Of hydroelectric power plant

Russian forces occupying Europe's biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine have reportedly thrown plant workers into the basement. The reports suggest it is unclear who is currently ensuring the safe operation of the Zaporizhzhia plant, which has been under Russian control since March . Up to now, the plant has been operated by its regular Ukrainian staff on rotation, albeit under intense pressure, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, Dmytro Orlov, mayor of the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar where the plant is located, told U.S. government-funded news outlet Radio Liberty on Tuesday: "People are being taken straight from the nuclear power plant… and they're being thrown into basements." Orlov said there were more than a dozen employees affected. Russia has had nuclear specialists of its own stationed at the plant who were sent there from the country's state-owned nuclear company Rosatom. Russia's occupation of the plant has been a cause for … [Read more...] about Russian troops throw Zaporizhzhia staff in nuclear plant basement: report

Ukrainian government officials report elevated radiation levels near the site of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) disagrees for now, saying levels are steady. Shelling caused fire to break out as the Russian military took over the plant, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, that could possibly be even more dangerous than Chernobyl. Russian missile shelling reportedly caused a fire at the power plant. In a video posted online, a blast followed by fire and smoke was seen at the plant. Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine tweeted after the shelling saying if Zaporizhzhia blows up, it will be 10 times worse than the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He urged the Russian military to cease fire immediately. Russian officials told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that they took control of the territory surrounding the plant. In a letter to the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, the Ukraine … [Read more...] about Nuclear Plant on Fire Amid Russian Shelling, Radiation Levels Steady

Scientists have revised a fundamental law “foundational” to fusion energy research that could allow for more hydrogen fuel in reactors , and potentially help obtain more energy from fusion than previously thought. The study, published in the journal Physical Review Letters , showed that an upcoming international megaproject can operate with twice the amount of hydrogen fuel, and thereby generate considerably more energy. Nuclear fusion involves two atomic nuclei combining into one, thereby releasing enormous amounts of energy – a process that occurs every day naturally in the sun, whose warmth comes from hydrogen nuclei fusing into heavier helium atoms. Conventional nuclear power plants rely instead on fission, whereby a uranium atom is split with a neutron, releasing a large amount of energy in the form of heat and radiation. … [Read more...] about Fusion reactors could provide much more power than previously thought, study suggests

JAMSETJI TATA DEATH ANNIVERSARY: From an iron and steel company, a world-class educational institution, to the first hydroelectric power plant, the founder of the TATA group Jamsetji Tata sowed the seeds of development on the Indian soil. Being a visionary with an exceptional entrepreneurial spirit, Jamsetji Tata shaped a successful business conglomerate and helped bring India on par with other industrial nations. Today, on the death anniversary of Jamsetji Tata, let us remember the industrialist and how he established the steel-to-salt conglomerate. Born on March 3, 1839, in the Navsari town of Gujarat, Jamsetji was the only son of Nusserwanji Tata. In a family of priests, he turned out to be the first one to dive into business. At the age of 14, Jamsetji joined his father in Bombay and went to Elphinstone College there. He received a liberal education and graduated in 1858 which made him harbour a love for academics and reading throughout his life. He later joined his father’s … [Read more...] about Jamsetji Tata Death Anniversary: Remembering the founder of the TATA group

The premier of China’s State Council, Li Keqiang, “ urged ” energy officials to ramp up coal production this week to stave off electricity blackouts across several Chinese provinces experiencing record power usage during a regional heatwave, the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper reported Friday. Li, who heads China’s top administrative authority, “urged tapping into advanced coal capacity, securing power supply and resolutely preventing power outages amid the peak summer season,” the Guardian reported June 24, citing Chinese state media. China’s state-run Global Times first quoted Li as making the coal production request on June 21 hours after he completed an “inspection tour” of northern China’s Hebei province. Li suggested that the daily economic operations and “basic livelihoods” of Chinese citizens were at stake should energy authorities fail to produce additional coal in the affected territory. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks during a press conference in Beijing, … [Read more...] about China Calls for ‘Urgent’ Coal Production to Stave Off Blackouts

