 11, 1970)
- K27 (May 24, 1968)
- K278 (April 7, 1989)
- K219 (October 3, 1986)
Russian Federation
- K141 (August 12, 2000)
- K159 (August 28, 2003)
It is at this point difficult to assess, if the sunken nuclear submarines will ever develop into a substantial environmental threat. Despite corrosion occurring, it happens at such reduced rates that the materials inside have most likely stopped radiating at the time leakages occur.
- Details
- Written by: ofurpaur
- Category: Energy
- Hits: 2575
The use of nuclear power can bring both benefits and burdens. Chernobyl, Fukushima, Three Mile Island – names that are all linked to the major nuclear accidents in the past decades.
The risk and potentially devastating effect of a malfunctioning nuclear reactor is frightening.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) introduced the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) in 1990. The aim was to be able to classify nuclear disasters and to enable prompt communication of significance and information in case of an accident.
The scale reaches from 0 to 7, where 0 is deviation and 1 an anomaly. 7 marks a major accident. So far only two accidents have reached the highest classification: Fukushima in 2011 and Chernobyl in 1986.
Despite the major radiation pollution of Chernobyl, the circumpolar world has seen only two nuclear power plant accidents.
First is the Chalk River accident in Ontario (Canada) on the 12th of December 1952. The reactor core was damaged and the INES scale was set at 5. Several operator errors and the reactor failing to shut down caused havoc. However, no contamination or fatalities were reported or monitored afterwards. It was one of the very first accidents linked to the civilian use of nuclear energy.
In 2006 an accident occurred in the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden. One reactor was shut down after an electrical fault. The incident rated at level 2, no radiation leaked and no fatalities happened.
Sources: The International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA 2 IAEA 3
- Details
- Written by: ofurpaur
- Category: Energy
- Hits: 3775
The current pattern of energy production and utilization in the arctic relies heavily on fossil fuels that are non-renewable sources of energy. Yet, another main contributor to the production of energy in form of heat and electricity is nuclear power.
The production of energy is based on the process of nuclear fission. There are different types of reactors that generate heat and drive turbines which again produce electricity. In the Arctic, nuclear power plants can be found in USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Nuclear based energy is also used to power marine vessels such as US-American, British and Russian nuclear submarines, surface warships and icebreakers.
Nuclear power is on the global scale in the focus of a hot debate. On one side the current fission based reactor technologies provides the possibility of generating large quantities of energy for a growing global demand while emitting zero CO2.
On the other hand there are questions of safety, health and environmental protection: The world has seen three major nuclear power plant accidents since 1979. They were in Three Mile Island / USA, Chernobyl / Ukraine and Fukushima Daiichi / Japan. Especially in the case of Chernobyl large areas around the plant have been contaminated for decades - causing severe impacts on people and ecosystems both in the immediate vicinity of the plant and thousands of kilometers away.
In the Arctic, the effects of Chernobyl have been felt as well - but also of several nuclear powered submarine accidents in the Barents Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
Despite questions of technical safety, another challenge linked to the current nuclear technologies is the question of how to dispose or reprocess nuclear waste that occurs within the process of power generation.
The choice is either to deposit the nuclear rods. A solution that requires a safe storage that guarantees no leakage of radiation - not only for decades but centuries. Or to reprocess nuclear rods to be used again.
In both cases costly transportation at high safety levels is required between the plant and the final storage place - or reprocessing plant. In the near future, especially Russia has plans to extend its power production in the Arctic by floating reactors ("barges") that could provide the required energy for expanding oil and gas industries in the Arctic area in Russia's North.
Finland has plans to construct a new nuclear power plant as well according to highest safety standards currently known and possible.
There are hopes that one day a controlled nuclear fusion process will be possible and feasible. In this case, an almost infinite source of power with no nuclear waste would be available and could satisfy the energy demand of an ever growing mankind.
Sources: UArctic IEA World Nuclear News CIGI Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory