Hinkley
NEWS that Hinkley Point B will now be able to generate electricity until 2016 has been both welcomed and criticised this week. The announcement was made after owners British Energy confirmed it had completed the necessary technical and economic evaluation to see the plant extend its lifespan.
Bridgwater Mercury 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Western Daily Press 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Hunterston
Hundreds of jobs have been safeguarded by the announcement that the lifetime of Hunterston B nuclear power station has been extended by five years. British Energy said the site in North Ayrshire would continue operating until at least 2016.
BBC 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Herald 11th Dec 2007 more >>
British Energy, the producer of the bulk of the UK’s electricity, yesterday announced that Hunterston B in Ayrshire, along with Hinkley Point B in Somerset, would continue for an additional five years to 2016 at a cost of £90m.
Herald 12th Dec 2007 more >>
The inconvenient truth for the Nationalists is that nuclear currently accounts for 40% of power generated in Scotland. As the world urgently seeks ways to cut emissions of carbon-dioxide and halt global warming, many believe it is the wrong moment to be contemplating ditching a major low-carbon energy source, despite the issues of reliability, decommissioning and the disposal of nuclear waste. It is true that Scotland offers the best potential in Europe for harnessing the power of wind and sea. And there are interesting developments in clean coal technology, including carbon capture and storage. But it will be years before these technologies are in a position to take up the slack from Hunterston, which was originally scheduled to close in 2011.
Herald 12th Dec 2007 more >>
The extension of Hunterston B’s licence to generate nuclear power is more of an engineering matter than a political one. But it won’t stay that way, and the boss of the company that owns the plant wants to meet Alex Salmond to make the case for a replacement. It is for a UK-wide licensing authority to make the decision on whether it is safe to keep a reactor operating beyond its designated lifespan. But it is for the Scottish Government to decide if Hunterston – or the other two licensed Scottish sites at Torness in East Lothian and Chapelcross near Dumfries – can be replaced with new plants. The law gives the Scottish Government the powers to grant or withhold permission under both planning law and a special measure under the Electricity Act.
Herald 12th Dec 2007 more >>
THE SNP-led Scottish Government came under attack on two fronts over nuclear power yesterday, following the announcement that the reactor at Hunterston is to carry on operating for a further five years. While the SNP welcomed the news, the Liberal Democrats accused the Scottish Government of “flip-flopping” over the morality of nuclear power, while the Scottish Greens said the move was “dangerous, unsustainable and uneconomic”.
Scotsman 12th Dec 2007 more >>
British Energy
British Energy has decided to extend the life of two of its nuclear reactors for a further five years in a move that will aid government targets on CO2 emissions and ease the impending energy squeeze.
Independent 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Times 12th Dec 2007 more >>
FT 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Guardian 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Reuters 12th Dec 2007 more >>
IHT 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Essex Gazette 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Yorkshire Post 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Newcastle Chronicle 11th Dec 2007 more >>
BBC 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Bloomberg 11th Dec 2007 more >>
British Energy’s decision to extend the life of its 30-year-old Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B nuclear reactors should help ease worries about power shortages in the UK in the next decade, but Bill Coley, chief executive, said it did not mean ministers should delay policies to encourage the building of new power stations, whether nuclear, gas, coal or renewable.
FT 12th Dec 2007 more >>
New nukes
Luxury car maker Lexus may get more than it bargained for when it signed up Bob Geldof to take part in a blog debate about the green credentials of its hybrid models. Geldof, as well as talking about hybrid cars, airs his views on climate change, branding renewable energy initiatives such as wind farms “Mickey Mouse” and insisting “to really help the planet, we have to go nuclear, fast”.
Guardian website 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Greenpeace has issued a new warning to the Government over possible new nuclear power stations, claiming that a decision to press ahead with the programme would be ‘unlawful’. The development follows the green groups successful High Court case earlier in the year that forced a repeat of the original energy consultation.
Green Consumer Guide 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Western Daily Press 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Terror
Police are looking for a Sellafield contract worker who is missing after a bomb was found at his home. Darren Morris, 30, was recently employed at the nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria as part of an external contract team.
AOL News 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Guardian 12th Dec 2007 more >>
A Cumbria Police spokesman said a 30-year-old man was arrested after presenting himself at a police station in Workington at 8pm on Tuesday night.
Herald 12th Dec 2007 more >>
The Sun 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Climate
Power companies around the world would need to build some 30 nuclear plants a year between 2013 and 2030, as well as use other clean or renewable technologies, to meet growing demand and achieve emissions cuts, according to the head of the International Energy Agency. The aim is to achieve a 50% cut in emissions from 1990 levels by 2050.
Platts 11th Dec 2007 more >>
France
Total, the French oil giant, will need to expand into the nuclear business to adapt to the new global energy market, but the company isn’t interested in acquiring a stake in French nuclear engineer Areva, CEO Christophe de Margerie said.
AFX 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Japan
Table showing the latest operational status of Japan’s nuclear power plants.
Reuters 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Fusion
A pioneering hi-tech facility which would unlock vast amounts of energy by producing nuclear fusion could be built in Oxfordshire. The High Power Laser Energy Research project would involve developing the world’s most powerful laser to start fusion reactions that would generate more energy than they consume and which could ultimately provide limitless energy supplies.
Oxford Mail 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Iran
Similar to the White House, the Israeli government does not like the US National Intelligence Estimate on Iran – and for the most part, is not buying it.
BBC 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Teheran resumed its nuclear weapons programme soon after it was reported to have been halted in 2003, claims an Iranian dissident.
Telegraph 12th Dec 2007 more >>
US
NUCLEAR power is on the verge of a boom. Look for about 30 new nuclear power plants to be built over the next 20 years, bringing the total in operation in the US by 2025 to roughly 140. Together, they’ll supply one-fourth of US electricity. About a fifth of current US electricity needs are met with power provided by nuclear plants.
Scotsman 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
Senior opposition politicians yesterday questioned why Britain is spending £6.4bn on its strategic nuclear deterrent while basic combat training for troops is being cancelled on cost grounds.
Herald 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Libya
France and Libya have signed a cooperation agreement on the civilian use of nuclear energy worth at least two billion euros in potential contracts, the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday.
Reuters 11th Dec 2007 more >>
Middle East Online 11th Dec 2007 more >>
President Nicolas Sarkozy clashed with France’s revered intellectual elite after dismissing critics of his human rights record as coffee-sipping windbags who preferred talk to results.
Telegraph 12th Dec 2007 more >>
Poland
Poles may soon be facing blackouts if the country’s aging power plants are not upgraded and replaced, warn energy analysts. Up to 60 percent of the country’s power generation assets have been in operation for more than thirty years and will soon be obsolete.
FT 12th Dec 2007 more >>
