{"id":10248,"date":"2012-02-13T00:14:32","date_gmt":"2012-02-13T08:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/?p=10248"},"modified":"2012-02-13T00:14:32","modified_gmt":"2012-02-13T08:44:32","slug":"nuclear-power-plant-proposed-for-guam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/?p=10248","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear Power Plant Proposed for Guam"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster last\u00a0 year, it seems inconceivable that nuclear power is still being touted as a ‘safe’ and ‘greener’ alternative to fossil fuels. \u00a0 But according to the an article in the Mariana Variety shared by Koohan Paik, “\u2018Clean\u2019 nuclear power eyed”<\/a>, a nuclear power plant is being considered for Guam:<\/p>\n

THE Consolidated Commission on Utilities and the Guam Power Authority are investigating a new type of \u201cgeneration five\u201d nuclear power generator \u2013 one that could potentially reduce power costs for Guam ratepayers by half or more.<\/p>\n

The Variety has learned Dr. Jay W. Khim, CEO of Global Energy Corp. (GEC) based in Annandale, Va., made a presentation to the utilities commission, GPA officials and Navy engineers last month and will make another tomorrow afternoon.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This so-called “generation five” nuclear power plant technology was developed jointly with the Navy:<\/p>\n

You have to change the basic science of nuclear power,\u201d Khim explained. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working with the U.S. Navy for about 22 years and the basic science phase is now over. Now we\u2019re going into commercial development, which the Navy is not going to do.\u201d\u00a0 But Khim says the science has been repeatedly duplicated by the Navy, and has been proven, recognized and published.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Global Energy Corp. is proposing to build a 50-megawatt plant as a pilot project on Guam, on a build, operate and transfer basis for which GEC would obtain its own financing. Guam ratepayers would pay only for the electric power generated. Khim says he will finance the estimated $250 million plant himself. \u201cNo initial money for Guam at all,\u201d Khim assured. \u201cI\u2019ll pay all the money; I\u2019ll run it; and give Guam cheap electricity.\u201d He says once his company and the CCU enter into a memorandum of understanding, other issues, such as the location of the reactor, will be explored.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur plan is to fuel the generator only once, and the fuel would last for 50 years,\u201d Khim said. The fuel will be natural, unenriched uranium ore, which is mined in various countries including the U.S. and Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis concept is simple,\u201d Khim added. \u201cWe\u2019re tsunami-proof, earthquake-proof, and typhoon-proof. There is no chance of a major catastrophe because there can be no meltdown. This is clean, green nuclear energy. This is the future … where we are going. This is a dream come true for all humankind.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It sounds too good to be true.\u00a0 Have we heard all this before?<\/p>\n

This energy is to propel the machines of progress; to light our cities and our towns; to fire our factories; to provide new sources of fresh water; and to really help us solve the mysteries of outer space as it brightens our life on this planet.<\/p>\n

We have moved far to tame for peaceful uses the mighty forces unloosed when the atom was split. And we have only just begun. What happened here merely raised the curtain on a very promising drama in our long journey for a better life.<\/p>\n

– President Lyndon B. Johnson, Remarks at the National Reactor Testing Station, Arco, Idaho<\/a>, The American Presidency Project, August 26, 1966<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Makiko Sato, a Japanese peace and anti-nuclear activist has been alerting others that the nuclear industry has been trying to remake itself, including exploiting new markets for small nuclear reactors geared to islands and other remote locations. An article in Nuclear Street “Under The Hood With Duncan Williams – Toshiba 4S”<\/a> described one type of small nuclear reactor that was proposed for Alaska:<\/p>\n

In November of 2009, the U.S Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources introduced legislation that would provide funding to the Department of Energy for the development of small nuclear reactors.\u00a0 The Nuclear Power 2021 Act (S. 2812) would allow the federal government to fund 50% of the cost of the development and licensing of two different small modular reactor designs.<\/p>\n

One of the co-sponsors of the bill, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, hopes that one of these new small reactor designs will be built in Alaska.\u00a0 In fact, the NRC has already met with the city manager and vice mayor of Galena, Alaska, in order to discuss plans for building a proposed small nuclear reactor there.\u00a0 Since the current bill requires that at least one of the designs must have a rated capacity of not more than 50 electrical Megawatts, a likely candidate for the Alaska site would be a design by Toshiba Corporation known as the Super-Safe, Small and Simple (4S) reactor.\u00a0 The 4S design has a capacity of 10 electrical Megawatts, and would therefore qualify for funding under the proposed legislation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster last\u00a0 year, it seems inconceivable that nuclear power is still being touted as a ‘safe’ and ‘greener’ alternative to fossil fuels. \u00a0 But according to the an article in the Mariana Variety shared by Koohan Paik, “\u2018Clean\u2019 nuclear power eyed”, a nuclear power plant is being considered for Guam: THE … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Nuclear Power Plant Proposed for Guam”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[2409,58],"class_list":["post-10248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pacific","tag-movements-resistance","tag-nuclear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10248"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10248"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10254,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10248\/revisions\/10254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}