British Energy
Who will now be responsible for the clean-up of existing BE sites. If land is transferred from BE to other atomic aspirant owners, who will hold the liabilities for radioactive remediation? Who will be responsible for the insurance cover of existing reactors, especially any accident that involves off-site radioactive contamination. And who becomes responsible for other assets or liabilities of around 15,000kg (15 tonnes) of plutonium from BE’s advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) and the spent nuclear fuel discharged from the reactors?
Guardian 19th Nov 2008 more >>
The country should press ahead with building a new generation of atomic power stations as part of a nuclear “new deal” to suck in investment and create jobs, British Energy said today. The company, which runs most of the UK’s fleet of reactors and which reported a 50% slump in profits today, has held talks with local communities around four possible sites.
Guardian 18th Nov 2008 more >>
British Energy says it has made good progress on repairs to its four reactors at Hartlepool and Heysham 1 and hopes to return two reactors to service before the end of the year.
Builder and Engineer 18th Nov 2008 more >>
British Energy’s pre-tax profits fell to £257m for the half year ending September 30, compared with £511m over the same period last year.
Lancashire Evening Post 18th Nov 2008 more >>
New Nukes
Letter from David Lowry: Sir Walter Marshall (later Lord Marshall of Goring), the brilliant Welsh mathematician who was at the time (in the early 1980s) the Government’s chief nuclear adviser, went to the former Soviet Union to assess the RBMK and whether it was suitable for Britain, and surprisingly was quite favourable towards it! The factually inaccurate assertion that nuclear power is CO -free [is countered by] the Government’s own consultation paper “The Future of Nuclear Power” which stated clearly: “Although nuclear power stations are carbon-free at the point of generation, there are carbon emissions that arise in the fabrication of fuel”
Western Mail 18th Nov 2008 more >>
The government is being warned that its plans for new nuclear power stations risk being obstructed by legal challenges, after its public consultation on the policy was found to have breached the Market Research Society’s code of conduct.
Research 18th Nov 2008 more >>
Business Green 18th Nov 2008 more >>
Planning Resources 18th Nov 2008 more >>
Venezuela
Moscow has agreed to build Venezuela’s first ever nuclear reactor.
Telegraph 19th Nov 2008 more >>
Guardian 19th Nov 2008 more >>
Romania
Romania is due to sign a deal with selected foreign bidders to build two more reactors at its nuclear power plant in Cernavoda on Nov. 20, one of the investors, GDF Suez, said on Tuesday.
Money AM 18th Nov 2008 more >>