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rob Portman (R-OH) are blasting President Joe Biden for a move that they say will further increase the United States’ dependence on China for solar panels. Earlier this month, Biden announced a 24-month tariff moratorium on solar panel imports from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Commerce Department officials suspect that the solar panels are actually made in China or by Chinese companies but have been routed through the four southeast Asian nations to evade tariffs. In a letter to Biden this week, Rubio and Portman said the move will make the U.S. even more dependent on China. Already, about 80 percent of solar panels installed in the U.S. are made in China or by Chinese companies. “We believe this decision increases our dependence on China, rewards unfair trade practices, including labor and human rights violations, undermines American jobs, and represents executive branch overreach,” the Senators write : Already the United … [Read more...] about Biden Blasted for Increasing U.S. Dependence on China for Solar Panels

He paid a visit to the reactor manufacturing site of Doosan Enerbility in Changwon, South Gyeonsang, on Wednesday. During a meeting with representatives of 20 reactor suppliers, he called the signature nuclear phase-out policy of the former Moon Jae-in administration “foolish” when Korea’s reactor technology and safety had been recognized as one of the best in the world. The government will expedite support to renew the suspended construction of the Shin Hanul 3 and 4 units. The Yoon administration plans to invest 3.7 trillion won ($2.8 billion) through 2025 to rebuild the reactor industry habitat. Commanding supremacy in nuclear reactors has become crucial for energy security. Reactors are rated Korea’s top technology together with semiconductors. It is core infrastructure for energy. Despite the strategic value and opposition from more than 70 percent of the people, the liberal Moon administration pressed ahead with a phase-out on nuclear reactors. It plugged off the Gori 1 and … [Read more...] about Restore the defunct industry

Germany is facing a “Lehman Brothers” collapse in its energy market that could spark a domino effect leading to a severe recession should the gas-addicted economic powerhouse of the European Union be fully cut off from Russian energy supplies. Economy Minister and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said on Friday that Europe’s largest economy could be forced to shut down certain industries should gas supplies run think by the winter. “Companies would have to stop production, lay off their workers, supply chains would collapse, people would go into debt to pay their heating bills, that people would become poorer,” he said according to DW. The Green Party politician warned that there could be “a kind of Lehman-Brothers effect in the energy market,” spreading through municipal utilities, industrial and commercial companies, “And then you have a domino effect that would lead to a severe recession.” Habeck was referring to the now defunct financial services firm Lehman Brothers, … [Read more...] about Gas Crisis: Germany Warns of Lehman Brothers-Style Financial Collapse

“One of the extraordinary adaptive powers of our species,” Karen Russell writes in her new collection of stories, “is its ability to transmute a stray encounter into a first chapter.” A stray encounter, she describes, could involve the meeting of a 22-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman in a Pennsylvania bar and, soon after, the sudden decision to quit their jobs, rent a car, and drive to the Mojave Desert in California. Because this is a Karen Russell book, a stray encounter could also find that same woman pricking her finger on a Joshua Tree spine, the “insoluble spirit” of the sentient plant leaping into the woman’s body, and the creature immediately realizing it has made a horrible mistake. “Compared with the warm and expansive desert soil,” it laments, “the human body is a cul-de-sac.” In Orange World and Other Stories , Russell’s third short-story collection and fifth book, nature and humankind find themselves many mistakes removed from their first chance meeting. A … [Read more...] about Stories That Ask Whether Humans and Nature Were Always Incompatible

India on Thursday assured Sri Lanka of its “fullest support” to help the island tide over its unprecedented economic crisis while “considering further financial assistance”, the Sri Lankan President’s office said. A delegation from New Delhi led by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, and including Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs Ajay Seth, Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran and Joint Secretary to the Indian Ocean Region Division at the Ministry of External Affairs Kartik Pande, visited Colombo on Thursday. During the visit, spanning barely half a day, the Indian officials met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and held discussions on New Delhi’s ongoing assistance, of over $ 3.5 billion since January 2022, to the island nation. Indian assistance so far has been extended by way of currency swaps, loan deferments and credit lines for essential imports. IMF talks Colombo has sought a further $ 500 million from New Delhi, to import … [Read more...] about ‘India will extend fullest support to Sri Lanka’, says Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra during meeting with President Rajapaksa