New Nukes
E.ON chief executive Wulf Bernotat on Tuesday reiterated the German utility’s interest in building nuclear power stations in Britain, but said it would take at least 10 years before they could start operating.
Reuters 17th June 2008 more >>
Debate on whether nuclear power represents a viable way forward for Britain. No, says Manchester FoE and Erik Bichard, Professor of Sustainability at Salford University. Yes say others.
Manchester Evening News 17th June 2008 more >>
Nuclear Waste
Bromley Councillor says “I conceive of no possible circumstances when Bromley would contemplate such proposals” (to bury nuclear waste).
News Shopper 17th June 2008 more >>
There cannot be many local authorities queueing up to host Britain’s giant nuclear waste repository on their patch for eternity, but all will be getting a letter of invitation from energy secretary John (“mine’s a nuke”) Hutton in the next few weeks, and also one from NuLeAF, the local authority legacy waste advisers. Eco Soundings recommends that anyone tempted by the bribes (up to £1bn) immediately contacts the newly formed Nuclear Waste Advisory Associates. This body, made up of researchers, academics and two former government advisers from the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, promises to give dispassionate, independent, objective advice – a rarity in the fractious debate. For more information, go to nuclearwasteadvisory.co.uk
Guardian 18th June 2008 more >>
Politics
The declaration from the Conservative leader that “the era of cheap oil is well and truly over”, and that we must “wean ourselves off our dependence on fossil fuels”. He talked about achieving “the most radical technological and social shifts for generations”. And then he made some actual commitments: “aggressive” targets for reducing emissions from cars; green taxes; a decentralised energy network; a “long-term national transport plan” that was not simply a list of new roads to be built. Most interesting of all, he set himself firmly against two of the current government’s most controversial – and deeply stupid – environmental white elephants: the third runway at Heathrow and the new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent.
Guardian 18th June 2008 more >>
Chernobyl
EVERY year children travel from Belarus and the Ukraine to stay with kind-hearted Huddersfield families who are literally giving them the chance of a better life.
Huddersfield Examiner 17th June 2008 more >>
Nuclear Skills
A new generation of nuclear power stations has been given the go-ahead by the government – but where are the scientists and engineers to build and run them?
BBC 17th June 2008 more >>
Iran
It is beyond question that the Iranians are playing diplomatic cat and mouse over uranium enrichment. They have broken the rules of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which they are a signatory; have hidden their atomic research from UN inspection; and now are under Security Council sanctions to make them obey international law. No-one doubts that the Iranian regime wants nuclear weapons, though it is less clear if they have an active programme to produce them. But clearly, Tehran wants to keep everyone guessing in order to exert pressure on the West. In these circumstances, there is little to be gained from threatening the Tehran regime in public.
Scotsman 18th June 2008 more >>
GORDON Brown yesterday sent out his strongest warning yet to Iran that they face consequences over their nuclear strategy. The Prime Minister said the West was ready to take “any necessary action” to bring the regime into line. Brown and US president George Bush discussed the issue during talks at Downing Street yesterday.
Daily Record 17th June 2008 more >>
Iran insists it will not suspend uranium enrichment.
EU Business 17th June 2008 more >>
North Korea
U.S. envoy Christopher Hill is due to travel this week to Japan and China for further talks aimed at scrapping North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
Interactive Investor 17th June 2008 more >>
Brazil
French nuclear engineering group Areva has been awarded six contracts totaling over E45 million by Brazilian utility Eletronuclear, to carry out extensive service works on the Angra-1 and Angra-2 nuclear power plants in Angra dos Reis, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.
Datamonitor 17th June 2008 more >>
Italy
Italy’s minister for economic development Claudio Scajola said the reintroduction of nuclear power generation in Italy will re-balance the country’s fuel mix and help reduce over dependence on gas.
AFX 17th June 2008 more >>
Renewables
The US is set to overtake Germany as the world’s biggest wind market in 2009 on the back of an investment boom which saw wind power generating capacity jump 45 per cent last year. “Now is a pivotal moment for renewable energy in the United States,” says Peter Duprey, chief executive of Acciona Energy North America, a subsidiary of the Spanish infrastructure group Acciona. “This is a real opportunity here for companies to stake a major claim in the market because there has been a pent-up demand.” Not only is there demand among the public for more environmentally friendly fuels, but the wide open US plains are enticing given far more expensive offshore options to expand in Europe. Last month Royal Dutch Shell sold its stake in what would have been the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, the London Array, saying that Europe had been “built out” and wind’s future was in North America.
FT 18th June 2008 more >>
