It sounds at best far-fetched and at worst frightening, at least at first, but this unique water-based energy station is already under construction and is designed to (safely) generate power and fresh water to over 200,000 people. The Akademik Lomonosov is being built at a submarine construction facility and is set to launch before 2020. While it is set to be stationed offshore, it opens up a new world of possibilities for fueling remote settlements, temporary outposts, research stations or floating cities. The vessel will produce an impressive 70 megawatts of electricity - more than enough to support a mid-sized city. It will also desalinate ocean water to increase regional freshwater supplies. With the world wondering about the fate of the Fukushima plant in Japan, following its fateful impact by a tsunami and subsequent fallout, it seems like a strange time to be working on projects where water meats nuclear power. Still, in this case the uranium is far less enriched and of the same type being used in Russian icebreakers already. The power plant is a project of LLC Baltiysky Zavod Shipbuilding, a St. Petersburg division of United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, countries around the world questioned the value of nuclear power - and Japan, reeling from the impact, vowed to become nuclear-free by 2040. Japan became completely nuclear free for the first time since 1970 as it shut down the Tomari nuclear reactor on the island of Hokkaido in May of last year. But now, with the tragedy seemingly fading from memory, the newly elected Japanese government has decided to reverse this decision and once again invest in that same energy that is still damaging the Japanese environment. Prior to the Fukushima disaster, which occurred in March 2011, the Japanese government had pledged to increase nuclear energy in Japan from 30-percent to 50-percent. The disaster sent dangerously high levels of radioactive material into the surrounding air, water and soil and the effects of the radioactivity will be felt for decades. Last month the elected conservative Liberal Democratic Party took control of the government and with it, killed any hope of a nuclear free Japan for the foreseeable future. The government has pledged to re-open dormant reactors if they pass safety tests and has not ruled out the possibility of building new reactors. Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's trade minister says that he will not risk reviving Japan's economy at the cost of nuclear freedom. Since all but two of Japan's reactors have been shut down, it will likely take months or years to get things up and running again. Only time will tell if the people of Japan will support or reject nuclear energy.

As reported by inhabitat.com, today Japan will become completely nuclear free for the first time since 1970 as it shuts down the Tomari nuclear reactor on the island of Hokkaido. One by one the country's 54 nuclear reactors have been shuttered for maintenance, but they have not reopened because of the public's fears over their safety. Anti-nuclear demonstrators plan on celebrating Tomari's shutdown, but one consequence Japan faces is a 15 percent increase in greenhouse gas emissions because of its increased reliance on fossil fuels. Nuclear power provided Japan with about 30 percent of its electricity needs before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed over 16,000 people and damaged the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. As additional nuclear power plants were closed last year, Japan endured its hot and humid summer by running factories on nights and weekends while office workers relied on fans instead of air conditioning to keep cool. But despite nationwide conservation efforts, Japan still suffered from a massive shortage of electricity, so power plants running on oil and natural gas stepped in to meet the country's energy needs. As a result Japan will produce an additional 180 million to 210 million tons of emissions this year. The increasing reliance on fossil fuels has not only challenged Japan's emission targets, but also affects Japan's export-driven economy. For the first time in over 30 years, Japan rung up a trade deficit this year because energy companies and utilities spent billions on oil and gas imports to meet the continued demand for power. Japan's government is trying to convince the public that nuclear energy still has a future, but citizens are still skeptical about its safety. A recent poll showed about 60 percent of the public opposed the government's wish to reopen two nuclear reactors in western Japan. Local officials have been especially vocal in their opposition to restarting nuclear plants in their cities and towns unless Japan's central government can provide assurances beyond what is currently required by law. Meanwhile Japan's economy is still stagnant, and the country's options are limited. Renewable energy options like solar only make up one percent of the country's overall energy portfolio, despite several ambitious projects that are currently in the planning stage.

After a 34-year hiatus following the Three Mile Island incident, the USA is restarting construction of nuclear power facilities, reported constructiondigital. Despite growing public worry over the safety and long-term consequences of nuclear power, the United States is set to resume construction of reactors after more than three decades of a building freeze that followed the incident at Three Mile Island in March of 1979. The Three Mile Island accident involved a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the nuclear generating station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Nearly 40 thousand gallons of radioactive material was released into the nearby Susquehanna River, resulting in a nearly US$ 1 billion cleanup effort. Though the incident failed to derail the nuclear power industry in the United States, a moratorium was issued on construction of new nuclear facilities. The four reactors currently slated for building - two in Georgia and two in South Carolina - will be the first since the accident. The AP1000 1,100 megawatt reactors are expected to be operational by 2016, using turbine equipment provided by the Toshiba Corporation. When completed, the reactors will bring the United States' total number to 108. More than 26 reactors are under review by the USA Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The recent problems at Japan's Fukushima plant have again thrust the issue of nuclear power into the public spotlight. With the end of the moratorium on USA facilities, though, plans to expand the nation's capacity will break ground all over the country. While a possible boon to a contracting construction industry, the expansion of American reactors has many concerned about the long-term tradeoffs of nuclear energy. The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979. Before the Chernobyl accident, which happened seven years later, the Three Mile Island accident was considered the largest in the history of world nuclear power and is still considered the worst nuclear accident in the USA, in its course was severely damaged reactor core, part of the fuel melted.