Nuclear Subsidies
Nuclear industry’s need for subsidies rather than political opposition remains main obstacle to building of a new generation of power plants in the UK. The nuclear industry is still likely to require ‘hidden subsidies’ to support the building of a new generation of power plants in the UK, say campaigners.
Ecologist 14th May 2010 more >>
Coalition Government
David Cameron strode into the Department for Energy and Climate Change. “I want this to be the greenest government ever.” “I’m not ideologically opposed to nuclear,” Mr Huhne insisted. “My scepticism is based on whether or not they can make it work without public subsidy. One of the things the coalition agreed with some passion in the current circumstances of fiscal restraint was that there will be no public subsidy for nuclear power.” Even support in the event of a disaster was out of the question, he said. “That would count as a subsidy absolutely. There will be no public bailouts . . . I have explained my position to the industry and said public subsidies include contingent liabilities.” This is an important hardening of the position held by the Labour administration and could make it much harder for companies to finance the plants. “It is a challenge for them, as no one has yet built a nuclear power station without public subsidy for some time.” Charles Hendry, the Tory Energy Minister, will be responsible for overseeing nuclear policy, Mr Huhne said. He added that he would prefer not to give his personal preferences.
Times 15th May 2010 more >>
Video: The new Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne sets out the nuclear compromise between the Tories and the Lib Dems.
Telegraph 14th May 2010 more >>
Copeland MP Jamie Reed is calling for meetings with the newly appointed anti-nuclear Energy Secretary to demand assurances the plans for new nuclear build introduced by the Labour government will still go ahead.
Carlisle News and Star 14th May 2010 more >>
THE new coalition government will not scrap plans to build new nuclear power stations, but public money will not foot the bill, new energy secretary Chris Huhne has said.Under plans revealed by the previous Labour government the North West was set to play a major part in the UK’s new nuclear future. Three locations in Cumbria – Braystones, Sellafield and Kirksanton and one in Lancashire at Heysham were on the approved list of suitable sites.
Business Desk 14th May 2010 more >>
Radioactive Waste
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, is a series of caverns mined out of underground salt beds. The Department of Energy has been burying “transuranic” waste there for 11 years. The waste includes gloves, equipment and chemicals contaminated probably with plutonium during the making of nuclear weapons. It’s dangerous stuff but fairly easily handled. That’s what WIPP was built to take. But the federal government has a lot of other really hot, high-level waste to get rid of especially spent fuel from reactors. Nuclear analyst Robert Alvarez worked on waste at DOE during the Clinton administration. “The amount of heat that this spent fuel gives off is so great that it could actually destabilize the geology,” he says, “and cause the containers to corrode or crack open, which would lead to migration of the waste, perhaps into water supplies.”
NPR 14th May 2010 more >>
Dungeness
The latest statement provided by the Nuclear Installations HMI to the Celtic League indicates that fires at nuclear plants remain problematic. The latest report refers to an incident at the Dungeness nuclear power plant and says: “On 23 November 2009 a fire occurred in the boiler annexe area of Dungeness B Reactor 22. The fire forced the shutdown of the affected reactor. The unaffected reactor on the site was on its periodic shutdown during the event.
Celtic League 11th May 2010 more >>
Wylfa
THE future of Wylfa B is in doubt after Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne was appointed Energy Secretary, it was warned last night. One of the first compromises of the new Cameron Clegg government is how to proceed with the new generation of power stations Labour had committed to. The Lib Dems are opposed to any new build but will not vote down any plans in Parliament as part of the concessions they have made during the power-sharing negotiations.
Daily Post 14th May 2010 more >>
Turkey
Russian president Dmitri Medvedev and Turkish prime minister Recep Erdogan have signed a deal to co-operate on the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. The 4,800MW plant will comprise four 1,200MW units. Russian state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom will own 100pc of the plant initially, but may sell a 49pc stake to Turkish or other foreign investors at a later stage. Russian firm Atomstroyexport will build the plant, which is scheduled to be completed by 2016-19.
Argus Media 14th May 2010 more >>
Iran
Iran this week agreed to meet with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme. Ashton is a relatively untested EU official who will, if the talks take place, face experienced Iranian nuclear negotiators. Yet the record shows that in recent months the EU’s top diplomat has emerged as a sharp critic of Iran’s nuclear policy. The talks hence offer an opportunity for Lady Ashton to silence the political foes who claim she does not have the bona fides to represent the EU to the world.
Guardian 14th May 2010 more >>
Is Brazil’s President astonishingly naive, or could he actually have a chance of persuading Iran to halt its nuclear programme when he turns up in Tehran today? Luiz In cio Lula da Silva is hoping to score a diplomatic coup by securing Tehran’s agreement on a uranium exchange deal that would go a long way to diffusing tensions over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Times 15th May 2010 more >>
