British Energy
Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has looked at adding a cash portion to its potential bid for British Energy in order to surmount objections from the UK government, which owns 35 per cent of the nuclear group. Centrica is waiting to see if French energy group EDF can work out a deal to buy British Energy; Centrica would then take part through the purchase of a minority stake. If EDF and British Energy fail to agree, Centrica wants to mount its own bid.
FT 11th Aug 2008 more >>
Terror
Massive expansion of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary is being secretly planned to protect Britain’s most vulnerable terrorist targets. The Mail on Sunday has learned that it will be transformed into the Critical National Infrastructure Police and mount armed patrols around all key installations nationwide, including power stations, phone and computer networks, oil and gas pipelines, ports and airports. Secret negotiations also include taking over responsibility for protecting Government buildings and key economic targets.
Mail on Sunday 10th Aug 2008 more >>
China
EDF, the world’s biggest single producer of nuclear energy, signed a formal agreement on Sunday to invest in and operate two new-generation reactors in the southern province of Guangdong.
Reuters 10th Aug 2008 more >>
Bloomberg 11th Aug 2008 more >>
Companies
In a few weeks, Samir Brikho hopes, his company will be starting work on one of the highest-profile energy projects in Britain. A consortium involving Amec is the preferred bidder to run Sellafield, one of the world’s biggest nuclear reprocessing and decommissioning facilities. It is the jewel in the crown of the state-owned nuclear operations, all of which are being sold in a long privatisation.
Times 11th Aug 2008 more >>
Coal
High street banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Barclays, face a consumer boycott if they continue to channel billions of pounds of new investment into coal projects, campaigning groups warned last night.
Guardian 11th Aug 2008 more >>
The government grasps its importance, but says making full carbon capture a condition for new coal plants would make them too costly to build. Maybe so, but at a minimum ministers must spell out clear duties on every new station to contribute to making the technology work. That cannot just mean installing a few removable pipes and setting aside space for a possible carbon tank some years down the line. Pending climate catastrophe demands a bolder response.
Guardian 11th Aug 2008 more >>
Climate
We need to get prepared for four degrees of global warming, Bob Watson told the Guardian last week. At first sight this looks like wise counsel from the climate science adviser to Defra. But the idea that we could adapt to a 4C rise is absurd and dangerous. Global warming on this scale would be a catastrophe that would mean, in the immortal words that Chief Seattle probably never spoke, “the end of living and the beginning of survival” for humankind. Or perhaps the beginning of our extinction.
Guardian 11th Aug 2008 more >>
Letters – including about George Monbiot.
Guardian 11th Aug 2008 more >>
Jonathon Porritt on George Monbiot: a resurgent nuclear industry constitutes (almost) as grave a threat to the emergence of truly sustainable energy strategies as coal does. I am putting the ‘almost’ in there to build a bridge back to George’s startlingly irresponsible and throw-away ‘green light’ for nuclear. As you can see, he is trying to hedge that improbable endorsement with a few conditions that both he and I would agree are all but impossible for the nuclear industry to comply with.
