New Nukes
Taxpayers will shoulder the risks of new nuclear reactors with French firms gaining the profits, David Cameron was warned yesterday. Four leading environmentalists including West-based Jonathan Porritt yesterday wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to think again.
Western Daily Press 14th March 2012 more >>
Porritt: Aside from the pro-nuclear zealots, most protagonists in favour of nuclear power rely on “there is no alternative” advocacy because of climate change, energy security, the “lights going out”, we need nuclear, the argument runs. Such thinking is alive and well within the coalition government to the extent that ministers are no longer prepared to listen to contrary evidence. As a result, UK energy policy is being manipulated and subverted to make it possible for French nuclear power companies (EDF and Areva) to start building four new reactors in the UK two at Hinkley Point in Somerset and two at Sizewell in Suffolk. Along with three other former directors of Friends of the Earth, with experience going right back to the 1970s, I am very familiar with the record of the nuclear industry in pulling the wool over the eyes of both senior officials and ministers. A recent report reveals how the government’s own analysis shows that the UK could achieve all its energy objectives without new nuclear through investment in energy efficiency, renewables, combined heat and power, and grid upgrades
Guardian 13th Mar 2012 more >>
See also.
Jonathon Porritt 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Senior environmental campaigners have recently reported the UK to the European Commission as they fear the hidden subsidies from the UK to two French nuclear power companies may contravene EU competition law according to the BBC. The European Commission could, indeed, be a force for good as the full implications of the agreement to boost civil nuclear co-operation signed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy become apparent. The situation is so bad that four former directors of Friends of the Earth Jonathon Porritt, Tom Burke, Charles Secrett and Tony Juniper have told the Prime Minister he is being badly advised.
Mary Honeyball MEP 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Today, four of the UKs leading environmentalists are warning that the government is about to hand over control of Britains future energy and climate security to the French government, leaving British taxpayers to pick up the bill.
Energy & Environmental Management 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Business Green 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Energy Efficiency News 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Construction News 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Hinkley
Over 1,000 people from all over the UK converged at the main gates of EDF Energys Somerset power station to mark the first anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and to call for an end to the governments nuclear renaissance. Speaking from the demonstration, Martyn Rowe, a verteran anti-nuclear campaigner said he had not seen such a large turnout since the mass protest against the construction of the Torness nuclear power station in 1979.
Indymedia 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Indymedia 13th Mar 2012 more >>
BBC Points West 11th Mar 2012 more >>
SEDGEMOOR District Council bosses have labelled energy giant EDF Energys transport plans for the Bridgwater area ‘wholly inadequate’.
This is the West Country 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Sizewell
BOSSES at Sizewell B have confirmed that the power station is now back up and running. The nuclear plant had been off-line for just over a week following an electrical fault. As a result the reactor and turbines were shut down, meaning that it could not generate electricity. However a spokesman for EDF Energy, which owns the power station, has confirmed that it has now returned to service, although it is running at just half its capacity.
East Anglian Daily Times 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Wales
The Welsh government will today publish a new energy strategy outlining how the country aims to establish itself as a leading low carbon technology hub, creating tens of thousands of new jobs in the process. The report, titled Energy Wales: A Low Carbon Transition, sets out a series of commitments designed to accelerate investment in low carbon energy generation and maximise the economic and job creation benefits that will arise from a shift towards renewable energy and nuclear power.
Business Green 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Scotland
SCOTLAND could easily achieve its ambitious green energy targets – but only at a cost to the environment, a conservation charity will tell MSPs. The claim will be made by the John Muir Trust (JMT) at a parliamentary inquiry, due to open today, into the Scottish Government’s goal of generating the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s own electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020. One of the first to give evidence to Holyrood’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee will be Helen McDade, policy officer for the land charity. Its submission says: “Achieving the renewables target primarily with industrial-scale wind generation would be a Pyrrhic victory – due to the cost to the environment, the economy and local communities, and the lack of substantial contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions reduction (GHG) targets.”
Herald 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Old Nukes
Older nuclear plants pose a safety challenge, a draft UN report says following the anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. Eighty per cent of the world’s nuclear power plants are more than 20 years old, said the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Many operators have begun programmes, or expressed their intention, to run reactors beyond their planned design lifetimes, and the IAEA raised concern over whether the plants could meet safety objectives.
