New Nukes
New nuclear plants will be built in the UK as part of the move towards a green economy, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has said. Mr Huhne told the BBC that breaking the dependence on traditional fossil fuels was vital. The minister said the market would decide which types of low-carbon energy would be used, but he believes nuclear investors are waiting to come forward.
BBC 1st Aug 2010 more >>
CHRIS Huhne, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, performed a remarkable volte-face yesterday by declaring that nuclear power stations were “part of the future”. Huhne, a one-time avowed nuclear sceptic, said: “I believe nuclear investors will come forward and nuclear will play its part in the energy needs of the future.” Yesterday, Huhne said he had never held ideological objections to nuclear power per se, but that he was sceptical about the “economics of nuclear”. The coalition agreement to rule out public subsidies had removed those doubts, he said.
City AM 2nd Aug 2010 more >>
Mr Huhne, one of the most senior Lib Dems in government, put his party on notice for outright public hostility ahead as he admitted that building plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations is likely to go ahead – despite deep opposition from his party grassroots.
FT 2nd Aug 2010 more >>
Mr Huhne also admitted energy bills could rise by hundreds of pounds under plans he unveiled last week for Britain to move from oil and gas to renewable energy and nuclear power. He and his party had previously opposed building new nuclear power stations.
Telegraph 2nd Aug 2010 more >>
Skills
The UK power industry needs to train twice as many people if it is to meet demand for 65,000 new workers by 2024. With four out of five employees set to retire over the next 15 years, there are serious questions about Britain’s ability to keep the lights on, the National Skills Academy for Power (NSAP) is warning. The engineering and construction industries alone will need between 17,000 and 35,000 skilled staff.
Independent 2nd Aug 2010 more >>
China
An international team of senior experts on nuclear safety regulation completed a two-week International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review of the governmental and regulatory framework for nuclear safety in the People s Republic of China. The team identified good practices within the system and gave advice on areas for future improvements. The IAEA has conveyed the team s main conclusions to the Government of the People s Republic of China. The final report will be submitted to China by Autumn 2010.
Medi Lexicon 1st Aug 2010 more >>
Iran
America’s top military chief has warned that the country has a plan to attack Iran. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a military strike is an option if Tehran presses ahead with plans to build a nuclear weapon.
Daily Mail 2nd Aug 2010 more >>
Guardian 2nd Aug 2010 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
A survivor of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima has urged an audience in London to tackle the root causes of war. Shoso Kawamoto was speaking today (1 August) at the opening ceremony of an exhibition in central London to mark the sixty-fifth anniversary of the bombing. Kawamoto was 11 years old in 1945, when US forces dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After a harrowing description of the fate of children who survived the atrocity, Kawamoto said that nuclear weapons must be abolished, “but first, we have to tell our children and ask ourselves why people fought each other”. He said this means thinking seriously about how to live in peace.
Ekklesia 1st Aug 2010 more >>
A former head of the armed forces has called for Britain’s nuclear deterrent to be replaced and for the war in Afghanistan to be “properly and fully” funded.
Sky News 1st Aug 2010 more >>
Let’s leave aside for now whether we need a nuclear deterrent at all. I happen to believe we do. But do we need a perfect deterrent, or one which is good enough? Given how little money we have these days, surely the latter will do. What deterrence needs is ambiguity. We don’t know much about North Korea’s nuclear capability, but we’re certainly not going to risk nuclear annihilation by taking them on, even if the risk were 50 per cent, 25 per cent or just 10 per cent. That’s why Israel is so sensitive about its nuclear secrets being revealed. The less other countries know about your nuclear capability, the more effective will be its deterrence.
Independent 2nd Aug 2010 more >>
Trident
Britain should consider scrapping its nuclear arsenal to avoid huge cuts to the Army, Navy and RAF, former Defence Secretary Des Browne has urged. The Labour peer said Trident should be included in a review of the Ministry of Defence’s spending. Lord Browne, who committed the UK to replacing Trident in 2007, said: “There is no way of examining the necessary trade-offs between nuclear and conventional capacity in this defence review if Trident is left out of the process.”
Daily Mirror 31st July 2010 more >>
Letters: If replacing the current Trident fleet is not to be part of the strategic defence review (as the Government has declared it should not be), it follows that its cost is outside the competence of the Royal Navy.
Telegraph 31st July 2010 more >>
Test Veterans
The MoD wants to gag MPs over the scandal of Britain’s nuclear test veterans. Officials told the House of Commons authorities that MPs should not table questions to ministers or register Early Day Motions, which are used to get support for public campaigns. More than 20,000 servicemen witnessed hundreds of atom tests in Australia, US and South Pacific in the Fifties and Sixties – now 3,000 survivors say they are riddled with cancers.
Sunday Mirror 1st Aug 2010 more >>
Coal
Government-backed plans for a huge new coal-fired power plant are running into a rising tide of opposition from a powerful range of groups worried about pollution, wildlife and tourism. The 3 billion scheme by Clydeport owner Peel Holdings to build Scotlands first new fossil fuel power station for decades at Hunterston in North Ayrshire is facing thousands of objections from faith groups, international aid charities, wildlife agencies, environmentalists and businesses. Among those to come out against the scheme are Christian Aid, Oxfam, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Largs Yacht Haven and the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park Authority. They say the project would threaten local businesses, the areas wildlife and harm people in developing countries. The breadth of opposition to the plant creates problems for the Scottish Government which has already endorsed it as part of Scotlands National Planning Framework despite the fact it has been rejected by a majority of the Scottish Parliament and is the subject of a court challenge from objectors.
Sunday Herald 1st August 2010 more >>
