Sellafield MoX Plant
Over a decade after British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) had persuaded the UK Government that they should be allowed to build and operate SMP to satisfy the then currently perceived demand by Japan for Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA who took ownership of Sellafield from BNFL in 2005) has announced that contracts with SMP from 10 Japanese power companies have now been secured. Whilst the news throws a lifeline to the struggling SMP – a plant originally designed to produce 120 tonnes of MOX fuel per year, but which has managed a total of little over 10 tonnes in 8 years of operation – the deal is far from being ‘done and dusted’ and will be entirely dependent on the installation of new equipment and extensive modifications to the plant, all of which will be paid for by the Japanese.
CORE Press Release 13th May 2010 more >>
Confidence gained through performance improvements and talks with ten Japanese nuclear utilities means the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) will continue to operate ‘in the longer term.’
World Nuclear News 13th May 2010 more >>
The ten Japanese power companies, which have reprocessing carried out at Sellafield, have held discussions with INS and the NDA to aim to convert all their plutonium recovered in the UK into MOX fuel for use in the Japanese ‘Pluthermal’ programme. Agreement has now been reached between the NDA and the Japanese Utilities on an overall framework for future fabrication of MOX fuel in SMP.
NDA 12th May 2010 more >>
Coalition Government
Energy companies are determined to press ahead with tens of billions of pounds of investment in new nuclear power stations, in spite of the appointment of the Liberal Democrats’ Chris Huhne as energy secretary, industry executives said on Thursday.
FT 14th May 2010 more >>
Mr Huhne still has seven anti-nuclear power speeches posted on his political website in support of the Liberal Democrats’ opposition to the construction of more atomic power plants. But the politician said it was worth sacrificing one of his party’s key election pledges for the sake of Britain’s first coalition government since 1945. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have agreed not to offer any subsidies for nuclear power stations. However, they are in favour of artificially supporting the price of carbon allowances. This will incentivise capital investment in low-carbon energy generation – such as nuclear operators. However, analysts still warned that a Liberal Democrat as energy minister could slow down the urgent process of building nuclear stations.
Telegraph 14th May 2010 more >>
A potentially explosive problem is brewing for the nuclear industry now that the Department of Energy and Climate Change has gone yellow. Companies from EDF to Centrica are likely to be privately rattled by the announcement of Chris Huhne as Britain’s new energy minister. It is a highly surprising choice by the Prime Minister given fervent Liberal Democrat opposition to a cornerstone of Tory energy policy: ten new nuclear power stations in the next couple of decades to ensure security of supply and a zero-carbon source of electricity. Both Mr Clegg and Mr Huhne have confirmed that their opposition to nuclear is “not theological”, but based on the excessive costs of the new build, hinting that they could be willing to compromise. And the parties both agree not to award the industry any direct subsidies. This could still leave the door open for the Tories’ plan to boost nuclear investment by artificially raising the price of carbon allowances traded on the EU emissions market. However, there remains a sizeable threat that the Liberals could force a time-consuming and costly public inquiry that delays the new build. The idea that Chris Huhne will have to formulate regulatory policy and set out a timetable for nuclear is likely to be a considerable worry. Most destabilising is the fact that policy will probably not be clear for some time, for Mr Huhne is going to have to square his Department’s theoretical support for nuclear with his own views.
Telegraph Blog 13th May 2010 more >>
Geoffrey Lean: Nuclear power, coal and airport expansion look like being the big losers under the new government, with energy-saving, renewables and greener transport the big winners. Or so a reading of the 20 points on the environment – nearly twice as many as in any other area – in the agreements reached by the coalition partners would suggest, as blue and yellow combine to make green. Nuclear, at first sight seems in less danger. The coalition is genuinely split on it, with the LibDems unremittingly hostile while the Tories support it, if less enthusiastically than the outgoing government. They have agreed to bring forward a national planning statement to make nuclear new build possible, and that LibDem MPs will merely abstain, rather than oppose it. They have also acceded to a key demand from the nuclear industry, a floor price for carbon. But this is likely to benefit renewables more than the atom and any further measures or subsidies for it will be ruled out. Nuclear power stations are unlikely to be built without them, and the new energy secretary, LibDem Chris Huhne, will not go out of his way to help them.
Telegraph 12th May 2010 more >>
The parties have maintained a split on the issue of nuclear power. The Liberal Democrats remain opposed to any new nuclear power stations but the Conservatives will be allowed to bring plans allowing new construction to go ahead before parliament. The Liberal Democrats will abstain from any vote on the matter.