Engineering & Technology Magazine 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Reuters 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Companies
Germany’s Siemens has offered commitments to the European Commission in an anti-trust case over a nuclear power joint venture with Areva of France, the EU’s competition regulator said. Until October, Siemens will not acquire or hold more than 10 percent of the capital or voting shares of an entity carrying out activities included in a list of nuclear power generation products and services drawn up by the regulators.
Reuters 14th Mar 2012 more >>
France
UK-based Babcock International will assist with France with its nuclear decommissioning programme through its recently established registered office in Lyon. Babcock’s new Lyon office is working with EDF’s nuclear decommissioning and environmental division, Centre d’Ingénierie de Déconstruction et Environement (CIDEN). The company is also engaging with two French engineering companies for subcontracts for specific tasks. Babcock was previously engaged with EDF to deliver a design study for the dismantling of the gas cooled graphite reactor at Bugey.
Energy Business Review 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Fukushima
Yesterday, the 11th March, was the first anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) will be remembering all those who died or were injured due to the devastating effect of the earthquake and tsunami at its forthcoming meeting, and remains concerned over those who may die in the long-term due to exposure to the radiation from the stricken nuclear reactors. In an interview with the Financial Times, the head of the International Atomic Energy Authority notes that the nuclear industry got a little complacent in the period up to the Fukushima disaster such complacency has led to the evacuation of over 100,000 people and left a significant part of north eastern Japan uninhabitable for years to come .
NFLA Press Release 12th Mar 2012 more >>
Japan
Less than half of the evacuees from the Fukushima nuclear crisis have filed for compensation from Tokyo Electric Power Co. because the application forms are too complex, a survey shows. One year after the nuclear disaster, 57 percent of Fukushima evacuees still havent applied, according to the survey by the government-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund. Applicants had difficulty in understanding the forms, according to the survey made public on March 8.
Bloomberg 11th Mar 2012 more >>
A poll by the Asahi newspaper in Japan has shown that a majority of Japanese oppose a restart of nuclear power plants currently shut for maintenance. According to the papers opinion poll conducted over the weekend, 57 per cent of people opposed the restart of nuclear reactors with 80 per cent not trusting the government’s safety measures.
Engineering & Technology Magazine 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Fukushima Update 9th 12th March.
Greenpeace 13th March 2012 more >>
Iran
Iran has denied allegations that it attempted to clean up radioactive traces possibly left by secret nuclear work at a key military site before granting UN inspectors permission to visit the facility.
Independent 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Guardian 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Australia
The Australian government has passed legislation that will create the country’s first nuclear waste dump, despite fierce opposition from environmental and Aboriginal groups. The passage of the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2010 through the Senate paves the way for a highly controversial plan to store nuclear waste in Muckaty Station, a remote Aboriginal community in the arid central region of the Northern Territory.
Guardian 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Fossil Fuels
The “dash for gas” is in full flow in the UK, according to new research, which has found that the amount of gas-fired power generation under construction, or in planning, is twice government expectations. While the government has estimated that about 5GW of new gas-fired power generation will be needed to supply the UK in the coming decades, power stations with more than 3GW of capacity are now under construction and nearly 10GW of plants have received planning permission, according to Friends of the Earth analysis. In addition, nearly 10GW of capacity is in the earlier stages of planning. According to the research, about 9GW of this gas-fired generating capacity enough to power 9m homes is likely to be on-grid by 2016.
Guardian 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Britain is heading towards an energy supply crunch sooner than expected as many of the countrys coal-fired power stations face early closure under European Union environmental regulations. Eight coal-fired plants are due to close by 2015 as part of efforts to cut harmful emissions but several are set to shut before then as companies rapidly burn through their remaining EU production allowances. Analysts are now forecasting that most of this capacity will shut in 2013 or 2014 as plants quickly eat up the remaining hours they are permitted to operate before closure. Eon, the German utility, last week announced its 1,940MW Kingsnorth plant in Kent would close in March 2013. In addition to higher gas prices, coal usage has been encouraged by low prices for burning carbon under the EUs carbon trading scheme as the eurozone crisis has cut demand. This has created the unintended consequence of helping coal remain competitive. Some in the industry argue that new renewable capacity including wind and solar coupled with suppressed demand as a result of economic weakness should mean Britain avoids an energy crunch in the middle of this decade.
FT 14th Mar 2012 more >>
