Whitehall
Business leaders have rejected the creation of a super-ministry covering energy and the environment, saying it would undermine Britain’s competitiveness. The CBI said transferring responsibility for energy policy from the Department of Trade and Industry to an environmental ministry that did not give equal weight to economic priorities would be a “red line” for business.
FT 12th April 2007
Scotland
The Scottish National Party (SNP) would support higher building standards, new efforts to improve energy efficiency and the development of community and household generation with decentralisation of generation capacity and the development of local heat and power grids. The Party would encourage the establishment of community energy companies with local micro-grids allowing for the decentralisation of energy production, and will remove unnecessary planning obstacles that stand in the way of micro-generation. The SNP says Scotland does not need new reactors and it would not give the go-ahead to new nuclear reactors.
Scottish National Party Manifesto 12th April 2007
North Korea
North Korea said on Friday it would check soon if it can access funds which have been unfrozen at a Macau bank, but assured that it remained committed to a nuclear disarmament deal put in jeopardy by the banking wrangle.
Reuters 13th April 2007
Companies
The International Nuclear Solutions’ (INS) board has recommended the share price offer by Babcock International Group to Its shareholders.
Manufacturing Talk 13th April 2007
Engineering major Alstom is joining forces with Russian group Atomenergomash in order to meet growing demand in the nuclear generation, both in Russia and elsewhere.
Nuclear Engineering International 12th April 2007
Russian Federal Nuclear Power Agency Rosatom and aluminium producer Rusal have signed a memorandum on the joint implementation of long-term investment projects, including detailed exploration of an energy and metals complex in the Far East comprising a nuclear power plant and an aluminium smelter.
Nuclear Engineering International 12th April 2007
BNFL
White Young Green, the engineering consultancy, has landed Lawrie Haynes as chief executive to replace John Purvis when he steps down at the end of June before retiring in October. Mr Haynes, who will take over in July, was chief executive of British Nuclear Group and a director of BNFL.
FT 13th April 2007
Iran
Iran is still only operating several hundred centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, despite its claims to have activated 3,000 of the devices, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency told reporters yesterday.
Independent 13th April 2007
John Pilger: It is time we in Britain stopped looking from the side. We are being led towards perhaps the most serious crisis in modern history as the Bush/Cheney/Blair “long war” edges closer to Iran for no reason other than that nation’s independence from rapacious America.
Guardian 13th April 2007
Terror
The next generation of radiation-detection technology should be ready for use at U.S. ports and borders this year, helping distinguish harmless goods from nuclear material, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
Reuters 12th April 2007
A Whitehaven firm has received a contract to make thousands of decontamination kits for use in the event of a dirty bomb attack.
Whitehaven News 12th April 2007
India
India has test fired a new missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads across much of Asia and the Middle East, a state government official has said.
Channel 4 News 12th April 2007
Sellafield
Probes for radioactive materials will take place this summer between DRigg and St Bees, but tourists and locals have been told not to worry.
Whitehaven news 12th April 2007
Two of the six consortia bidding to take over the running of Sellafield have pulled out. EnergySolutions and Jacobs have withdrawn from the competition saying they want to focus instead on the upcoming sale of BNFL’s Magnox division and the competition to run Drigg.
Whitehaven News 12th April 2007
Amicus has written to the DTI to express concern about a possible private equity buyout of the BNFL project services division.
Whitehaven News 12th April 2007
Uranium
HEDGE funds are currently among the biggest players in commodities, especially in the red-hot market for uranium, now an investment sensation because of revived interest in nuclear power. One such fund is US Solios Asset Management, which launched a new uranium fund in September. Last year, hedge funds bought about 25% of the uranium in the market. Uranium’s price rise has been phenomenal. It has almost trebled from about $45 (£22, E33) per pound in July last year to $113 per pound this week, according to Trade Tech.
The Business 14th April 2007
Uranium prices have burst through the $100 a pound level for the first time on concerns about supply following flood damage to one of Australia’s largest uranium mines. Last week, ERA, which is controlled by Rio Tinto, said production from its Ranger mine in the Northern Territory would fall between 25 per cent to 35 per cent next year from its 2006 level following the heavy rainfall at the mine and processing plant in late February. It said output this year will be steady due to ore that was mined in 2006 and stockpiled.
FT 13th April 2007