Ecologist 12th May 2010 more >>
All week I’ve been unable to get that old Groucho Marx crack out of my mind: ‘Those are my principles and if you don’t like them . . .’ (wiggle of cigar, eyebrows shoot up and down) ‘. . . well, I have others.’ My old school chum Chris Huhne being introduced as the secretary of state for energy in a Tory-led government committed to promoting nuclear power. What? Surely this must be a different Chris Huhne from the self-assured, loquacious, anti-nuclear friend I hung out with at Westminster in the late 1960s and early 1970s
Daily Mail 14th May 2010 more >>
The Liberal Democrats have ditched one of their most distinctive election pledges and will approve a new generation of nuclear power stations, the new energy secretary, Chris Huhne, made clear today. The Lib Dem MP, who once described atomic power as a “failed technology”, said the new government believed the programme could go ahead as long as it was done without state financial support. It would be “entirely up to the nuclear industry because they have to decide whether or not they are able to build nuclear power stations without new public subsidy, and that is the key”, Huhne explained.
Guardian 14th May 2010 more >>
Britain’s new coalition government faces many urgent tasks. But few are more pressing than the need to determine how the country’s electricity needs are to be met. The last government dithered on this. Consequently, the UK’s power regulator, Ofgem, believes that there may even be power shortages within the next decade. The biggest looming decision is whether the UK should invest in a new generation of nuclear power stations. Given the long lead time required for planning and construction, work needs to start soon if they are to be part of a future energy mix. The alternative – given the UK’s commitment to cut carbon emissions – is greater reliance on costly and less proven technologies. Investment in nuclear is in the national interest.
FT 14th May 2010 more >>
They cannot yet be considered cracks, but one or two hairline fractures have started to appear in the new coalition Government, despite the best endeavours of its leaders to minimise points of conflict. The most pronounced involves the future source of Britain’s energy supply. Decisions about investment in nuclear power need to be made this year, yet the coalition risks reintroducing the uncertainty that had previously been removed. The new ministry has promised to govern in the national interest. In which case, this lack of clarity cannot be sustained for long.
Telegraph 14th May 2010 more >>
A new generation of nuclear power plants will still be built – provided no public money is spent on them, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has said.
BBC 13th May 2010 more >>
Business Green 13th May 2010 more >>
Politics.co.uk 13th May 2010 more >>
The new coalition government — at odds over nuclear power — has agreed to let new plant plans go to a parliamentary vote, paving the way for approval, although the appointment of an anti-nuclear energy minister could create future obstacles.
Reuters 13th May 2010 more >>
Reuters 13th May 2010 more >>
Following the publication of the Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, the brief of the new Energy Secretary will be challenging, particularly given the different ideologies of the two parties. That said, the proposals are not inconsistent with Labour’s past policy but include also the provision of a carbon price floor, something that potential nuclear operators have been requesting. What may be different is the level of priority given to the advancement of new nuclear build, which could be a challenge to how the country’s energy needs are met.
Deloitte 13th May 2010 more >>
Surely Mr Huhne is going to find himself in an impossible position. He surely can’t be expected to drive forward implementation of a policy to which he and his Parliamentary colleagues are so opposed. Somehow one feels that this is not an issue the new energy secretary is going to be in much of a hurry to address. Britain can’t afford too much of a delay, however. The lead time on nuclear power is such that dithering now could cause real difficulties in five to 10 years’ time. That’s an argument that you can expect EDF, which spent £12.5bn buying British Energy only 18 months ago, to make at its earliest opportunity in the weeks ahead.
Belfast Telegraph 13th May 2010 more >>
Martyn Williams, Friends of the Earth’s (FoE) senior parliamentary campaigner, said the high cost made a new fleet of nuclear power stations unlikely. “The Conservatives I’ve spoken to are clear no public money will go into nuclear, and have even discussed whether that promise should be set down in law. And because the Liberal Democrats will abstain on nuclear, the Conservatives will be a minority government on nuclear.”
Guardian 12th May 2010 more >>
Ten Questions to Chris Huhne: The agreement sounds OK on paper, but hardly smacks of the stable investment climate energy firms will need if they are to invest billions in nuclear. How will you reassure them that they can and should continue work on new reactors?
