New Nukes
George Monbiot: Here’s the stupidest comment I have ever read about nuclear power. Si n Berry is a big cheese in the Green party, for which I have mostly voted over the past few years but I’ll be thinking very hard about it from now on. She contrasts three inspiring women with “the alpha males of the green movement”: Mark Lynas, Chris Goodall, Stephen Tindale and myself. Unlike her and her heroes, we have committed the cardinal sin of becoming open-minded about nuclear power. But worse, far worse, we have “a tendency to be over 45 with the haircut of a WW2 fighter pilot”.
Guardian 18th Mar 2009 more >>
PRIME Minister Gordon Brown last night paved the way for a multi-billion pound injection into Cumbria after he pushed the need for nuclear power firmly to the top of the political agenda by declaring climate change cannot be tackled without it.
North West Evening Mail 18th Mar 2009 more >>
Letter from Isobel Lindsay: Gordon Brown’s attempt to promote his international profile on nuclear weapons and nuclear power is illogical and unconvincing. To claim he supports nuclear disarmament while proceeding with Trident renewal is dishonest or a gross waste of public money. If he is committed to disarmament, why spend billions on a system designed to keep the UK a nuclear weapons state for another 50 years? Equally dangerous is his support for expansion of nuclear power. This would require thousands of new power stations, with all the problems of waste and decommissioning. Many parts of the world are actual or potential war zones or lack consistent levels of technological efficiency. Bombing a nuclear power station with conventional weapons presents a huge risk.
Herald 19th Mar 2009 more >>
People in West Cumbria are being given the chance to learn more about plans for a new nuclear power station near the existing Sellafield site. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which owns the land, has said it could create thousands of new jobs. Residents will be able to ask questions at public meeting in Whitehaven’s Civic Hall on Wednesday.
BBC 18th Mar 2009 more >>
THE decision to manufacture nearly a third of key components for Britain’s nuclear reactors in France is “incomprehensible”, Sheffield’s Master Cutler claimed yesterday.
Yorkshire Post 18th Mar 2009 more >>
British Energy
British Energy, which has been a part of EDF Energy since January, brought four nuclear reactors back online this week, after an inspection revealed necessary repairs that kept the reactors out of service for 17 months. The four reactors are located at Heysham 1 and Hartlepool nuclear power stations, which are now able to provide around 2,350 megawatts of electricity to the UK grid.
Climate Change Corp 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Companies
Ignacio Sanchez Galan, the chairman of ScottishPower owner Iberdrola, yesterday congratulated Westminster for its “enlightened” nuclear energy policy, and highlighted “conflict” between the UK and Holyrood administrations on this key issue. But he insisted his company was unaffected by Holyrood’s ban on new-build nuclear power stations. Iberdrola has interests in the nuclear industry in numerous countries, and an Iberdrola-led consortium that includes France’s GDF Suez and Scottish and Southern Energy is hoping to play a part in the UK’s multi-billion-pound nuclear renaissance.
Herald 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Scotland
Labour leader Iain Gray today hit out at the SNP Government over its opposition to new nuclear power stations. Mr Gray insisted the nuclear industry still had a “big role” to play in the provision of electricity in Scotland. And he said: “It just seems foolish to me to turn our back on that possibility.”
Herald 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Hamilton Advertiser 18th Mar 2009 more >>
Nuclear Skills
A NEWLY-FORMED Nuclear Institute, given the personal backing of the Prime Minister, has been launched at a reception in Whitehaven’s Beacon Centre. The Nuclear Institute’s role in the area to develop technical skills for employees in the nuclear industry.
Whitehaven News 18th Mar 2009 more >>
Europe
Chief executives from Europe’s biggest energy companies have urged EU leaders to take swifter action to support low-carbon electricity, as member states tried to overcome differences on a 5bn ($6.6bn, £4.7bn) proposal to bolster energy infrastructure. The European Commission proposal, including support for new grid connections and pilot power stations that can capture and store their carbon dioxide emissions, have proved unusually divisive ahead of a two-day meeting of heads of state that begins today in Brussels. The group of CEO pledged to make electricity carbon free by 2050.
FT 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Iran
Brown’s nuclear plans give Iran the green light. Brown’s sudden entry into the nuclear weapons debate – his first since 2006, when he announced support for replacing the existing Trident submarine deterrent – has come as a surprise to some. It is another case of the Prime Minister clambering on a bandwagon that has already been rolling for some time.
Scotsman 19th Mar 2009 more >>
US
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received 17 applications to build 26 new U.S. nuclear reactors and could get five more applications for seven reactors by the end of next year, the agency’s chairman told Congress on Wednesday.
Reuters 18th Mar 2009 more >>
Trident
The UK’s continuous seaborne nuclear deterrent is at risk, MPs have warned, amid doubts that a new generation of submarines will be ready on time. Two of the UK’s four Vanguard nuclear subs will leave service in 2024, with work on replacing them under way. But the Public Accounts Committee said the timetable for replacement was “extremely tight” and the record of past procurement projects was not good.
BBC 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Scotsman 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Loughborough Echo 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Bristol Evening Post 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Interactive Investor 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Public Accounts Committee Press Release 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Britain’s new nuclear missiles might not fit into the £20bn Trident submarines being built to carry the lethal deterrent to sea.
Herald 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Telegraph 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Missile compartments in Britain’s new fleet of nuclear submarines are being built before the actual missiles have been developed, it has emerged. The claim comes in a report arguing that the UK’s nuclear deterrent is “open to doubt”, not for moral reasons, but technical ones.
View London 19th Mar 2009 more >>
Letter from World Disarmament Campaign: No doubt we should be grateful that Gordon Brown is looking forward to achieving “hard commitments” on nuclear disarmament at the 2010 review conference of the non-proliferation treaty and recognising that the UK should show the lead (Brown ready to trim UK’s Trident missile stockpile, 18 March). But he still fails to understand that a further small reduction in the number of Britain’s warheads is far short of genuine disarmament. The commitment of all the signatories to the NPT is to “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament”.
Guardian 19th Mar 2009 more >>
CITY Labour MP Nigel Griffiths, who quit the Government two years ago over Trident, has welcomed Gordon Brown’s indication that Britain is ready to cut its nuclear warheads as part of negotiations with the US and Russia.
Edinburgh Evening News 18th Mar 2009 more >>
The cuts in Britain’s nuclear warheads flagged up by Gordon Brown are a welcome step. We as a country do not need to be able to obliterate enemies many times over for the Trident submarine missiles to be a deterrent – far fewer will do the same job.
Mirror 18th Mar 2009 more >>
Test Veterans
AN ex-serviceman from Langwith who took part in nuclear testing in the late 50s has said seeing the mushroom clouds from the blasts was like ‘looking at hell’.
Mansfield Chad 18th Mar 2009 more >>