Guardian 13th May 2010 more >>
Sizewell
Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk looks almost a certainty. EEEGR member, EDF is to invest in four new-generation nuclear plants in the UK and Sizewell is at the front of its mind. In terms of net electrical output, Sizewell B already generates 1188 MW and is capable of supplying more than 1.5 million homes – roughly the equivalent of the daily domestic needs of Suffolk and Norfolk. The station supplies three per cent of the UK’s entire electricity needs.
Business Weekly 12th May 2010 more >>
URGENT talks are to take place between the new coalition government and the power generating industry over the financing of a second generation of nuclear power plants at Sizewell and Bradwell-on-Sea. The new Energy Secretary Chris Huhne made it clear yesterday that there would be no public subsidies available for the building of reactors as ministers proceed with plans for a low-carbon economy. Mr de Rivaz said: “We believe nuclear power is the most affordable low-carbon option and can be built in the UK without subsidy. It is a vital element in keeping energy prices affordable while tackling climate change. “We have also completed consultation on our initial proposals at Hinkley Point in Somerset and continue to make progress on our plans to build two reactors there. We plan to build two further reactors at Sizewell.
East Anglian Daily Times 13th May 2010 more >>
Hinkley
Liberal Democrats will be allowed to campaign against new nuclear power stations in the West, it emerged yesterday. The document, thrashed out by the Lib Dem and Conservative negotiation teams, also accepted there will be disagreements over renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system.
Somerset Guardian 13th May 2010 more >>
Radioactive Waste
We the undersigned oppose new nuclear build, ‘deep geological disposal’ and burial in landfill of nuclear waste. The Lake District is synonymous with writers, artists and poets. The Wordsworthian vision of the original Lakeland Artists shaped a new reverence for nature that echoed the pagan ‘spirit in all things’.Reverence for nature and truth is anathema to the nuclear industry. Wildlife officers are employed on site at Sellafield (ceased producing electricity in 2003 – spends £30m on gas yearly). The wildlife officers’ job is to “humanely” destroy wildlife. On site, freezers hold hundreds of dead birds and mammals, classified as nuclear waste. The birds are resonant of Coleridge’s Albatross in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Whitehaven News 12th May 2010 more >>
Supply Chain
Companies with no traditional involvement in the nuclear sector should be seeking to get a foot in the industry’s door, a leading energy chief has said. George Rafferty, chief executive of NOF Energy, based at Sellafield, was speaking ahead of an event in the north east where representatives of the site will meet businesses interested in becoming suppliers to decommissioning projects.
Cumberland News 13th May 2010 more >>
Carbon Markets
Measures to prevent price spikes in a proposed U.S. carbon market may hold back construction of new nuclear-power plants and thwart the development of technologies that capture emissions from coal-fired plants, London-based Barclays Plc said.
Business Week 13th May 2010 more >>
In lamenting the inevitability of a big increase in VAT, everyone seems to have forgotten that there is an alternative for which repeated surveys have found public support – a carbon tax.
Telegraph 14th May 2010 more >>
US
The Obama administration’s efforts to foster a renaissance in nuclear power in the US are coming up against an old dilemma – what to do with the waste. The climate bill before the Senate envisages the construction of the first US reactors in more than three decades as a solution to both global warming and the country’s addiction to oil; an expansion supported by President Barack Obama and Republicans at a time of new concerns about the safety of oil drilling.
FT 14th May 2010 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
The Soviet Union was on the brink of launching a nuclear attack against China in 1969 and only backed down after the US told Moscow such a move would start World War Three, according to a Chinese historian.
Telegraph 14th May 2010 more >>
Vanunu
Israel’s top court has ordered nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu back to jail for three months after he refused to do community service in west Jerusalem for fear of harassment. After having already served 18 years behind bars, an Israeli court convicted Vanunu and sentenced him to three months in jail or community service for meeting with a foreigner in violation of the terms of his release.
Middle East Online 13th May 2010 more >>
Renewables
Fields in Gloucestershire’s rolling countryside, immortalised by Laurie Lee in Cider With Rosie, may soon be covered by thousands of solar panels. Despite the lack of guaranteed sunshine, the solar farms will make a guaranteed profit because of a generous subsidy funded through increases in household energy bills. The rate of installation of solar panels will increase five-fold in Britain this year because of this feed-in tariff, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ecotricity, a renewable energy company based in Stroud, is planning dozens of solar farms and is considering sites near its headquarters.
Times 14th May 2010 more >>
